Finny by Justin Kramon

Started: 4/30/10
Finished: 5/3/10
Year: 2010
Pages: 366
Genre: Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from first page): We meet Finny Short as in impish fourteen-year-old, whose sly sense of humor can't hide the fact that she simply doesn't belong. Finny's socialite mother can't understand her, her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes, and her brother's too busy to sympathize. The only person who makes her feel normal is her neighbor Earl Henckel, but his life is anything but normal...When turmoil at home results in Finny's deporation to Thorndon Boarding School, she finds herself catapulted into an even stranger landscape populated by a Dickensian array of eccentric characters, including a seductive New York heiress, a mercuial dorm mother namped Poplan, and a narcoleptic piano teacher whose own mysterious past will prove to bear on Finny's future.
"The entertaining, wickedly funny odyssey that follows propels Finny in an unpredictable world of intrigue and adventure, spanning twenty years and two continents, where she learns to navigate the treacherous waters of adulthood and is forced to rethink her loyalties to both family and friends. A charming and hilarious debut with a deeply felt love story at its core. Finny introduces us to both an unforgettable young woman and a talented and exitingly original new literary voice."
Opinion: Finny is one of the better literary characters that I've read in a long time. It is clear that Mr. Kramon has done his literary reading and is influenced greatly by the readings. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.