I Hate Weddings - Hardcover

Grade 3-5-Dan's dad, who lives in Los Angeles, is remarrying, and Dan, who lives with his mother in San Francisco, is the best man. No matter how much he hates weddings, with all the kissing and hugging, this is one that he can't miss. However, he is uneasy about his father's marriage to a woman he has met only once, and about her two children, whom he's never met. Riley turns out to be an enthusiastic younger brother, but Hannah seems to hate Dan from the start. He wants the wedding to be just right, but he can't stop worrying that he's going to lose his dad to this new family once the wedding is over. The poor boy is so nervous that disaster strikes everywhere he goes. Petersen maintains the tension throughout the book, and even manages a believable truce between Hannah and Dan when the boy averts a wedding catastrophe. The author handles this touchy subject with lightness, humor, sympathy, and a minimum of sap. Many children will identify with Dan's worries, Riley's incessant talking, and Hannah's hostility. Cravath's black-and-white illustrations provide additional chuckles.
Linda Bindner, formerly at Athens Clarke County Library, GA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dan, whose parents are divorced, despises weddings--from the itchy suits to the kiss-happy guests. This one promises something extra dreadful: it's his own father's wedding! Dad is marrying Joan and moving into her home with her children. Where is Dan going to fit in? Dan's play-by-play action--from spiders crawling out of pockets and up the groom's jacket to awkward first family meals (healthy food does not a happy hero make) is told in a breezy first-person narrative guaranteed to have young readers giggling and nodding their heads in empathy. The subject matter--a child's reaction to a parent's remarriage--is somewhat trite and treated rather superficially, but the book will still trigger discussion. Even without that, however, Dan's calamities provide easy-to-read entertainment, especially for children who have read I Hate Camping (1991) and I Hate Company (1994). Lynne Cravath's illustrations were not available in the galley. Karen Simonetti