I’ve had this book on my shelf for years, and while I can’t say that it floored me—it doesn’t quite have enough depth to stick with you, I don’t think—it has such a heart of gold that I couldn’t help but be won over by the end. The tone is all over the place, admittedly, and the first half of the book is laid out in a way I found hard to get into. But once things came together around that halfway point, I was quickly and thoroughly swept up in the unique brand of whimsy, history, and commentary that Gidwitz’s tender storytelling has to offer.