I'm a fan of weirdness in books, but this one might be too weird for me. While all of the random pieces came together in the end, events didn't follow in a logical progression and that was a bit too much for me to enjoy.

I really don't know what to think about this book. It embodies quirky in an ... interesting way. After the first couple chapters, I started to wonder if the plot would ever actually develop. It did not have time in such a short amount of pages to wanter aimlessly yet that's exactly what it did.
I never really connected with the characters although I did not dislike any of them. Aside from a few mildly problematic things - offhanded comments that appear to make light of some minority groups - I did not truly dislike anything about this book. The problem is that I did not really like anything about it. I rated it 2.5 stars on Storygraph but generously rounded up to 3 for Goodreads.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Tachyon Publications in exchange for an honest review.

So this was my first Pinkwater novel and I don't think I was prepared for how bonkers the writing style and plot would be. There are a LOT of plot points that as an adult didn't sit well with me but that I would imagine aren't obviously problematic to the targeted age range.

I can see middle grade readers laughing along to the antics of Mick, Guru Lumpo Smythe-Finkel, and the rest. I also think Aaron Renier's illustrations pair well with the narrative.

I must admit that the children enjoyed this more than I did but they are the target audience so that was to be expected. There were an awful lot of funny moments and quite a few rather surreal ones too. Children though it was good but not great.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own,

The book is a fantasy read that follows Maurice (Mick's brother) that went to the Himalayas to find a guru. Now, Mick has to share his room with the guru his dog. This book is about the mission they undertake to save the whale ghost. This is a short read that packs a punch and is environmentally conscious. I highly recommend it

this book was a lot of fun to read. Clearly, it is aimed at middle-grade reading levels, but some of the themes are dual-purpose, appealing to young and old. The standards of not making fun of people different from yourself, the circus trade and different focus on animal abuse.
it was interesting reading about these kids, and I would definitely read more in the series. this seems to be #6 in the series, but was easily read as a stand alone

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mick comes home from summer camp to find a surprise waiting for him – his brother Maurice (pronounce MAW-riss, not Mo-REECE) has returned home from traveling in India with a guru and his dog, Kali, who are sharing Mick’s room. Soon Mick find himself walking seemingly aimlessly around town with the guru but soon meets his friend form camp, Vern, and Molly, a Dwergish girl whose family lives in the mountains. The guru gives Mick and the others tasks to complete, which seem ridiculous at the time like learning to play a wooden flute or attending a ghost party, but come into play later in the story.
This book is short, sweet, ridiculous, and hilarious with a modern take on “Save the Planet.” Rarely does a book make me actually laugh out loud but this one did in several places. A fun romp for middle grades! Definitely recommend for grades 4 and up.
#CrazyInPoughkeepsie #NetGalley
This title will be available May 10, 2022.

It’s difficult to find words to describe a Daniel Pinkwater book because they are a unique breed that defies the usual literary terminology: they’re enchanting (often literally), playful, spontaneous (as in combustion, upon occasion), and hilarious-yet-insightful. In other words, a Daniel Pinkwater book provides the occasion for parents wrestling the copy from their kids, and vice versa, so why not avoid bloodshed, or paper-shred, and read them aloud together?

Mick’s ordinary life comes to a screeching 180 degree turn when his older brother returns home from Tibet with Guru Lumpo Smythe-Finkel and his dog, Lhasa, and Mick finds himself—how, he’s never entirely clear—the guru’s new disciple. Guru, disciple, and magical dog set off on a quest that’s as notable for its vagueness as its unpredictability. They acquire fellow travelers, graffiti-fanatic Verne and Molly, a Dwergish girl (sort of like leprechaun trolls with hidden goals, magical powers, a gift for making friends, and a charmingly madcap sense of humor). Soon they’re cavorting with a ghost whale who is the essence of love, as well as other wacky and memorable characters.

Pinkwater’s in on a great secret: if you want to communicate wisdom to young readers, first make them smile.

Or giggle. Or run wild in Poughkeepsie, as the case may be.
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What a wild ride of a book. It's absurd, but completely worth the read. It's quick, fun, well written and did I say absurd? It's bizarre in the best possible way, so you have to be in the right headspace, but if you are? Aces.

Funny, thoughtful, and sometimes simply bizarre. I really enjoyed this book and think others will too, although I could see some readers (probably more adults than kids) being put off by the absurdist humor. Personally it made me want to read more by Pinkwater!

Crazy in Poughkeepsie by Daniel Pinkwater

After enjoying the eARC of Adventures of a Dwergish Girl I got from NetGalley in the past, I was excited to get an eARC for Daniel Pinkwater’s new book in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, this new book doesn’t hold up to Pinkwater classics like Alan Mendelssohn.

The book got off on the wrong foot with me with the “guru” character, who might have seemed funny in the 70s, but now oozes with some unpleasant cultural appropriation vibes. The plot also made even less sense than some other Pinkwater books and, overall, this one seems skippable.

Mick’s older brother heads off for Tibet to find a guru while Mick goes to summer camp. When he returns from camp he finds his brother is home, there is a guru - with a dog - sleeping in his room and soon he will be on a sort of quest. Mick, the guru, Guru Lumpo Smythe-Finkel, and his dog, Lhasa, are joined on their quest by Verne (a friend Mitch made at camp) and Molly, a mysterious girl who sleeps in a tree ( return character from Adventures of a Dwergish Girl). There are ghosts, including a ghostly whale, circus people, hidden villages and a bit of activism all rolled into a wonderfully silly and delightful adventure.
This was an incredibly quick and fun read with nice illustrations. Sure to entertain readers of all ages. I look forward to seeing more of these characters.

A light-hearted romp filled with wonders including ghosts, gurus, and gold told in classic Pinkwater style, Crazy in Poughkeepsie is a fun read for young readers or kids and adults reading together. It's full of zany details and stories, and characters who are the kind of people you want to know--probably. Pinkwater manages to skewer and humanize lofty ideas of what it means to be a mystic, what it means to be an outsider, and what it means to follow an adventure no matter where it might take you with humor and absurdity that we could all use right now.

Daniel Pinkwater takes us to the east bank of the Hudson River, and slides the reader into the world of Mickey, the son of a Poughkeepsie pet food manufacturer, and brother of Maurice, whose burning desire is to become a guru. A lucky inheritance provides Maurice with the money to travel to Tibet, or maybe it was Pakistan or India, he wasn't sure. Amazingly he found a guru who was overdue on the rent for the cave he called “home”, so Maurice brought the guru and the guru's dog back to Poughkeepsie, and ensconced them in his brother Mickey's room, which is where Mickey found them when he arrived home from camp. This is just the beginning of a zany adventure that takes off like a verbal spontaneous problem from the Odyssey of the Mind program, with each of the 5 main characters contributing scenarios such as a ghost rave in an old factory, a campground, a circus wagon. The guru adopts Mickey as his student, Maurice becomes the chauffeur, Vern becomes a graffiti artist to spread various social messages, and Molly from Pinkwater's Adventures of a Dwergish Girl (2020)[ returns! This is a complete “out of the box” plot with dialogue that reflects each character's confusion, disbelief , commitment, or “yah, this is totally normal”. Never fear, there is a goal which involves a ghost whale.
Highly recommend!
Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley forthe opportunity to read Crazy in Poughkeepsie.

Llasa Come Home

So, there's Pinkwater for little kids, (the Larry books and "Mrs. Noodlekugel"), for elementary kids, ("Werewolf Club"), for middle graders, ("Hoboken Chicken Emergency"), for advanced middle graders, ("The Neddiad...", "Lizard Music"), and for young adults, ("The Education of Robert Nifkin", "Alan Mendelsohn, Boy From Mars"). This book struck me as middle middle grade, along the lines of "Adventures of a Dwergish Girl", (with which it shares a few characters, especially Molly), and the Snarkout Boys series.

The preceding paragraph is mostly to help you place this book on the Pinkwater spectrum. I hope you don't need any encouragement in the matter of whether or not to read this particular book, or to read any Pinkwater. But if you do need encouragement, (maybe you're new to Pinkwater), here goes.

Daniel Pinkwater is the patron saint of boys and girls who are a bit weird, or off-kilter, or just proudly independent and idiosyncratic. His heroes are, indeed, heroes, and they are always smart, perceptive, deadpan, gimlet eyed, wise beyond their years, unfazed by anything, and completely undeterred by lack of precedent. They take weirdness in stride and as it comes, and welcome the odd, the absurd, the enchanted, and the ineffable. Why? Because life is an amusing and unpredictable adventure, and you might as well get on with it. In short, the goofiness is almost always the point.

I could go on with all sorts of superlatives and exaggerated compliments, but who am I when you already have a Neil Gaiman blurb on the cover? So, here's the skinny on this particular book -- we are reacquainted with Molly, the Dwergish girl from "Adventures of a Dwergish Girl". While our deadpan and unflappable narrator, Mick, is nominally the main character, Molly runs a close second, mostly because she always seems a step ahead of everyone else. A cryptic guru keeps the action moving in a forward direction, (with lots of room for digressions), but even with that the action is pretty random and episodic. Once ghosts and whales show up, we are in a more fanciful realm than what I think of as usual for Pinkwater, but that doesn't detract at all from the fun.

Lots of funny bits, and lots of sneakily wise throwaway lines and observations made this a satisfying treat. I wouldn't put it in my top five, but that's just because there are so many good books among which to choose.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Mick’s brother brings home a guru from the Himalayas and Mick is opened to a world of ghosts and whales and circus wagons and small people with stashes of gold,.. This is a frolicking set of quests complete with excessive bombination, ghost flutes and juvenile delinquents and I loved every moment. The Guru is a fantastic, mysterious, yet down-to-earth character and Lhasa, the dog, is the best. Great, entertaining middle grades novel.

Mick's brother, Maurice (pronounced, ‘MAW-riss, ’and not ‘Mo-REECE,’) is an average and standard older brother. He loves him, of course, but there’s nothing particularly unusual or interesting about him, except that he took a trip to the Himalayas to find a guru. Now, Mick has a new roommate with his dog! The Guru and Lhasa!
They are on an adventure with Molly, a girl, and a friend (not girlfriend) to Whales heaven. The mission is to save a very lovely whale ghost who has very much love to dance.

This was a short, cute and funny story for young readers with the motto's "Help Save the Planet". An enjoyable read with nice illustrations.

Many thanks to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for giving me chance to read Crazy in Poughkeepsie by Daniel Pinkwater and illustrator by Aaron Renier, I have given my honest review.