I reviewed Richard Scrimger's From Charlie's Point of View last year and found it to be a very engaging YA mystery that was way more complex and funny (and witty) then I have found in that genre in quite some time. He followed that title up with Into the Ravine, which is the kind of boy adventure story that is so rare that I was delighted - very nearly gleeful - to discover it. Here's a bit from my November column:

With Into the Ravine, Richard Scrimger has written one of those timeless buddy stories that is reminiscent of Stephen King’s “The Body� (actually closer to the film version) along with some more literal borrowing from Huck Finn. Jules, Chris and Cory have been friends forever in a way that means they can’t imagine life without each other but also that traps them in a playground kind of relationship where more things are left unsaid then perhaps should be. Out of sheer boredom they build a raft and decide to float it down a creek through their town one summer. It is a harmless trip taking only a day; a parent will meet them at the park where the creek ends and other than some sunburn and bug bites they don’t expect much in the way of danger. This is an unscripted adventure however and all sorts of things are discovered in the journey about both themselves and their town.

This is a novel that celebrates friendship between boys without being the slightest bit false in tone or characterization.

Richard excels at writing books that boys will find both likeable and possible - books that involve adventures that could actually happen. (In other words, no spies or globe trotting searches for lost parents, lost manuscripts or lost artifacts.) I wish there were dozens more authors like him out there, because I think we need more Richard Scrimgers - I know we do. But I'm happy to have found him and I hope lots of other readers (especially of the teen boy and girl variety) will as well. (Find out more on Richard at his site.)

Here's what Richard particularly enjoyed in 2007:

Just finished All Hat, by Brad Smith. A comedy thriller set in rural southern Ontario, with a self-effacing hero and a properly hateable set of villains. Plotting is skillful, tone of voice perfect. Great sense of the fringes of the horse world. To my mind Smith is gentler than Carl Hiassen, and more readable.

Gayle Friesen's The Isabel Factor is a thoughtful take on teen friendship. The heroine finds herself alone when she's used to being part of a duo. Summer camp, growing pains, new friends -- but somehow without cliches, partly because the secondary characters are so strong. I'm impressed by Friesen's attention to motivation.

Every now and then I come across a story I wish I'd thought of. What a good idea Young Adolf is! Talk about your complex and unlikeable hero. Beryl Bainbridge does a marvellous job bringing to life the gawky embarrassed shlemiel that was Adolf HItler at age 23. I actually felt sorry for the guy. A true tour-de-force.

Nobody writes better dialogue than Lawrence Block. I've been a fan for a long time. I'm a few books behind, but I caught up to Matt Scudder again in A Dance at The Slaughterhouse this past summer. Wow. Big nasty story told with lots of style and attention to detail. I was nailed early, and raced right through to the grim ending.

It's hard to capture a funny conversationalist on paper. Boswell succeeded because he was actually there, taking notes. Hesketh Pearson, working from hundred-year-old data, does a fine job of bringing Sydney Smith to life in The Smith Of Smiths. You get a vivid picture of the man, and you really like what you see. Smith is near the top of the invite list to my dream dinner party.
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Okay, I've read none of these books. I was quite intrigued by the mention of Sydney Smith however (just who was this man) and I will admit that just the name of his biographer - Hesketh Pearson - sounded too good to be true. If Wikipedia is to be believed, Englishman Pearson (whose first name was Edward) was the most commercially popular biographer of his day (the early 19th century). How come I've never heard of this guy? You can read more about Sidney Smith here.

That's it for the reading recommendations from visitors (for awhile anyway). I hope that everyone has found some titles to seek out in all of these posts; I'm so impressed by the sheer diversity of interests that has been presented here and how many unusual books there are out there. I'm so glad by how this turned out.

I will be in and out for the next week - trying to get some serious writing down on The Map of My Dead Pilots so I can send it off to my agent in another week or so. I do have many books to discuss and some literary thoughts to share. Check back, I won't be quiet long.