Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love

First, that title. In the annals of What-Were-They-Thinking this has got to win some kind of prize. The jacket says this book is for ages 12 and up (it actually is), but that title will ensure that few libraries and no classrooms will get this book, and most kids will have to convince their parents to let them have it (the author even includes a helpful dialogue to convince parents on her Web site).

Once you get past the title ("Sex kittens" derives from a cute picture of adorable kittens sitting in a high-heeled shoe), the book itself is an effervescent delight whose laugh-out-loud humor derives less from the story than from the way it's told. Felicia's voice is one of the most original and hilarious in years. Readers will love listening to her and cheering her on as she uses science to try to uncover what makes someone fall for another. She seems incapable of describing even the most mundane event in less than pitch-perfect, sardonic teenspeak.