Update: Goon Squad wins. I am crushed. Skippy better go Zombie. Five among us still stand undefeated - Amy Rea, Emily, Word Lily, motheretc, and Florinda.
Skippy better not die. Because I really like this book. Because "Murray captures the adolescent psyche better than anyone this side of J.D. Salinger." People often liken adolescent focused literature to Holden and company but are seldom correct. Phonies. But this book is exceptional. The prose runs fluid through young angst and skin eruptions and emerging sexuality, and loses none of its ease as it crosses to the adults in the book who we often recognize as not that different from their hormonally challenged young friends. I will have more to say later.
So quite a few of you have picked all three first rounds correctly. And many of the remaining participants in our little game have missed only one. But I would like to mention that if I had picked with a mind to what I actually preferred to read, I would be 0-3 right now. Some of you are becoming a little disheartened as to why this run of "herd mentality" picks is dominating a book competition that is rumored to run differently than the rest. And some are wondering where worth and popularity can meet comfortably. Let's wade through a few more match-ups before we get to that one though. For now, the conversation is sometimes better than the books discussed.
Seven of us picked the under dog this time around, a show of faith that the wild card Skippy will triumph. If Skippy and Nox both win, the contest will be redeemed in my eyes. And I will get a rooster tattoo.