Early Book Review: A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend by Robert T. Jeschonek

A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend by Robert T. Jeschonek is a young adult novel which is scheduled for release on July 1 2013. The novel verges on science fiction and fantasy, but in truth defies both labels. Judd is the all american boy that seems to have everything. His family adores him, his fellow students high five him in the hall, he is a star athlete, and has two girls to choose from. Then, one morning he wakes up and everything is different. The world starts changing around him, including the fact that he now has a talking and pinstriped pinkie finger that calls himself Killdigit. Every time Judd falls asleep the world changes, except for Judd and Killdigit, everyone turns into purple furries, or gas-blasting puffballs, or neurotic lizards, super heroes, serial killers, and more. As the unlikely duo tries to figure out how this happened, why it happened, and how to get home they also need to figure out how to survive in each strange new world as they seek a return to normal.

A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend was a great read. It was fresh, and unexpected at every turn. The characterization and development that continues through the story was extremely well done. Judd started out just like the stereotype of the popular jock that just about everyone either wants to be or wants to be close to. He is selfish and simply unaware of anything beyond his fans, the next big game, and girls. However, his development from selfish jock into something much more is wonderful. Readers also get to see the character development of Pinkerton, or Kildigit as he would rather be known, which was fun to see. The alternate worlds are creative and well built, complete with unique version of the important people in Judd's life.

I highly recommend A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend to adults and young adults that are tired of running across the same old story over and over. Jeschonek might have written a story about a teen coming to realize something about the world around him and himself, which is not so strange, but the journey the characters and readers embark on from the very first sentence is like nothing else I have read. I do not want to say anything else about the book, because I want the journey to be as surprising and fun for everyone as it was for me.