"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

326 pages

Oskar is an incredibly bright nine-year-old. His father died in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. When Oskar finds a mysterious key in a vase labeled "Black" in his father's closet, he embarks on a seemingly impossible mission--to find the lock into which the key fits. His mission, which he keeps secret, takes him all over New York City and brings him into the lives of all kinds of people who are on their ownamazing journeys.

This is one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking stories I've read in quite a while. I challenge anyone who is human to not fall in love with Oskar after just a few pages. I think Foer really captures Oskar's voice perfectly; he's very intelligent and it shows, and yet in many ways he is still charmingly childlike. Many of the secondary characters are very appealing as well. I also love the funky formatting--Oskar's scribbles, doodles, and photographs--that breaks up the text. What stands out the most to me about this book, however, is the way it made me feel, cheesy as that sounds. I can't completely explain it, but this story totally broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. Okay, enough of my mushy rambling--go read it yourself!