Daniel Pinkwater is one of my all-time favorite authors and so it was with a bit of surprise that the recent PR for his latest book made me realized that he had written several young adult novels that I had just plain missed. The Education of Robert Nifkin was my first catching up.

Nifkin follows the titular character as he attempts to make his way through high school in 1950s Chicago. It's territory Pinkwater has covered before, but this time Chicago is just Chicago (not "Baconburg" or "Hogtown") and there's no aliens or talking lizards. But the characters are just as large and vividly drawn and the city itself is as fascinating a character. I think I live in Chicago partly because of Pinkwater's love of the city.

FuzzyCo grade: A