Life: the final frontier...

When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Jerry Spinelli's Space Station Seventh Grade. This book follows a year in the life of Jason Herkimer, who has just dropped from being top of the heap to low man on the totem pole.

Let me explain. Jason has just left elementary school -- where, as a sixth grader, he was in the group all the little kids looked up to -- for seventh grade and junior high. Now instead of being looked up to, he's being looked down on.

Add to this his home life (where he lives with his mom, stepfather, sister and half-brother) and the fact that he's entering puberty. He'd talk to his father, but dad lives in the big city, too far away to be there when Jason needs someone to talk to. He'd talk to his friends Richie, Calvin, Peter, or Dugan, but they'd just make jokes. And he'd talk to his stepfather Ham, but...

Well, no. On second thought, he probably wouldn't talk to Ham.

Jason has a lot to learn about adolescence, girls, growing up, and life in general. And before all is said and done, he just might learn a little bit about himself, too.

And yes, there's a space station in there somewhere. But not in the way you'd expect.

As I said, this was one of my favorite books when I was growing up (yeah, it's about twenty years old -- but Judy Blume's books are even older than that). I highly recommend it.

A warning to sensitive readers: the book contains a bit of language, and some of the subject matter is...well...just what you'd expect from a teenage boy. Be warned, but don't let it put you off.

Check it out and let me know what you thought!