Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

You know it's a good book when while reading it, you're alternating laughing and crying. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by the hilarious Jordan Sonnenblick made me do just that.
It's about 13 year-old Steven, who describes himself as a "skinny geek" who plays drums, and has an annoying 5 year-old brother and a crush on the prettiest girl in school. It starts out with Steven reflecting on his tumultuous 8th grade year, and by the end of the first page, I was already cracking up. This is probably one of the funniest books I've read in a really long time. Steven is a ridiculously funny and charming narrator. But Dangerous Pie isn't all laughs. Jeffrey, his little brother is diagnosed with leukemia early on in the book. Steven's take on his brother's cancer is both heartbreaking and hilarious, with his view on his little brother changing from annoying pest who makes Dangerous Pie with his Special Sticks (a long story) and begs Steven to make him "moatmeal", to someone who he can't live without.And Jeffrey is such an adorable character that you can't help but root for him.
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, though not normally the type I would read, is now one of my favorites. It's definitely sad, but by the end, you're happy. It's also, as I've probably said at least 20 times by now, one of the funniest books I've read in a while. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone. Five stars.

My Fair Godmother

Alrighty, so here I am again, after yet another 2-month hiatus. Sorry about that! So, to make up for it, here's a brand new review...
My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison wasn't quite what I had expected it to be. It was WAY better. It's about 16 year old Savannah Delano who, after her boyfriend dumps her for her smarter sister Jane, discovers she has a fairy godmother. But Chrysanthemum Everstar, or Chrissy, as she prefers to be called, isn't a wand-waving benevolent old woman straight out of Cinderella. She's actually more like the average teenage girl, caring more about shopping than making sure the wishes she casts end up well. Chrissy "accidentally" sends Savannah back into the Middle Ages as both Cinderella and Snow White after Savannah wishes for a life that was more like a fairy tale.
This story's funny and sweet, even though it may not be heavy literature. Rallison drew me in when she made Savannah's sister Jane seem like the one more in need of a godmother than her popular and gorgeous sister, then had Savannah's world crumble around her. And I loved Tristan, Savannah's friend who Chrissy sends back in time to become a prince.
My only complaint was that the "fair" godmother of the title wasn't actually in the story that much. She only appeared every few chapters to disregard all of Savannah's pleas to get back to modern times, then go back to shopping.
But all in all, My Fair Godmother was a quick (only took me a few hours) and funny read. Four stars.