Oo-de-lally! Sam and I have settled on a final reading list for the
Maryland Mock Newbery (to take place on January 6 at the Caroline
County Public Library - register at the Maryland Library Association website, email any questions to Rachael, etc., etc.)!
For those who wish to mock with us, please to be seeking these titles:
1. Doll Bones, by Holly Black
2. Zebra Forest, by Adina Rishe Gewirtz
3. The Center of Everything, by Linda Urban
4. The Real Boy, by Anne Ursu
5. P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia
PLUS
6. Penny and Her Marble, by Kevin Henkes
I know. We snuck in a sixth book that wasn't even on the semifinal list.
As always, we hope that these books represent a variety of genres and styles that will make for a lively discussion in January - though not as much variety as we would like, because we didn't feel that any of the nonfiction this year could go toe to toe with the best fiction. And I would have loved to include some poetry - namely, What the Heart Knows, by Joyce Sidman.
Actually, there are a lot of books we would have loved to include but couldn't or didn't. I'm second-guessing my choice not to put Better Nate Than Ever on my semi-final list, and Sam wishes he'd included The Hidden Summer. And then there's Far, Far Away, probably my favorite book of the year, but one I read too late to add it to my list.
Since we are but a mock committee, though, our humble six will have to do, and I think they will do quite nicely. Happy reading!
Good stuff! We overlap with your list on 3 books (Zebra Forest, P.S., and Penny). Just finished my second reading of P.S. yesterday (this time on audio) and it went up in my estimation big-time. This may be blasphemy, but I'm starting to wonder if I love it ever-so-slightly more than One Crazy Summer.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the other books on your list? I'm pretty sure I saw you post them somewhere, but darned if I can remember where.
DeleteWhen I see you at Midwinter, remind me to ask you about the ending of P.S. Be Eleven! I wasn't sold on it, but a lot of people whose evaluation skills I trust don't seem to have that question, and I'd love to get your take on it.
Boy, now you've got me intrigued - thinking back to the end of P.S. and can't think of anything potentially controversial. Looking forward to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteOur seven titles are:
* True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp (Appelt)
* Zebra Forest (Gewirtz)
* Penny and her Marble (Henkes)
* The Year of Billy Miller (Henkes)
* Eruption (Rusch)
* Navigating Early (Vanderpool)
* P.S. Be Eleven (Williams-Garcia)
Well-done on your review of ERUPTION, by the way - will be printing that out and keeping it close at hand as I prepare for my second reading and discussion. That's still in my top three.