Criss Cross (novel)

Criss Cross

First edition cover - early printing
Author	Lynne Rae Perkins
Language	English
Genre	Young adult novel
Publisher	Greenwillow Books
Publication date	September 2005
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	368 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	0-06-009272-6 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC	56324543
LC Class	PZ7.P4313 Cr 2005

Criss Cross is a novel by Lynne Rae Perkins that won the 2006 Newbery Medal for excellence in children's literature. It followed the character Debbie from her previous novel, All Alone in the Universe, but introduced several new characters, primarily her neighborhood friends Hector, Lenny and Phil.

Plot

This story takes place in Seldem, during spring. Debbie usually hangs out with her four friends, Patty, Hector, Lenny and Phil. A typical summer for them would be to hang around town, and sit in Lenny's dads pick up truck, listening to the radio, "Criss Cross". During this summer vacation however, Debbie moved into the front of their family parlor, and she has her own room. She then gets a job helping an elderly lady. She meets her bosses grandson, Peter, and they share a quick romantic week together. Soon after he leaves back to his town of California. All of the friends go through their own changes throughout this summer and each grow in their own way. In the end, to tie up their summer, they all have a block party, and are now more mature, and use their new knowledge to move along in life. There also is a necklace that plays a significant part in all of the criss cross moments. It helps the characters in the books to find their true selves. The necklace is gold and has the name "Debbie" on it. On the dot of the "i," there is a red gem.

Themes

This is mainly about a group of close friends, teenagers. They go through yet another summer vacation and in the end, grow. They grew more maturely, more intelligently, and become closer than ever. They believed that they have the power to change themselves, and that's exactly what they did. All characters in this book, seems to question difficult situations in life and try to better themselves, and put themselves in a better place. They all seem to find themselves asking, "Who am I?", throughout this novel. Further down the line, they seem to all 'find' themselves and who they are after going through their own endeavors.

About The Author

Lynne Rae Perkins is an American writer that wrote children's books. She was born on July 31, 1956. Some of her other works are, Home Lovely, Clouds for Dinner, All Alone in the Universe, Georgie Lee, The Broken Cat, Snow Music, Pictures from our Vacation, The Cardboard Piano, As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth, Seed by Seed, Nuts to You, and Frank and Lucky Get Schooled.