Caleb's Reviews

C. Hollis Crossman, who was raised by wolves, wrote a staggering amount for the website during his first stint at Exodus Books, writing most of the curriculum overviews and category intro essays, along with reviewing 700+ unique titles. Below you'll find links to his book reviews; this link will take you to an incomplete list of the category descriptions.

As our used book buyer and product reviewer for eight years, Caleb did much to shape the character of the store. He left Exodus in December 2014 for contract work on behalf of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, where he researched and wrote about open source software. He also pursued graduate studies in theology.

In March 2017, an array of unforeseen circumstances brought C. Hollis back to Exodus Books as we prepared for an intended move, then shifted towards a close later that year; although we reopened, he had moved on. Again in August 2021, he came back for a short stint, before moving his family out of our crazy state. He remains dearly missed in our day-to-day work; however, we keep in contact and plan to continue having him write reviews and essays for us on an occasional basis.

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Caleb's Reviews
137 Items found Print
Active Filters: Exodus Rating
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
from ROC Science Fiction
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
from Ballantine Books
War/Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
Book Club (BCE/BOMC) from Ballantine Books
War/Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
And Now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
from Plume Books
Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 6th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
from HarperCollins
Dystopian Literature for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Medal winner
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Children of Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 3
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$50.00
Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
from Greenwillow Books
for 6th-9th grade
2006 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
from Bantam Books
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand, translated by Brian Hooker
1963 Reprint from Heinemann Educational Books
Drama for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by James Daugherty
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1940 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack Gantos
from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Dobry
by Monica Shannon; illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff
15th printing 1967 from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
1935 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Dune
Dune Chronicles Book 1
by Frank Herbert, introduction by Brian Herbert
Second Ace hardcover, 2019 from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$40.00
Dune Messiah
Dune Chronicles Book 2
by Frank Herbert
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$50.00
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
from Simon and Schuster
Science Fiction/Dystopian Literature for 10th grade-adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Flora & Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2014 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Frankenstein
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mary Shelley
from Dover Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner, 2010 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Heaven is for Real
by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Adult
in Heaven & Hell (Location: XTH-HEHE)
Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
Reissue from Puffin Books
for 5th-9th grade
1985 Newbery Medal Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Higher Power of Lucky
by Susan Patron
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
2007 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Holes
Holes Series #1
by Louis Sachar
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1999 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
It's Like This, Cat
by Emily Neville
from Dover Publications
for 7th-9th grade
1964 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
1981 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Jesus Calling
by Sarah Young
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Adult
in Devotionals (Location: XCL-DEV)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 7th-10th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Living Book Press
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.99
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from Dover Publications
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
from Atheneum
for 6th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Manalive
by G.K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.95
Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
from Little, Brown & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1991 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1996 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mimus
by Lilli Thal, translated by John Brownjohn
from Annick Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
2003 edition from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Miss Hickory
by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
from Puffin Books
Personification story for 3rd-7th grade
1947 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Missing May
by Cynthia Rylant
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
1993 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert O'Brien; illustrated by Zena Bernstein
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
1972 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1990 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
2013 Newbery Award Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
2013 Newbery Award Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Onion John
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
1960 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
from Yearling
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer, appreciation by Maurice Sendak
from Random House
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Rabbit Hill
Puffin Newbery Library
by Robert Lawson
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Rabbit Hill
Puffin Modern Classics
by Robert Lawson
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Rifles for Watie
by Harold Keith
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Puffin Modern Classics
by Mildred Taylor
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Yearling
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Roller Skates
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Valenti Angelo
from Viking Press
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$17.00 (1 in stock)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Secret of the Andes
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ann Nolan Clark
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1953 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Sex, Love & Romance
by Hugh F. Pyle
from A Beka Books
for 9th-12th grade
in Sex Education (Location: HEAL-SEXED)
Shadow of a Bull
by Maia Wojciechowska
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1965 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Shen of the Sea
by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
from Dutton Juvenile
for 3rd-5th grade
1926 Newbery Medal
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Shiloh
Shiloh #1
by Phyllis R. Naylor
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-8th grade
1992 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
2002 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
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