Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

This is a kids' novel about a lonely little girl, 10 I think, living in Florida with her father, The Preacher. She finds a dog in the Winn-Dixie grocery store, and convinces her father to let her keep him. Winn-Dixie, as she named the dog, wins friends and influences people by smiling at them. Opal and the Preacher have recently moved to town and she has yet to make any friends. She also struggles with the feelings of abandonment resulting from growing up motherless. Over the course of the summer, Opal makes new friends, because of Winn Dixie.

This is charmingly written from the girl's point of view, with a perspective which is consistent with an old-beyond-her years ten-year-old's take on the world. Although the slightest bit predictable, this book is no less satisfying in the end for it. It was a fast read (I finished it in two short sittings) and I am lobbying hard to get my 7-year-old to read it with me. I highly recommend it as a heartwarming tale of innocence, tolerance, loss and family. A wonderful book.

Child Star by Matt Thorne

This was a remainder I picked up at Chapters. It was a first-person novel about a man, Gerald, who, as a thirteen-year-old, had acted in a short-lived British tv soap opera. It alternated between his current life, as recently-single twenty-something in a dead-end job, and the detailed account of the audition, rehearsals, filming and televising of the soap.

While it kept me reading to the end, I found myself irritated by the narrator's excessive insight into his deepest psyche in each of the two settings (child and adult). Although he was recounting the story of his acting triumph and the spinoff effect it had on the rest of his life (truly, a Formative event), the child Gerald understood way too much about his family, his actions, his motivations, to be really believable. Even the adult Gerald had an unlikely amount of understanding about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness to make him a realistic character.

It did tie up nicely in the end, with a satisfying conclusion, but overall, if, as the critic quoted on the front cover it is "... Matt Thorne's best book yet...", I'm not sure I will be in a hurry to read another one.

Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding

This was an enjoyable read by the author of Bridget Jones's Diary, which was also enjoyable. I found it in a remainder bin somewhere. The main character is heartbroken, as usual, and goes to Africa to work in a refugee camp in order to heal. There are crises and a number of suspenseful passages during which the heroine proves herself. It's a look at the culture of the rich and famous, the world of NGOs and relief organizations, and a rather good peek into the mind of a very young woman in love with a truly hateful man. Well written, good character development. A good satisfying ending, too. I stayed up too late this weekend to finish it. I would definitely recommend it.