I'd heard about Diana Wynne Jones several times, and somehow missed out on her books. Surprising, considering how much I loved fantasy books as a child, her target audience.
The Merlin Conspiracy, her most recent children's novel, is a brilliant ride through several imaginary worlds, as well as our own. The several versions of England, and their interconnected pieces, are brilliant. The characters are bright, occasionally flawed and frustrating, but engaging. The dual narrative lines of Roddy and Nic allow for the intimacy of a first person telling, while bringing together the two plot lines. That's actually one of the best part of these books - trying to figure out how Nic and Roddy are connected before Jones reveals it.
My one problem? Jones is obviously trying to build a new series (or two) based on Roddy and Nic and hints a little too often at Nic's checkered past in this book without giving detail. Though, to be frank, I'm looking forward to reading the next book and find out why Nic abdicated that throne he's supposed to be sitting on.

I finished this earlier this week (actually, I've read lots lately, and just haven't been keeping up on my posting) and loved it. I wasn't surprised, since I loved American Gods as well. And Coraline, for that matter.
Neil Gaiman does an amazing job of making poor Fat Charlie sympathetic, even while he does things that are so frustrating to the reader... it's a good way to get a reader hooked and interested. Fat Charlie bumbles his way through and the reader is given enough clues as to who everyone is (because it's almost never clear to Fat Charlie) and what they're really up to (because Fat Charlie misses all of that too) that it works. There's action, adventure and romance, and all within the crazy idea that Anansi had a child and then all kinds of misadventures happened to the one who missed out on the god-like powers.
Knowing as little as possible about the plot is an advantage to the reader, and makes the ride that much more enjoyable. Anansi Boys is funny and interesting, while capturing the sense of mystery of the old stories.