Woohoo! I did it you guys! I read all 20 books, just in the
nick of time! (Seriously though, I finished the last one at 2 am the morning of
our meeting.)
Some things I learned from my meeting. One: there is a cone
of silence if you are a Newbery Award committee. If you are judging books, you
can’t talk about them. Ever. Of course the winner is always announced, but you
aren’t allowed to discuss anything that was said in the meeting. They aren’t
even allowed to rate the books they’ve read for the award on Good Reads. Social
medial is strictly forbidden. I would never survive.
That makes sense. You want other committee members to be
able to speak their minds without fear of what they say about a book or author
leaving the room. And as to reviews, the committee wants to present a united
front. If a committee member spills their reviews early, they might leak false
hope. And they also have one less person to blame for why their book didn’t win
a major award. I totally get it. But thankfully, my meeting was NOT the actual
Newbery Committee and I (think?) I can blog about it.
I’m not going to tell you what other people said. All of my
reviews are strictly my own. What I’m planning is to give you my opinions on
the second half of the books I read for the book club and then let you know
which one the group picked at large.
Happy Reading! As always, if you have any opinions or
insights on the books I’ve read and reviewed—let me know!
Patina by Jason Reynolds
Target Audience:
Middle Grade Genre: Realistic Fiction Stars: 3/5
For me, this story was really hard to get into. The story
starts kind of slow, and the way the author writes the character’s dialog is
very strong and well written—but I found it hard to read at first. It forced me
to slow down a bit, making the reading even slower, until I got used to the way
the main character talked. I totally get why it’s written this way, and I
appreciate the effort and ingenuity that went into this aspect of the story,
but I found it distracting. This is a story about an African American girl whose
father died when she was young, and shortly after her mother lost her legs due
to diabetes. She and her younger sister go to live with her aunt and uncle when
their mother can no longer take care of the girls properly. This means a change
in school and location for our main character Patti. She goes from a school surrounded
by other children just like her, to an all-white, all-girl snobbish school. We
see her struggle to fit in with the girls at school and the girls on her new
track team. While the story does start off slow, it really rallies near the
end. You can’t help but cheer Patti and her team members on! I don’t like how
the book ends as a reader—I need to know the end of the race! But, as an
author, I can appreciate the fact that the point isn’t about how the race ends,
it’s all about the team work that goes into making a stellar team. The book is
well written. It’s an important piece of literature that we need to have on
library shelves. I could hand this to any child interested in track and
friendship. It was just difficult for me because the book was a slow read and I
knew I had 15 or so other books to read. Totally would have given it a 4/5 if
they had told me how the race ended!
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah
Heiligman
Target Audience:
Young Adult Genre: Biography Stars: 5/5
I’m not one for nonfiction, but Heiligman has woven a
narrative so vivid, colorful, alluring, and passionate that I couldn’t help but
be drawn in so entirely. I’m not going to lie to you, I was intimidated by the
size and genre of this book, but I was more than surprised by how good this
book is! Vincent and Theo Van Gogh led fascinating, depressing, and
inspirational lives. Everything you’ve ever learned about Vincent in art class
is only the tip of the iceberg. After reading this book I had a burning desire
to visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. This is by far, a biography you do
NOT want to miss.
One Last Word by Nikki Grimes
Target Audience: Upper Elementary Genre: Poetry Stars: 5/5
I was absolutely amazed by Grimes’ Golden Shovel poetry. If
you haven’t heard of Golden Shovel poetry, it’s a technic that takes a line
from another’s work and incorporates it into the end of each line of the
poet’s own original work. Grimes does this flawlessly. Nothing feels forced. I
love how she has taken poetry from the Harlem Renaissance and made her own
astounding poetry from it that resonates so well with modern struggles and
worldly problems. This book is beyond powerful. The skill and creativity
required to do what she did is beyond amazing and gives me a whole new respect
for poetry.
When My Sister Started Kissing by Helen Frost
Target Audience: Upper
Elementary Genre: Poetry Stars: 3/5
Poetry. I don’t understand why this wasn’t just written in
regular prose. It was neat to see that each character had her own style of
poetry—but I really felt like the formatting of the poetry itself really slowed
me down while I was reading because I had to figure out where the sentences
were going and why they stopped when they did. Over all the story is very nice,
very quiet, very real—but in a neat and tidy way. Two girls lost their mother
at a young age and now their father is remarried and having a baby. He has
changed their lake house and moved all of their mother’s things. It’s a very
quiet story about growing up and learning to handle change. I think that as far
as poetry goes, Nikki Grimes’ One Last Word far out does Frost’s.
Midnight without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson
Target Audience:
Middle Grade Genre: Historical Fiction Stars: 4/5
This book was so hard to read. It is a historical fiction
novel set in Mississippi in 1955 and the main character is a young African
American girl struggling to find her place in a world that only wants to hold
her back from her full potential. Her mother is moving North with her husband
and his two children leaving Rose Lee and her younger brother Fred Lee behind
in the Jim Crow South where angry white men are killing African Americans left
and right for trying to change the status quo. The novel starts off with Rose
learning about a boy only a few years older than her being murdered for registering
to vote. Rose must choose between staying in Mississippi and fight for her
rights and her dreams, or moving North with her aunt and future uncle. This
book is very well written and very important. It shows a unique perspective of
how much power fear has over people and how we have to rise above it. I can’t
imagine living with this kind of fear, in this kind of situation and it breaks
my heart knowing that so many people lived with this kind of fear, that in some
places they still do. The sequel came out this month. I’m looking forward to
reading it and seeing where Rose goes from here.
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
Target Audience: Middle
Grade Genre: Historical
Fiction Stars: 4/5
Also a historical fiction novel, this one is set in 1925.
Crow was found as a baby tied to a skiff set adrift at sea. The locals all
think she’s a baby from the Leper colony from across the sea, and all but two
of them refuse to have anything to do with her. This is a story about Crow trying
to discover her past without losing her present. It has a slow, but interesting
start. The plot is predictable, but the world building and scenery is amazing. It was a good, entertaining read, but it wasn’t
quite up to par for me in regards to winning the Mock Newbery.
Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
Target Audience:
Middle Grade Genre: Fantasy (I think) Stars: 4/5
AH! This book had so much POTENTIAL! And then I was just
left confused. Nine orphans live alone on an island, the oldest taking care of
the youngest, teaching them how to survive in their new home. Each year a green
boat arrives with a small child inside. The kids remove the child and oldest
gets in and takes the child’s place. And the boat just floats away. Everything
on the island is perfect. The kids survive easily and basically live in a small
haven. All they have to do is follow the rule of nine. Everything is fine until
Deen leaves and Jenny becomes the next elder. It’s a great story until the
author introduces a little too much reality without explaining how the two
worlds match. I would have been cool with the ambiguous ending, but when Snyder
brought reality jarringly into the work without any explanation—it ruined
everything for me. It’s still a 4 because it was AMAZING before the
introduction. It could still be salvaged with a sequel or prequel but it does
need explaining. Don’t believe me—read it for yourself!
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams Garcia
Target Audience:
Upper Elementary + Genre: Realistic Fiction Stars: 4/5
This is a very good book about a young boy struggling with the
grief of losing his grandfather. This book also does a great job of bringing in
blues music and integrating it seamlessly in Clayton’s life and the novel for
the readers. There’s a lot of depth and complexity between the characters.
Clayton Byrd is struggling, but his mother can’t see that because she’s too
distracted by her own grief and anger at her father. Clayton’s father really
doesn’t get to play a big role in Clayton’s life because his mother keeps him at
bay, recreating a disinterested father figure for her son, like her own father
was for her. I think this book would have been better if SOMEONE had caught on
to the fact that Clayton was suffering. His teacher, preacher and mother all
ignored the fact that his grandfather was his closest family member and his
mother sold all of his things without asking.
Hello Universe by
Erin Entrada Kelly
Target Audience:
Upper Elementary + Genre: Realistic Fiction Stars: 5/5
This book is super cute! I love how fate itself plays a role
in the lives of these very different and diverse children. The overarching
theme in this book is friendship and finding your inner strength. Sometimes the
hero has been living inside you the whole time. The story is a little quiet,
but it portrays emotions well. There’s a scene where Virgil gets trapped in a
well and the whole time I just want to yell right along with him.
The Ethan I was Before by Ali Standish
Target Audience:
Middle Grade Genre: Realistic Fiction Stars: 5/5
Out of all the books I have read this year for my book group's Mock Newbery Award meeting, this is the book I choose as the winner, hands down. Ethan is such a relatable character for anyone--but most importantly for anyone who has suffered through a tragic loss. We see him progress through the stages of grief in such a natural and real manner, that he feels like a close friend and a confidant. The book is easy to get into, drawing us in under the guise of a mysterious incident that has clearly changed Ethan's life in a dramatic way. So much so that there's a split in who he is. There's the Ethan he was before and the Ethan he is now. Spoiler alert, this book will make you cry and if you've ever suffered a loss in your life, it will hit you hard to watch Ethan suffer through a similar event, but the sensitive and guiding way in which it is written is not only beautiful, but helpful. I wish this book had been around when I lost my youngest brother in high school. It is most certainly a book I would put in the hands of a grief stricken child.
With that being said, this book is not only for those who have lost a loved one. There is so much other, normal, everyday and exciting adventures taking place throughout the story that the reader is not bogged down with sadness at every turn. It's also hopeful, happy, courageous, and inspiring! I could easily see this being a book that's read in schools for years to come!
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School
Football Team by Steve Sheinkin
Target Audience:
Young Adult Genre: Non-fiction Stars: 5/5
This was a very fast paced history of the birth of modern
football, and more importantly, the mistreatment of the Native Americans during
the early 1900s. As a fan of football, I found this history of the game
amazing. I especially loved knowing that the birth of modern football is all
thanks to an underdog team of Native Americans that nobody ever thought stood a
chance against the big, strong, all-white teams. This book was quite the page
turner. I read through all 288 pages in one night.
The March Against Fear by Ann Bausum
Target Audience:
Young Adult Genre: Non-fiction Stars: 3/5
This book is very informative, very detailed and very eye opening. Great
pictures. I think I would have liked it better as a documentary. My only
problem was that (for me--so many of my colleagues LOVED it) it read too much
like a dry textbook. I wanted to like this book so much. But it took me several
tries to get through it. Had this not been for a program at work, I probably
wouldn't have finished it on my own. But again, I want to stress the importance
of this book.
My Top Pick:
Book Group Winners:
Mock Newbery
Honor Books
