Thwonk by Joan Bauer

Thwonk is the story of a teenage girl who gets the unexpected help of a cupid. "Be careful what you wish for" as they say. It is kind of middle-school-girl romantic with an imaginarily mature-and-yet-immature view of high school life (Maybe sort of like Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli). It's probably best suited for girls about thirteen or fourteen years old who've watched a lot of Boy Meets World or Saved by the Bell or whatever tripe is being dished out these days. Still, it was fun, and moving at the end, and worth the three hours I spent reading it. I've read a couple of Joan Bauer's other books: Stand Tall, and Hope Was Here, and they both were great; Hope Was Here might be a five star book. Thwonk: ***

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

If you've read all the others, this is a very satisfying conclusion. I'm not going to put in any spoilers, or much detail at all. I cried many times. The climactic action starts more than 100 pages from the end; I was there at ten o'clock last night and couldn't stop until I finished. This is one of the great fantasy series of all time, and it does transcend the genre, and this book is better than some of the middle ones (being the end makes it even that much better). *****