Good as Lily

Gr 7 Up Grace Kwon's friends throw her a surprise 18th birthday party with a picnic in the park. There they meet a strange vendor who refuses to sell them ice cream, but sells them a pig-shaped piñata instead. When it finally breaks after falling on Grace's head, she learns that it's empty. Later that night, when she returns to the park, she meets a little girl, a young woman, and an old woman who look familiar. It turns out that all of them are named Grace Kwon, and that they all share the same birthday. Now Grace must deal not only with the philosophical concept of encountering her past and future selves, but also with the day-to-day chaos that they create. Between the child stealing snacks, the senior citizen smoking cigarettes, and the young woman hitting on Grace's drama teacher, the teen naturally becomes confused and exhausted. The black-and-white pictures are simply drawn, but manage to convey all the emotional highs and lows of this story. The title refers to a subplot so small that readers might not recognize the reference until they've finished the book and taken some time to digest it. When they make the connection to the title, that moment of epiphany will come as a welcome surprise. This unique story is a strong addition to most collections.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library