Shug by Jenny Han

The first thing I want to write is that Shug is pronounced like sugar and not like Thug or Rug. That makes the title of this book a little more bearable. I am still not overly fond of it (the title), but I did enjoy the book. The author really gets down well what it is like to be 12 years old in our current culture. I enjoyed this book - read it in one day. It is targeted for a slightly younger group than YA novels are usually set for - the early adolescent, not the later one - and it plays that role well. The only complaint that I would have is that Annemarie (Shug) is a bit more self-aware than most kids her age, but that is probably necessary in order to get all of the rest out in the open.