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Book 22 — rethinking it a bit. I realized that there are so many “clean tween” books featuring older girls (HS freshmen, 8th graders) for 10-year-old girl readers but this is a rare find of a mostly-clean title with something that 10-12 year old boy readers might be able to appreciate.

Finished books 22, 23, and 24. Book 22 is just ok — I enjoyed it, but nothing special. Book 23, a beginning reader by a well established author, is also nothing to be excited about. Now, book 24 — I cannot quite make up my mind about it. I think it’s quite a worthwhile book. I couldn’t put it down — really wanted to know what happened next. The ending is both completely devastating and yet extremely uplifting. Several points (specific events and descriptions) in the book make it a book on the higher higher limit of the 0-14 Newbery readership range — or to many, it will be beyond the prescribed range. I will recommend it to my students in 7th and 8th grade and I will make it available in my YA collection. Beautiful writing, solid and intriguing storyline, and very emotionally engaging.

Reading book 22 — the cover, trim size, and design say: BOOK FOR 3rd and 4th graders; the actual content of characters and events is completely surprising – first person high school view point about life as a HS boy and all that comes with it…. I can’t reconcile the two things in my head yet — don’t know whether it’s misdirection or brave, unconventional choices…

I realized that I forgot to post about book 19. It is not the most memorable book in the batch. It reads a bit like an almost polished 3rd draft of a really great idea of a story and its narrative form. But it didn’t quite read the finesse or the emotional impact that the author must have aimed for during the project. It might have been more successful as a novella in an anthology — if it had been distilled to its most startling scenes that really leave one singular strong impression. But, alas, it is presented as a novel and many of the passages are diluted and don’t hold enough power.

As a friend pointed out, reading book 21 has brought me unbound joy. I’m almost done with it and know that I’ll be sad to close the book after the last page. The author has such a way of presenting the characters that you simply KNOW them just by listening to their words and watching them act. There is little that you are told but much that you observe as an active participant inside the story — inside the head of a first person, wonderful narrator — wonderful not because this character tries to tell you a good story, but because this character is so interesting and charming and full of mystery. The book is not a fantasy — it is a story of political intrigues and of young and smart people surviving the conniving world of the ruling adults. I’m really pleased — and happy that my copy of the galley has not returned to me because it’s circulating amongst my students who all proclaim it being a really great read!

Finished books 18 and 19 over the holiday weekend. Enjoyed both — especially book 18. It’s innovative, it’s in the vein of a sub-genre that I have grown to really appreciate and I label it Fantastica Americana. Fantastica Americana is rooted in some time and somewhere in the United States, usually rural areas where people are still quite connected to the land. Some fantastic elements are interwoven into the daily lives of the characters and everyone takes that magic for granted. N.D. Wilson’s 100 Cupboards series and Ingrid Law’s Savvy series fit the bill of this sub genre. Book 18 has a great and quite convincing magical element, explained aptly and kept consistent throughout the story. The resolution is not easily expected but better than the expectation. There is so much gentleness, so much love and care: about nature and about the people — and even a couple of sympathetic villains with more than 2 dimensions. It’s also an easy book to talk about — I just summarize it with a couple of sentences and the central concept grabs any kid reader I mentioned it to. I am waiting to hear some feedback from young readers.

Starting Book 18. So far, I really enjoy the tone of the writing — it’s folky and breezy and there is the promise of mysterious, magical intrigue ahead. I’m excited! And have to gush for a moment about the quality of paper and the choice of font — I love them both. The paper is slightly thicker than usual and it feels luxuriant to flip the pages. The font is a bit shorter than I’m used to and a bit rounder, but it reads well. Love that.

Book 15, done. It took me several picking-up and putting-down tries to finish. In between, other better books were read. This is not a bad book — I will recommend it to my students. And in certain aspects, it is an important book to have in the library. It adds a different kind of protagonist (different, but the same and quite universal) into the mix of many books for middle grade readers — especially girls who are trying to figure where they belong and how to navigate the complex road map of friendship. That’s one of the strengths of this title — taking a very common theme and presenting it more realistically and more sympathetically than many other such stories have done.

2013 Newbery Read, Book 17. Done. Such hilarity and I am impressed by the author’s ability to tell the story in two parts/two voices and each character has their own distinct flairs in their narrative tone. There is just the right kind of silliness, inventiveness, middle-grade romance, and a satisfying but not all that conventional ending (leaving room for more books in a series?) to make the book stand out for me.

2013 Newbery Read, Book 17. It’s fast paced and I am having a rumping good old time with it. Much needed since so many others have been so serious and weighty! This levity makes me happy!

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.