10 Minute Review: Lost In The Sun by Lisa Graff

To spread the Lisa Graff love, Penguin Young Readers is hosting a sweepstakes to give away 25 copies of LOST IN THE SUN!

To enter, tweet “Preorder #LostInTheSun http://bit.ly/PreOrderLostInTheSun @lisagraff to enter to win 25 signed copies! US only Ends 5/25” or your own language—but make sure to use the link and the hashtag.

School Library Journal will also be hosting a twitter chat with Lisa Graff on pub day, so please join for that on May 26^th!

Sometimes I read professional book reviews and wonder why the heck do I bother writing about books on this little blog. Did you see the review of Lisa Graff’s Lost in the Sun in the New York Times? It is a beautiful review. I wish that I could figure out how to do such beautiful things with the words and sentence I use when writing about books.

The truth is; I may never be able to offer you fancy words and magical sentences, but what I can tell you is that in the 90 days since I finished Lost In The Sun, I think about it almost every single day. I think about how I’ve never loved so many characters in one single book. I think about how if I taught fifth grade I’d read this book aloud to start the school year. I also think about how much 11 year-old Colby would have loved this book.

One thing that I can offer you that you may not find in a big fancy review is what happened in my classroom last Friday afternoon. During my planning time a couple of fifth graders, that are part of the student news team I work with, were in my room to pick up an iPad to work on their news assignment. I showed them the flyer for this year’s Nerd Camp Junior. While pouring over the list of author’s attending this year’s camp one of the girls immediately pointed to Lisa Graff and the cover of Lost In The Sun. She said to her news team partner, “Have you read this book! It is so good! Oh, my God! You Have to read this book! It’s amazing!” I’m always amused by how many consecutive sentences elementary students can use that require exclamation points. Their excitement towards life and books can be so uplifting.

I’ve read a lot of 2015 middle grade novels. A lot. Many of them I would call “5 star books”, but none of them have remained in head like Lost In The Sun. It is a must read book. It is an unforgettable book.