I didn’t want to hijack Sarah’s review of The Game of Love and Death, so this is a few days after the fact, meaning you’ve probably all seen the short list already.
Surprises? Delights?
Me, I’m surprised by the lack of X, and a little about Symphony for the City of the Dead, but two nonfiction would have been even more surprising; the list cut in half and lost half across the board (one of the younger titles, one of the nonfiction, three of the YA fiction).
In terms of housekeeping here, this pulls Nimona from the should we/shouldn’t we give it a post list to the definitely getting a post pile. I haven’t read The Thing About Jellyfish or (surprise!) Most Dangerous; does either fall enough into the 12-18 territory to be worth a look for our narrow purposes?
And finally, let’s rejoice, because this is an excellent NBA pool! I can’t wait to see what they choose. My money is on Challenger Deep.
About Karyn Silverman
Most Dangerous fits perfectly well in the 12-18 range. Not having finished Symphony for the City of the Dead yet, I would say that it’s the top nonfiction title of the year for both middle grade and young adult and definitely worth a read and a post. Your right to put your money on Challenger Deep for the NBA (and the Printz), but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sheinkin’s book adorned with Newbery, Printz, and Sibert medals on January 11th. Whether those medals are gold or silver is the real question.
Symphony for the City of the Dead is fabulous. It might be my favorite book of the year. I think, and hope Challenger Deep will win Printz. I have never correctly predicted the NBA winners or short list, even, so I won’t try to guess what they look for. I do love Bone Gap, too. Such a toss up!
I think Bone Gap is fantastic, and deserves attention, but I think Challenger Deep may be technically better, although both are incredible. I need to reread Bone Gap, though, before I’m 100% willing to stand behind my own comments.