[Darren]

Wrapping up another trio of books on the list, this included two that I had never read before.

The Twinkie Squad

A re-read though I didn\'t remember a whole lot of it. Reminiscent of other ensemble works with quirky characters, whether more serious, like One Flew Over The Cuckoo\'s Nest, or more comedic like The Dream Team. I liked how Commando\'s life wasn\'t completely idyllic, with his parents separated. I think that was the first time for that in a GK book. The squid in the ceiling of the home ec class brought back memories for me. I went through something very similar, also in a home ec classroom. I got a kick out of Silverman\'s temporary office being in a closet. Years later, the TV show Chuck had assistant manager Grimes doing the same thing, having to step over his desk to sit behind it. The clown pants scene was just... *chef\'s kiss*.

Conceptual Continuity: Pefkakia, Burger King, Gavin Gunhold.

The Toilet Paper Tigers

Any book about young baseball players will evoke thoughts about the Bad News Bears, though that film wouldn\'t fly today as it is. The great thing about sports movies and books is that the drama and excitement are inherently built in. You have wins and losses, vying for championships, the characters that make up a team, the sport itself. I\'m not a fan of the game of baseball, but still enjoy reading and watching fiction about it.

Conceptual Continuity: Manchurian Bush diet, tuba playing.

Why Did The Underwear Cross The Road?

Like the previous two entries in this post, this was a book. With pages. And words.

I kid. Like any good book, you still wanted to turn the page to see what happened next. I would guess this one was written with the youngest audience in mind.

Conceptual Continuity: Gunhold.

Two questions for you, Gord:

1) Was Pefkakia inspired by a real life place like Zanzibar?
2) Do you still go to Pompano Beach, as per your author blurb? I had an old friend who was from there.

Hi, Darren,

Pefkakia is a suburb of Athens. I found the name hilarious, so he had to be born there.

"Underwear" was fun. Admit it. And the younger readers ate it up for quite a while.

Pompano. I bought a house there years ago, when I was single. Then I wasn't single, and we had some kids, and wife is a teacher, so we could only go at Christmas (too crowded) and the summer (too hot.) Plus my part of Pompano voted to be Deerfield Beach instead, so I wasn't a resident of Pompano any more. My folks used the place more than we did, and I finally sold it. Mom was pretty mad. She loved Florida.  But she also liked our kids, so it worked out OK.              ---G---