Review Detail

Reader reviewed by mearley

Antsy certainly has a knack for befriending quirky characters. First there was The Schwa; now he's friends with Gunnar who might (or might not) have only six months left to live. In an effort to cheer Gunnar up, Antsy offers to donate a month of his own life to Gunnar--bringing Gunnar's life expectancy to seven months. Soon, all of Antsy's classmates want to donate months to Gunnar, and Antsy begins to act as Gunnar's agent (taking a time commission of course).

Funny and thought-provoking at the same time, Shusterman again presents an original novel with great characters. Some of the characters from The Schwa Was Here make cameos in this book--Mr. Crawley, Lexie, and of course Ira and Howie. We also got to see more of Antsy's family; Antsy's morbid humor almost creates a tragic scene with his mother, but turns out to be a hilarious bonding moment for the two of them.

I liked this better than The Schwa, and I think this can stand alone, but I'm glad I read The Schwa first.

Reprinted here with author's permission.