This was a heartwarming, coming of age puppy love story. It was appropriate for my children, who are on the brink of teenhood. The characters and their thought shots were strikingly real and relevant. The book was episodic and included unique illustrations and chapter formats. So Criss Cross was a fun family read-aloud.

Criss Cross tells the story of a group of young teenagers in the suburbs grappling with issues of self-discovery, crushes, and basically, growing up. The story is told from multiple points of view (third person limited omniscient) and is at times aided by demonstrative illustrations. While Criss Cross contains bits of insight and ingenuity, such as the chapter where two of the characters invent haikus about their senior classmates and the chapter where a character discovers live music that inspires a foray into guitar playing, it works mainly as a character study. And while one can argue that novels need not have strong plotting to work as a piece, the characters and message of Criss Cross are neither compelling nor strong enough for the book to hold its own.

This book won a Newbery Medal. It is a sweet coming of age story about kids who have grown up together and are beginning to discover that they and their friends are changing. Perkins captures that transition period where boys and girls start becoming teenagers and start looking at each other differently. It’s really cute and sweet.