Howe, James. The Misfits. Atheneum, 2003 (reprint). ISBN 978-0689839566 304 pp. $8.99

*****

Just wanted to chime in with a “me too” on The Misfits by James Howe — we just read it for Popular Paperbacks this year (and it’s on the nominations list — I’ll let you know if it makes it on the final list!). I loved it, both for its sense of humor and the, well, sense of less weight about the whole outsider deal. Many, many teen books make being an outsider like it’s the weight of the world on your shoulders, and often entwine it was some major trauma or drama of some sort. It was kind of refreshing to just have a simple story about a few kids who are outsiders, yes, but are not going to be crushed under the weight of that.

I really must read Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime–someday I’ll actually be able to read for myself again, rather than for book clubs and committees. 😉