Tag Archives: 2012 Reads

Finished Newbery Read Book 16 yesterday. Very much moved — and realized what a feat it must have been to pull something like this together! It’s not only an important book — it’s a great tribute and a wonderful tale — about someone whom I had no knowledge of but am glad that I now have a distinct image of in my heart.

2013 Newbery Read, book 15 and book 16. I’m reading both at the same time — finding one much more compelling than the other. It has so much to do with the unique narrative voice of book 16.

Finished 2013 Newbery Read, book 14.
Really enjoyed learning about the people, events, and historical significance of everything recorded and reported in a fairly lively manner in this book.

2013 Newbery Read, book 14
A nonfiction! Yay.

2013 Newbery Read, book 13
Finished… it took me 4 days? Such a short and easy book… of course, there are other things in life that prevented me from reading it continuously… but that’s not it. It simply did not hold my interest. There is something about having way way way too many details of some very very mundane things that can really kill a book. Even if it does give a sense of reality and I do appreciate that aspect of it. The emotional journey of the kid narrator is extremely realistic — and that’s a plus as well. (The narrative voice DOES get more kid-like after the beginning chapters.) However, there are some potential areas that the author could have explored (such as the relationship between the main character and his once-best friend and this other character’s growth or pain) that didn’t get much weight — limited by the choice of seeing the matters through a young person’s eyes. Not that the book should be preaching about anything but it definitely missed the opportunity to be a bit wiser or deeper…

2013 Newbery Read, book 13
My “narrator voice consistency” antenna is in the upward, alert position — first person, present tense — so we can’t even pretend that this is someone looking back to a much younger self. This IS the inner voice of this young person…. word choices and sentence lengths and style of telling: all have to be so carefully done. (And I am not quite seeing the evidence that the author actually realized all the “responsibilities” that come with choosing this narrative voice — after 3 chapters. Don’t think I’ll be able to change my view on this one….)

2013 Newbery Read, Book 12
It’s highly amusing. The poems are quite fun and I’d say 70% of them are truly clever. It bothers me so much, though, that the artwork accompanying the poems is so sub-par. There is a clear “mimicking” (poorly) in layout, design, illustration style to a really famous and thoroughly recognizable illustrator’s work. I had to cover most of the drawings to enjoy the poems themselves. I’d rather leave it to my own imagination to “picture” the scenarios presented in the poetry which is NOT hard to do because the poet is actually quite deft in making the mental image very clear. (A few poems are clearly picture-dependent for illuminating a point hidden in the text, but they are rare and I wish they hadn’t been included.) So, the pictures, to me, totally detract from the work as a whole.

2013 Newbery Read, Book 11
Done. Short book. Powerful. So honest, brutally honest. It does not feel like I just read a novel. It felt REAL. The emotional trajectory pulls the reader through and although there is not a lot of poetic or evocative language, there is a highly poetic rhythm in the prose: sentence after sentence, flowing like water: sometimes trickling like a small stream and other times roaring like a mighty river in a storm. I think this is one of my favorite titles by this author. And although judging from the design and the subject matter, one will quickly put it on the YA shelf, I can see broad appeal to Young YA (13/14) readers.

2013 Newbery Read, Book 11
Just started it. Intrigued.

2013 Newbery Read, Book 10
Done. Incredibly moving. Probably because I have always admired this one main character from the series and to see the life’s story extended and told and with such a beautiful and hopeful ending at the end of the installment just fills my heart with so much tenderness. These book people are my companions in real life — I talk about them with other admirers of the books as if their lives count: and they DO because their philosophies and struggles and triumphs do give us practical information in our day to day life. I have to catch my breath after those final passages and now type these words through blurred vision: behind tears.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 10
I have to read this one… even if it’s not published specifically for children. It feels indulgent: if the book is good and appropriate for young readers (13/14,) I will give it serious consideration.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 9
Since this is a picture book with very few words and so much of it was conveyed so successfully and humorously via the illustrations: I only put it as a “Newbery Read” because I love it so much :)

Done with 2013 Newbery Read: Book 8
I couldn’t quite decide whether I absolutely adored the book or just really liked it. I couldn’t read it in one straight streak even though it’s a small book and should have been done 2 – 3 days earlier. That probably says something about my emotional attachment to the story: not strong enough. But do I enjoy the language and the rich landscape/setting? Yes, absolutely. And do I think the book begins and ends so beautifully and unusually and creatively? Yes. Was I moved by some of the turning points? Absolutely… was I moved to a point that I couldn’t contain myself and wanted to share my emotion as affected by some other books? Not really. There you have it.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 8
Just started it. Absolutely appreciated the leading pages — the readers are “lured” tantalizingly to view our protagonist cinematically. I was instantly hooked. It is promising quite an intriguing mystery. I hope it delivers, along with an already fascinating main character.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 7
This one I read as soon as I got my hands on a very early galley. So, it’s not quite fitting the rule — didn’t read it as a finished book. I can easily predict that it will be my favorite book of 2012, although I believe it to be “too old” for the 0-14 age range the Newbery Committee considers.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 6
This one I finished before even having the first meeting with my Committee. Really liked it. Enjoyed the unconventional ways that the author dealt with the writing process. (Got to hear about it at a dinner.) And I thought the book has a lot of heart and much important message that current day kids can benefit from.

2013 Newbery Read: Book 5
LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. The last 1/3 of the book kept me going and going and wanting to know what happens to the people I’ve come to care so much about in the story. The author really knows how to pace the tale — and turn every thing, from smallest mundane occurrences to larger-than-life, quite tall-tale/unreal events, into something with so much heart that you can’t help but FEEL the emotional core of every moment. It has such an uplifting ending (and I’d have to say that some people might find it unbelievably happy) that I felt so satisfied! It also feels Dickensian in this respect. (For those who might pick bones with its happiness, it’s all foreshadowed beautifully by how the narrator looks at the beloved stories in their lives.)

2013 Newbery Read: Book 5
I know I’m slow and behind… but I am also enjoying the lull before the storm :) This one is a keeper, in my mind. The earnest and fresh voice of the first-person narrator, the every day scenes spiced up with the social backdrop, and the author’s well-handled brand of humor just work for me. Can’t wait to finish it!

2013 Newbery Read: Book 4
Didn’t finish the book. The underlying concept is interesting but the pacing is all wrong. Instead of delivering actions and exciting events that the publisher “claims” (on the cover,) there is a lot of exposition and explanation and stipulation. I read half of the book and the “actions” have not really started. There is also the problem of randomly creating a magical object the with no rhyme or reason grants special powers — I think in 2012, the young readers should receive much more grounding in the world building and the fantasy elements must make sense. Too bad. I was excited about this one!

2013 Newbery Read: Book 3
Done and admired it tremendously. The author manages to stay true to the story and gives it quite an uplifting and hopeful ending.