Paperspine Blog

Do you ever stop and wonder what other people are up to? What’s going on in their lives? I know I’m a bit weird, but honestly, we all go around living our lives and only vaguely paying attention to the other people in it.

I know I’m a bit weird, but I think about this on a somewhat regular basis. I ride the bus with some of the same people every day and I often wonder: Who are you? Where are you going? Do you know people I do? Are our lives related in any way besides this short bus ride?

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins explores the same ideas, applied to a small town. This is the story of several teenagers who live in a small town called Seldem, as their lives intertwine and their stories criss cross. Most chapters deal with one or two characters, often picking up from a point where they’ve been with or near a character from the chapter before… or maybe the one before that.

This book isn’t action-packed, but that’s appropriate: they live in small town where, really, not much happens. And yet, following their stories was quite a delightful experience.

I loved how there were all sorts of “illustrations”. We see photographs of somebody playing various different guitar chords, a cartoon of some of the girls sunbathing throughout the day, and a realistic drawing showing various bottom of pants/shoes combo.

I also enjoyed some of the things the author has done with the text. In particular, there was a chapter where two of the characters, who are neighbors, are in their respective yards, doing different things. The page is split into two vertical column, with each person’s viewpoint and what they were doing during that time, in its own column.

I’m glad that I finally took the time to read Criss Cross and I definitely suggest putting it in your queue!