My Most Excellent Year

February 1, 2011 Heidi Uncategorized 3

My Most Excellent Year
A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park
Author: Steve Klugar
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 403

About the Book: (from back cover)
Even though I should have listened to Augie when he told me that Alejandra needed special handling, I didn’t. Instead, on the first day of school I stuck a note into her social studies book.
DEAR ALLIE: I’M CONSIDERING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. AND BY THE WAY, FORGET THAT MRS. FITZPATRICK CALLS ME ANTHONY. YOU CAN CALL ME T.C. –T.C.
After phys ed there was a vanilla envelope on my desk with purple writing on it that looked like it came from the principal’s office — and I don’t usually get called in there until at least November.
Dear Anthony:
I appreciate your recent interest, but I’m not accepting applications at this time. Your letter will be kept in our files and someone will get back to you if there is an opening.
Thank you for thinking of me.
Respectfully,
Alejandra Perez
P.S. It’s not “allie.” It’s “Ale.”

(from goodreads)
Best friends and unofficial brothers since they were six, ninth-graders T.C. and Augie have got the world figured out. But that all changes when both friends fall in love for the first time. Enter Alé. She’s pretty, sassy, and on her way to Harvard. T.C. falls hard, but Alé is playing hard to get. Meanwhile, Augie realizes that he’s got a crush on a boy. It’s not so clear to him, but to his family and friends, it’s totally obvious! Told in alternating perspectives, this is the hilarious and touching story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover love, themselves, and how a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way.

My Thoughts:
This story is told in a variety of formats. There are letters, emails, online chats, transcribed conversations, newspaper articles, memos, etc… It might sound hard to follow but it isn’t. It’s fabulous.

We start at the end of junior year and our three main characters (T.C., Augie, and Ale)are doing a writing assignment about their most excellent year. This assignment takes us back to when they were freshman. T.C., Augie, and Ale tell their stories in alternating chapters. I love how much this helps you to get to know each character and see events more completely. You get to see things/people from more than one character’s perspective.
Although this book contains many aspects that I love (humor, romance, cute little kids) I think my favorite part is the friendship between T.C. and Augie. It’s nice to see a friendship between two guys that isn’t based on a girl or partying or something like that. These guys care about each other and have a real friendship. GAH! Now I want to read it again!!