Masterpiece by Elise Broach

I loved this little book! Marvin is a beetle. He lives in an apartment occupied by James, James' distant mother, his pompous stepfather, and his little brother, William, the only good thing about his parents' divorce. Marvin wants to do something special for James for his birthday and ends up experimenting with the pen and ink set James got as a gift from his artist father. As it turns out, Marvin is a brilliant artist! When James' parents find the picture Marvin drew, they assume, naturally, that James made it, and this leads to a series of events, ultimately involving the theft of a masterpiece.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, as it could easily have gone either way. Marvin was a very believable character (well, if you can get past the anthropomorphism). The story was, of course, a bit far-fetched, but it was so cute. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Tale of Despereaux or Chasing Vermeer. It started out reminding me of Beverly Cleary's mouse books, but the intended reader is, I think, a bit older than for those books, and the story is more complex.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that this was an ARC copy; Masterpiece is due to be published in September.

If you've reviewed this one, leave a comment!

This fills the "M" spot in the A-Z Challenge.

One Good Punch by Rich Wallace

Seriously, I don't remember the last time I've finished so many books in so little time. No complaints!

I started One Good Punch over lunch today and finished it tonight while hanging out at our newly renovated downtown library, where my husband was teaching a web development basics class. One Good Punch is a short novel; the ARC copy I read is only 114 pages. I guess it's more of a novella.

Mike Kerrigan is a squeaky clean senior, who dreams of being a great track star and then having a successful writing career. He has a job with the local paper writing obituaries. When he gets caught with 4 joints in his locker, courtesy of a real winner of a friend, he has to decide whether to rat out his "friend" or take the fall himself, giving up all he has worked so hard for.

I think this book would have been much better if it had been longer, with more time to develop the characters. Instead, I feel like so much was glossed over - especially the way Mike finally resolved the situation. This book was ok, but nothing to really write home about.

If you've reviewed this book, leave a comment and I'll link to you hear.

This book fills the "O" title in the A-Z Challenge.