Daphne's Picks

Through a series of letters, emails, memos, diary entries, school assignments, and even phone messages, T.C., Augie, and Alé tell their individual stories of budding friendships, young love, and self-discovery. This is not a coming of age story, it’s a school assignment that requires rising high school Seniors to write about the best year of their lives. The year they write about (because they all choose the same year) doesn’t involve flashy cars on sixteenth birthdays, or electronics for Christmas. Instead, Freshman year was a year of moving to Boston, realizing passion, letting down guards, and standing up for beliefs. When a six-year-old orphan is taken under the wings of the trio, the year becomes one of putting others first and making dreams come true, both for the main characters and their loved ones.

My Most Excellent Year is categorized as Young Adult, but I’ve had fun putting this book into the hands of many adults. It’s not a novel for any particular age, it’s for anyone who has ever experienced the highs and lows of sports loyalty, the butterflies of stage fright, or the unrelenting hope that Mary Poppins will float down and make everything okay.

Tip: I’ve had three customers tell me that after they read My Most Excellent Year they emailed the author, Steve Kluger, and have had wonderful correspondences with him.