I was intrigued by the concept of this one. Ten authors each wrote a chapter. I’d love to know what the process was. From what I’ve read (one interview is here), it seems that the chapters were completed individually, in order, although perhaps not the order they appear in the final book. I enjoyed seeing how it starts out as Maggie’s story, but is really Gee’s, despite a half-hearted return to Maggie at the end. I don’t remember who was responsible for the fantastical twist (it might have been Nick Hornby, but it was developed by Greg McGuire), but that element didn’t quite fit in. Besides, I’ve never really been able to just accept fantasy elements in an otherwise realistic book without some kind of explanation. “Just because it’s magic” doesn’t cut it. ( )

Click is a collection of interconnected short stories written by ten well-known authors (David Almond, Eion Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, and Tim Wynne-Jones) in order to raise money for Amnesty International. The stories center around the life of photojournalist, George Keane (who is known as "G"). Some of the stories relate how G touch someone's life and others tell how other people influenced him. The stories take place in many different places in the world, and over a long period of time (from Post-World Japan to 2030 Australia). Many of the stories, but not all, can be classified as magical realism. I really enjoyed this collection. My favorite stories included the story of G. taking pictures in the aftermath of WWII in Japan and his friendship with a Japanese veteran who lost his legs in the war and the story of a young Irish boy that got to meet Muhammad Ali, thanks to G. ( )

I enjoyed the many stories in this book....until the last two. I guess I don't do futuristic very well. ( )

It was a book about Gee. He went around the world and took pictures and collected stuff. Whenever he took a picture his camera went click. Each thing he collected had a story behind it. He collected a box with 7 boxes in it and gave it to his grand-daughter and wrote a note that said throw them back. He gave his adopted grandson a whole bunch of signed cards of famous people. It was actually kind of boring. It had 10 mini stories told by different people about gee. It had ten authors. ( )

I don't usually like books written like this, each chapter written by a different author, but this was a pleasant surprise. The first chapter hooked me hopelessly, and each of the subsequent chapters increased my interest. The authors have obviously been kept on a pretty tight leash (except for David Almond who will do his own thing regardless) and the whole book just works.

Sponsored by Amnesty International, this is a testament to the individual's ability to change people's lives and, apart from a couple of flights of fancy (by D.A. and Margo Lanagan) it is a triumph! ( )