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My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park
My Most Excellent Year A Novel of Love Mary Poppins and Fenway Park Author:Steve Kluger There are only three great loves in T.C. Keller's life: the Red Sox, his father, and his best friend and unofficial "brother," Augie. But ninth grade is the year when he falls head-over-cleats in love with Ale Perez. She's pretty, sassy, smart, and a great dancer. Ale is so busy playing hard to get that she doesn't realize ... more »that she just might be falling head-over-tap shoes for T.C.'s Boston accent, too. Meanwhile, T.C.'s best friend, Augie, is falling in love as well, but with a boy? It may not be so clear to him; but to the rest of his family and friends, it's totally obvious that Augie, who loves musicals and old school screen sirens such as Judy Garland, is head-over-heels in love with Andy Wexler.
Told in alternating perspectives, this is the story of their most excellent year, where these three friends discover themselves, love, and that a little magic and Mary Poppins can go a long way.« less
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My Most Excellent Year - written in form of diaries, instant messages, e-mails by three teenagers as an assignment for school. Together they explore life and love with their friends and family.
Augie and TC are brothers in all but birth, accepted as such by their respective parents. Their circle opens to include an ambassador's daughter who wants to be an actress, and later a deaf six-year-old with abandoment issues.
It is a lovely story with a feel-good ending - I liked it a lot and I will be looking for other books by Steve Kluger.
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
T.C., originally Anthony Conigliaro Keller, was born into a family who loves baseball, and speaks with a very distinct accent. Like his family, T.C. loves the sport and practically knows all there is to know about baseball. It certainly helps him with his grades; if only it could help him get the girl of his dreams. With quite an odd family, a knack at frustrating those around him, making sure he only gets a B+ on everything (except for algebra, since he isn't a poser), and being a trendsetter, T.C.'s life completely changed when his mother passed away.
Augie, T.C.'s non-biological, Chinese brother, became his best friend after his mother died, helping him cope. With a love for theater, movies, and everything dramatic, Augie definitely hasn't found his true identity yet, even though everyone around him, especially the ones he loves, has. Besides theatrics, Augie is a pretty good soccer player, especially when he is playing with T.C. Of course, these distractions can't possibly pull his mind away from how his heart is pulling him in a very different direction.
Alejandra, a.k.a. T.C.'s dream girl, has never fit in, both at school or home. With a father who was the ambassador to Mexico, her dream was never with politics like her brother but more towards dance, which she must keep a secret. Because of her father, Alejandra has been able to meet some very famous politicians and celebrities. Of course, all of the famous people she met didn't help her status in school, since she was automatically considered stuck-up. But T.C. still loves her, except she doesn't love him back, or so she thinks. Not one to hide her opinions, who wouldn't be scared of her?
Beginning in their late junior year, the three flash back to their freshmen year... their most excellent year.
The year where love, sexuality, identity, friendship, and strength were discovered. Each one writing in the diaries for their English class, all addressed to an important person: T.C. to his mama, Augie to the diva of the week, and Alejandra to Jacqueline, the wife of her favorite president, JFK.
Laughter, tears, and relief will be felt by not only the characters but also the readers. MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR takes three very distinct, honest teens who all have problems of their own, and who need each other desperately in the end. Steve Kluger allows the reader to have a close interaction with the characters, who are all very well-developed and defined, making the story all the more enjoyable.
Beth B. reviewed My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park on
I was introducted to this book by a former teacher as a way to make sure it was "appropriate" for the classroom. Although I'm not a huge fan of baseball and I've never seen Mary Poppins, I love this book. Although I do not own it myself, numerous rentals from the library prove that it only gets better in time. 2 years after discovering the book, I fall in love all over again as I read.
