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Round 1 Match 2: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate vs Fire
Fire by Kristin Cashore Dial Books |
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kerry Henry Holt |
Judged by Nancy Farmer |
It is perhaps unfair to judge Fire and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate in the same contest. The first is clearly a YA book and the second is for a younger audience. I took this into account when reading them. That being said, I think The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is truly outstanding and deserves to win. It’s like a breath of fresh air. The characters are so beautifully drawn and likeable. Calpurnia’s relationship with her family feels completely real and the book is true to that period of time and that location. What I particularly like is the unstated (yet clear) love the characters have for each other. There are so few books anymore that portray a happy family. I think children need to know that not all families are riddled with divorce, infidelity, child abuse and drug addiction, the favorite topics of children’s books today.
The dialogue in Calpurnia is pitch-perfect, showing each character’s personality. Calpurnia’s mood swings from joy to despair and back again, are exactly what a girl of that age experiences. Her grandfather’s dignified affection for her is completely believable. Viola is an especially interesting character, caught as she is between slavery and freedom. She never forgets her or anyone else’s social standing, but is loyal to the Tate family. Her personality is vivid and intelligent. Even the minor characters in this novel are carefully drawn. The book is simply marvelous on every level.
I thought Fire was clever, but I couldn’t relate to the characters or tell most of them apart. It reads like a science fiction book, and that is a genre that depends on ideas rather than character. Even for a YA, though, Fire contained a great deal of violence, torture, mutilation and rape. I found the story depressing. If there had been one good friendship or love affair I could have forgiven it, but everyone seemed to suffer all the time. Fire should probably have been paired with another YA novel.
Round 1, Match 2 Winner is….
Actually, FIRE probably should have been paired with a different judge. Bring back Tamora Pierce! Bring back Kristin’s mom! Bring back anybody who can advance Cashore past the second round! Didn’t SLJ get the memo from Battle Commander about this conspiracy? Where are the co-conspirators? And who knew Nancy would be so squeamish about violence, torture, mutilation, and rape? I mean, aren’t those staples of any good Viking story? Truth be told, while I think FIRE is better written than GRACELING, I wasn’t nearly as captivated by the world-building nor as enamored with the characters, so I can’t fault Nancy for her lack of enthusiasm on those points. And yet I am also on record as being strangely unaffected by CALPURNIA. Long and boring. Yawn. It just didn’t resonate with me on any level. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Nevertheless, CALPURNIA’s victory sets the stage for a very intriguing match in the second round: the Battle of the Darwin Books.
— Commentator Jonathan Hunt
Filed under: Round 1
About Battle Commander
The Battle Commander is the nom de guerre for children’s literature enthusiasts Monica Edinger and Roxanne Hsu Feldman, fourth grade teacher and middle school librarian at the Dalton School in New York City and Jonathan Hunt, the County Schools Librarian at the San Diego County Office of Education. All three have served on the Newbery Committee as well as other book selection and award committees. They are also published authors of books, articles, and reviews in publications such as the New York Times, School Library Journal, and the Horn Book Magazine. You can find Monica at educating alice and on twitter as @medinger. Roxanne is at Fairrosa Cyber Library and on twitter as @fairrosa. Jonathan can be reached at hunt_yellow@yahoo.com.
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