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A January Hoolihan and Crisscross Adventure
by Jill Wisoff
After her punk rock father's overdose and her 7th grade graduation, newly orphaned January Hoolihan is to be dumped on a scary old man who knows nothing of her existence when she's hijacked from her East Village tenement to the Island where he lives.
But gal pal Crisscross, a little kid from the nabe obsessed with hounds and pirates, shadows January. And in her wake? A heap of trouble!
January scribbles about the dog days that follow in her 8th grade "What I Did Over My Summer Break" assignment at her new Island school.
Encompassing the ongoing, turbulent, Tompkins Square protests of the early 1990s, Shelter Island touches on mature themes including child exploitation and neglect, AIDS, and parental drug abuse's impact on kids. But it's also about new friendships forged on land and sea, an eccentric maritime family, and the power of unconditional love.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/7/2026)
I had a good reading week! I finished https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/25431/shelter-island Shelter Island by Jill Wisoff for our indie/self-published program. It was a YA adventure, but it was quite entertaining. It might be the first five-star book I've read for the pr...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/30/2026)
...iews/index.cfm/book_number/5206/john-of-john John of John by Douglas Stuart was just so fantastic that Kin pales in comparison. I'm currently reading Shelter Island by Jill Wisoff, also for the indie program. Fortunately, this one is showing more promise. It's the first YA novel I've read in a long time, though, and I was surpr...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/23/2026)
...published/indie author program: Along the Scarlet River of Destiny by Subhir Roy, which will be followed by two more I'm reading for the same reason: Shelter Island by Jill Wisoff, and I Live You Forever by Meredeth Rutter Marple. Plus I've got to read https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/5176/kin Kin by Tay...
-kim.kovacs
"A middle schooler and her best friend spend a summer full of surprises and misadventures in Wisoff's 1990s-set debut novel ... Superlative characters headline a somber, quietly riveting story of friendship and family." —Kirkus Reviews
"Jill Wisoff's debut novel follows the exploits of two at-risk girls as they seek to carve out stable lives for themselves. Assigned to write a "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay, eighth-grader January Hoolihan chronicles the radical changes she has undergone in a few short months…. She captures dialogue wonderfully, adding depth to the characters through their conversations with one another. And, although the novel touches on some heavy themes (drug abuse, homelessness, child abandonment, rape), the narrative never feels weighed down by these subjects—and indeed is often very funny.
Most striking, however, are the book's amazing characters. Each of the young girls speaks and acts believably for their age. Crisscross comes across as simultaneously world-wise and childlike; her sense of self-preservation is so keen that she can determine which house is unoccupied for the summer so she can break into it, yet she believes in flower fairies…Shelter Island is remarkable in a number of ways, and both teen and adult readers are likely to enjoy this YA novel's nuanced characters and plot." —BookBrowse
This information about Shelter Island was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jill Wisoff is a songwriter, screenwriter, and actress. She composed score and songs for the Sundance award-winning film Welcome to the Dollhouse.
You may have seen her as Johnny Thunders's bassist touring with the Oddballs in Europe, the Midwest, and Canada. Or starring opposite Todd Solondz in his first film Fear, Anxiety & Depression.
Shelter Island, her debut YA literary novel, and its upcoming sequel, are inspired by the lives of musicians and their families she's known, particularly musicians from the original East Village punk scene. These will be followed by a paranormal novel next fall. Stay tuned!
If you liked Shelter Island, try these:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
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