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It became a Saturday night tradition: Hector, Debbie, Phil, and Patty took turns sitting with Lenny in his dad’s old truck listening to a goofy radio show called “Criss Cross.” You never knew what to expect. They’d hear novelty songs like “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” and “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.” Then there would be a comedy bit. Then the show would end with a couple “what do you get if you cross X with a Y?” jokes.

Especially for Debbie and Hector, fourteenth summers can be just as strange and unexpected. The 2006 Newbery Medal Winner.