The Three Lives of Harris Harper

March 1, 1996
Gr 5-7-A mishmash of teen angst in a sitcom format with a little melodrama thrown in. Pudgy, neat-freak Harris has an older track-star brother and two younger sisters, and now there's another sibling on the way. His sentimental, messy parents are content to use the station wagon and camper trailer for the family vacation each summer, but self-conscious Harris is starting to balk at his hick, uncool lifestyle. His mother is the director of a homeless shelter and his dad delivers potato chips, while the parents of a four-year-old for whom he babysits are a lawyer and a professor and drive a Jaguar and a Mercedes. Throw in some awkward teen romance and Harris thinks his life is a royal mess. His disillusionment with his family, his envy of his rich employers, and his goofy misunderstanding of hormonal signals are all somehow magically reversed in the course of one adventurous afternoon. With its lightweight plug for self-esteem, Three Lives is pretty much a "Mister Rogers' " episode for adolescents.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, Texas

April 1, 1996
Gr. 5^-7. Twelve-year-old Harris is having a rough summer. His friend Bert is determined to play matchmaker, an incredibly embarrassing undertaking. But Harris' noisy, untidy family is even more embarrassing. Lately everything his family does is annoying, and his parents are particularly irritating: his pregnant mother seems more concerned with her job directing a homeless shelter than with caring for her family, and his good-natured father lacks polish and ambition. Harris would much rather belong to the Benya family, for whom he baby-sits. Although four-year-old Jamey is a terror, Mr. and Mrs. Benya are attractive, professional people, and their home is immaculate. Gradually, however, Harris begins to notice undercurrents of tension and unhappiness in the "perfect" Benya household, but it's not until Jamey disappears while Harris is watching him that Harris gains a real appreciation for his own parents. Cullen's easy-reading story skillfully blends the humor and angst of early adolescent relationships with a serious exploration of family identity. Both themes are fully realized and certain to touch a responsive chord in middle-grade readers. ((Reviewed April 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)