Two Wheels North: Cycling the West Coast in 1909, Gibb
Two guys just out of high school decide to ride their bikes from Santa Rosa, CA to Seattle to see the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. Great adventure told in a great voice (the author’s grandfather was one of the guys and a great storyteller). Five stars for adventure.

The Vacation, Horvath (Y)
I really like Polly Horvath’s writing, but there wasn’t much beyond that in this book. Her philosophy (at least the one our hero discovers within himself) is very similar to my own. Fun read, two stars.

The Real Festivus, O’Keefe
Not so much a guide to celebrating the holiday as a chronicle of the holiday in his family. A really nice book, overall. Three stars.

The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World: an Imagineer’s-Eye Tour
A nice (if somewhat self-congratulatory) guide to all the little design details in WDW, which is mostly also applicable to Disneyland. I liked the emphasis on immersive detail. Four stars.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Foer
Funny and heart-rending. I haven’t ended up so blotchy and tear-stained since I read Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, another book with a little boy protagonist. The non-text elements were also brilliantly done. Five stars.

Nastybook, Yourgrau (Y)
The person who recommended this book to me said that she didn’t think much of it at first, but that the stories kept coming back to her. I can see why she said that. I just finished it, and look forward to it coming back to me (especially the story with the panda). Three stars.

How I Live Now, Rosoff (Y)
I really didn’t think I would read two five star books in the couple of weeks between posting my year-end roundup and the actual end of the year, but here’s the second one. I don’t always agree with the choices made for best books, but this Printz award winner really is all you’d hope for. Five stars.