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Someday My Printz Will Come
Inside Someday My Printz Will Come

Between Shades of Gray

December 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

gray 150x150 Between Shades of GrayKaryn’s already talked about historical fiction. And a lot of people have been talking about this book (four starred reviews, nominated for Best Fiction and a big ol’ Newbery discussion at Heavy Medal), especially in light of the Morris shortlist recognition. Karyn’s also already talked about Morris and Printz — where the two awards overlap, and where they don’t.

So that pretty much covers the background. I thought it could be interesting to look at Between Shades of Gray with Printz glasses firmly in place. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Stay With Me

December 9, 2011 By 9 Comments

stay 150x150 Stay With MeStay With Me got, by my count, four starred reviews, and I’m sure it will be (well, is already, since it’s out!) a hit with teen readers, too. I think it earned those stars, and I believe it will circulate well and be well-loved by lots and lots of teens.

It’s a Way 3 read for me (though I’ll admit, I’m not totally wild about it personally, it’s more that I cannot wait to hand it off to teens and would love to hear their thoughts). This is a book that doesn’t quite stand up to the close scrutiny of Printz-magnifying glasses, I think.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best Books, Fiction Tagged With: , ,

By Popular Demand

December 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

woodpecker By Popular DemandYou asked for it, and you have been heard! When we posted our initial list oh so long ago, you clamored for this title! And then you asked for it again when Karyn posted her comparison of the PW, SLJ, and Kirkus best lists. And now here it is.

Only here I am, and I’m still mulling over exactly what I think of it. Like Imaginary Girls, it’s a book that, for me, would absolutely require a reread for committee purposes. I spent so much time worrying over Gabriel and restraining myself from reading the last page that reviews promised me would answer all my questions that, well, I would need another read to really digest it properly. It’s a novel with a lot of threads, and I’d be taking anther look at it to make sure that I really appreciated all of those threads…if I were actually serving on Printz. For our purposes here, and in the interest of getting through that Contendas list, well, I’ll give you what I’ve got. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Contenders, Fiction Tagged With: , , , ,

The Scorpio Races

November 27, 2011 By 12 Comments

scorpio 150x150 The Scorpio RacesSusan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series haunted me as I read The Scorpio Races. Not because the two are really that similar; more because they are linked by Celtic mythology. And also partly because that series and this book are rooted in a recognizable world that suddenly and delightfully reveals  mythological roots (well, Scorpio Races is sort of an alternate world that doesn’t actually exist, but still. It feels the same).

I think I also connected the two because of the water horses, the capall uisce. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Contenders, Fiction, Predictions Tagged With: , , , ,

Round Up, Part Two

November 24, 2011 By 9 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

YALSA’s final nomination lists were posted last week.

We thought it’d be interesting to see what we are looking at here versus what Best Fiction for Young Adults and Great Graphic Novels will be checking out in January. (I am leaving Quick Picks off because the QP charge is so dissimilar to the Printz charge. And since Popular Paperbacks is retrospective, we can safely leave that list out, too. And until the short lists for the Morris and Nonfiction awards come out, there’s nothing we can say about those.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best Books, Contenders Tagged With: , , , ,

Recovery Road

November 11, 2011 By 11 Comments

recovery Recovery RoadThis is the first book that I’ve stopped reading for this blog. I am sure this has been covered in other places, in fact I bet you’re sick of me talking about it…but just to obsessively, nervously explain, I am on infant care leave. My son is nearly 7 months old, and all the reading I’m doing is happening at a frantic pace as I flail around, playing catch up because I have mostly been reading books on sleep issues and watching youtube videos on how to take a temperature from a baby’s bottom. (I am sorry, google searcher/frantic parent, I am not actually here to explain how to do so, but I did find this video very helpful and surprisingly calming. Enjoy!)

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: ,

A Monster Calls

November 6, 2011 By 12 Comments

monster 150x150 A Monster CallsFair warning: this is a book that will hurt to read.

You’ve probably heard of it.  It’s getting stars in journals and a lot of love online. In fact, Heavy Medal wondered if it’d be eligible for the Newbery. It’s also got a moving, fascinating back story. It’s hinted at by the sentence on the cover (Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd), but the full story is here. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Contenders, Fiction, Predictions Tagged With: , , , , , ,

This Dark Endeavor

October 24, 2011 By 10 Comments

So there are some things that we probably all know about Victor Frankenstein. Let’s make a list:

  1. Mad scientist.
  2. Ruthless determination.
  3. “IT’S ALIVE!”
  4. Questionable judgment. [Read more...]
Filed Under: Contenders, Fiction Tagged With: , , ,

What Are YOU Carrying?

October 21, 2011 By 7 Comments
286944356 ec629d5bb5 m What Are YOU Carrying?

CC-licensed image by Noel Zia Lee, via Flickr

Reading is an immensely personal experience. Except when it isn’t.

This conundrum is at the heart of reading for a committee, or list, or award. We talk about this a lot. Today, we will talk (in full paragraphs!) here, so that everyone knows what’s going on in our heads and can chime in.

Karyn: A (short) while back, in her review of Everybody Sees the Ants, Sarah talked about a wall she had hit (Lucky’s dad’s age) that caused a crack in her windshield (we’re gonna beat that metaphor to death by the time January rolls around, so consider yourself warned).

There is no such thing as an objective reader. It’s just not possible. We bring ourselves to the books we read. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Process Tagged With: , , , ,

Ghost in the Well

October 16, 2011 By 7 Comments

anyacover 150x150 Ghost in the Well We have one graphic novel on our current list of contendas. (Well, we wanted to consider Craig Thompson’s Habibi, too, but that was published for adults, which means it’s ineligible. Le sigh.) In any case, Anya’s Ghost is getting a lot of critical love (four starred reviews as of 9/1) and even has a blurb from Neil Gaiman!

The plot: Anya goes to a second-rate prep school and wants nothing more than to fit in. Well, if she could also snag adorable Sean as a boyfriend, she’d be great. And if she could lose a couple of pounds, that’d be fab. And if she could change her unpronounecable last name, life would be perfect. You know, she wouldn’t mind if people would stop associating her with Dima, another Russian immigrant at the school. And maybe if she had more friends than just Siobhan….but really, Anya’s a simple girl with simple wishes. Really. Until she falls down a well (long story, but you guys, it’s perfectly understandable!) and ends up with a new best friend: Emily, the ghost of a girl who mysteriously ended up down that well 90 years ago. We all know friendship’s difficult, but it’s even more complicated when your new best friend is dead. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Contenders, Fiction Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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