Every so often, I get deja vu feelings when I read book blurbs. "Wait, have I already read this?" We've all felt that way, I think.

But how about doing a double-take at the cover of the book?

( similar but different )

( look, ma, it's the same photo! )

I was really struck by this current batch of lookalikes, which goes across publisher lines. What do y'all think? Do you know about a set of lookalike covers, too?

It's funny. One guy starts using footnotes in his YA novels, and suddenly, they seem to be everywhere. I've already talked about how John Green uses footnotes in An Abundance of Katherines. For my birthday, I got a copy of Drawing a Blank: Or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of My Dreams by Daniel Ehrenhaft. And lo and behold, footnotes!

Now, this is the first thing I've read by Ehrenhaft, so for all I know, he's been using footnotes for years. And perhaps I'm feeling burned out by the footnotes. But gosh, it seemed kinda forced. I mean, almost any footnote that dealt with a famous person mentioned in the text included when he/she was born and, if needed, when he/she died. It was a bit jarring to me, since the character didn't seem like a trivia hound or someone who cared about when someone was born and/or died. The footnotes were more like the ones you'd find in an academic work; they didn't add much to the story itself, unlike in the Bartimaeus trilogy, or even An Abundance of Katherines.

Footnotes aside, Drawing a Blank is a not-bad book. I spotted the big character twist a ways off, but I certainly liked Carleton, the main character, and I liked the fact that the language was fairly clean. The addition of the comics that Carleton drew during the course of the story could help you booktalk this to reluctant boys.

I also finished Defining Dulcie earlier today, after tearing through it in a matter of days. It's a quick read, obviously, but it's a nice choice for most teens. It explores family, grief, and everyday life in a way that's not over the top. The review at Amazon likens this book to Joan Bauer's offerings, and I certainly get that same sense from this book.

My only issue was, I kept thinking of Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, where the required mean little girl is named Dulcie. Irony, irony, as the Dulcie from Defining Dulcie says that her name means "sweet". But after all, I know that I'm weird to think of that. :-)