A review by chloehey
The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is why I thrift! I picked up a copy of this at my local thrift store and bought this because I saw some of my favorite books on the cover! This book follows an introverted bookworm in her fourth grade year. She's friends with the crossing guard at her school, who always says Hi to her. She strengthens her friendship with her classmate Laura throughout this book, and learns a bit about how some families are dysfunctional. This book has a gentle delivery on this, and I really appreciated how the drama never really got crazy, but gave the reader an idea to mull over and ask their parents about. There were also some excellent interactions between the characters of different cultures, asking questions about each other in polite ways. I highly recommend for younger audiences!

The only thing I had problems with is the crossing guard sometimes refers to Anna as "My girl" which seems inappropriate in its setting, as she is just a student at the school he works for. 
And when Anna mentions the book she's reading, she toes the line on spoilers for a few books.