Rating: 
Summary: Slow Crookedness
Review: A great book but very slow paced. I really liked the changing of characters for each chapter. AWESOME!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: An awesome book. Wonderfully written with vividly realistic situations, an incredibly origional storyline,and characters everyone can relate to, it is a true work of art. I look forward to the McNeals next book.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable Adolescent Fare
Review: As a teacher at the middle school level, I can well understand the insecurities and emotional changes inherent in adolescents. While I was reading Crooked, I was struck by the absolute reality of the intense feelings that Clara and Amos had about absolutely everything. This, added to the parallel happenings both in their home lives (his father's death and her mother's disappearance) and in their outside worlds, (his being stalked and her misplaced attraction to the stalker) kept me turning the pages. I have wholeheartedly recommended Crooked to the school librarian and to students of both my drama and English classes. I have also recommended Crooked to friends who would like to better interpret and appreciate the ups and downs of the young adult. We anxiously await the next McNeal book!
Rating:
Summary: "Crooked" Has Many Twists
Review: As suspenseful, dark, and dreadfully realistic as Robert Cormier's work, "Crooked" takes the reader into the lives of two freshmen who are sympathetic characters. Not only are the characters likeable but the themes in the book are universal: negative body images, cowardism and bravery, coping with loss and divorce, beginning adolescent romantic relationships, and cliques. The twists in the plot are also engaging in that there are no clear trouble-free paths connecting the characters with their goals. Just like real life's various journeys during our teen years, "Crooked" offers no easy ride. The conclusion is well worth your time as well. Recommended audience: 14 and up.
Rating:
Summary: deliciously crooked
Review: Clara has a crooked nose, the Tripp brothers are crooks, life in general is "crooked". This was a long book and Laura and Tom McNeal did a wonderful job guiding the book along, gently. The book does not seem too long to tie up the loose ends it just completes itself. I was pleased, but I am a quote gatherer and there were no quotes that jumped out at me this time. A great read in all other respects.
Rating:
Summary: deliciously crooked
Review: Clara has a crooked nose, the Tripp brothers are crooks, life in general is "crooked". This was a long book and Laura and Tom McNeal did a wonderful job guiding the book along, gently. The book does not seem too long to tie up the loose ends it just completes itself. I was pleased, but I am a quote gatherer and there were no quotes that jumped out at me this time. A great read in all other respects.
Rating:
Summary: A suspensful, funny, mature, novel of love, loss & heroism,
Review: Clara is a 14 year old girl in the modern world. She's also obsessed with her slightly crooked nose. On top of that, her parents are fighting and about to split up. Her best friend ditches her for the more "popular" crowd. Not to mention, she has a crush on Amos, who she thinks doesn't know she exists.
But, he does. Amos MacKenzie falls madly for this unpopular dork, Clara Wilson. After his mother becomes extremely religious at the drop of a hat, Amos starts being suspicious. After a run-in with the Tripp brothers, Amos becomes the school's new hero. Just coping with this new found popularity, out of the blue, his father dies in a surgery gone wrong. This situation actually brings Clara and Amos closer together. Until the Clara catches Eddie Tripp's eye and the couple becomes a new target for the infamous Tripp brothers.
Personally, I loved this book. I just couldn't put it down. Amos becomes such a lovable character, and in to the book you even learn to like Eddie. Of course, any girl could relate with sweet Clara at times, as well. It's excellent how the book switches from Amos's and Clara's points of views. It adds a little twist to the book. Overall, I think "Crooked" is an excellent read for teens.
Rating:
Summary: Super Book
Review: Clara is a 14 year old girl living in the 90's confused by just about every thing the world has to offer. Her family lives in a small town in upstate New York. Clara hits high school and everything goes wrong in her life. She is extremely self conscious about her nose and wants a nose job desperately because it is crooked. Her mom leaves the family for a while to get away from issues, but ends up taking a teaching job in Spain. Meanwhile Clara's 'best friend' makes friends with the 'popular' group at school and starts ignoring Clara. Then one of her peers father dies and they bond almost instantaneously. The two are pretty much just close friends until one of the two troublemaking brothers takes a liking to Clara and fixes to end Clara and Amos's communication. Clara and Amos won't allow it and the police eventually get involved, leading to an edge of seat ending.I would recommend this book to readers of age 14-16. It has a slight mature content, but nothing bad, just mature ideas in a 13 year old's world.
Rating:
Summary: Crooked
Review: Clara Wilson and Amos MacKenzie battle the subtle ferocity of life in their small town as they explore love for the first time with each other. Clara-desperately insecure about her crooked nose-usually keeps to herself, in turn keeping her family and personal problems bottled up inside as well. Throughout the novel, most of the characters at some time or another want to share all their concerns and intimate problems, yet the adult world in the McNeals' book is unbelievably unaware of the stress these teens are going through. The emotional landscape of this novel is hauntingly realistic. With the terrible Tripp brothers lurching behind any chances of Clara and Amos' happiness, the protagonists are constantly fighting to keeping their heads above water and keep from drowning in a pool of pathos. Yes, sounds quite dramatic. Well, it is. This is not a book for the timid; however, it must also be noted that this novel does not contain gratuitous violence or explicit sex scenes, it sneaks up on the reader with the powerful force of its psychological plot. Clara and Amos' fight to not become victims in a world where their lives are controlled by nearly everyone other than themselves. This is an excellent novel about survival, love, and making the best out of what you've got.
Rating: 
Summary: Colossus
Review: Clara Wilson's biggest problem is her nose. It isn't straight. Except for her nose, Clara sees herself as just a normal 9th grade girl. She definitely isn't one of the popular crowd, but she's perfectly happy with her best friend Gerri. Clara likes acting and cooking, and she gets great grades. Her life, she thinks, is just like everybody else's. Clara Wilson has a lot on her mind. Her best friend, Gerri, has started moving in circles that will never in a million years include Clara. Amos MacKenzie always thought Clara Wilson was one of the prettiest girls in Melville Junior High, but he's never had the courage to approach her. Amos is embarrassed that his father is a milkman, and that his entire family is poor. He hates the way his parents hide their secrets from him. He wishes that something would happen to him, anything to get rid of the boredom of his daily routine. He doesn't much like home these days. His dad's corny questions are bugging him more than usual, and his mom's gone religious for no apparent reason. The Tripp Brothers are the biggest delinquents in town. They smash mailboxes, shoplift groceries, and cruise around in their Seduck (half sedan, half truck). They've just turned their sights on the school's newest, cutest couple. And that can only mean one thing for Clara and Amos, danger.
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