Heard this at this week’s Random House Children’s Fall Preview, from the out-of-the-box mind of Newbery Winner Rebecca Stead, (paraphrasing.. I hope it’s not too off,) “Is it possible to completely eliminate the dark moments in Middle School years? The answer is probably, no. Is it possible to build a true friendship upon lies? The answer is, YES.” Now I’m totally intrigued. Liar and Spy is coming out this August. Looking forward.
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fairrosa
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fairrosa
Book 37 so far is quite good. I’m surprised at how many books are basically dealing with the same subject and time period — and they are all solidly crafted.
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fairrosa
I can’t stomach this book at all — (book 37) — because of the poor, illogical, sloppy writing and editing. Let me ask you, how can an under-educated 12-year-old boy identify every single antique object in the room with its origins (location and time period)? If the author decides to see the events through this character, he/she HAS to write with the limitation of the character’s perspective. *sigh* I can’t believe a really reputable house sent out a book like this to the world and to our young readers
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fairrosa
Book 36 is a jewel — as most of the books by this author are. Short, full of loving vignettes and a deeply felt sense of family and belonging. Great little read.
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fairrosa
I’m so pleased with how the author handled the ending of book 35. I can’t use “happy about” because no reader can be happy about a book that is so brutally honest about such a violent and frighteningly real historical event, even if the main characters were fictitious. Instead, I admire the author’s effort in keeping the integrity of the telling — in maintaining true to the characters and their personalities and in giving the readers some thing to hopeful and to hold on to at the very end. This is truly powerful. (I wish the cover design had lured me in a lot earlier and would make my task of recommending the book to young readers easier…. alas, that is not quite the case!)
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fairrosa
So close to the end of book 35 and so afraid of what else is going to go wrong… the tension and suspense makes me want to flip to the last page and peek (which is NOT my habit). I want to know that the people I’ve come to so admire and adore are going to be all right but I can tell that this author is not going to sugar coat matters to discredit the story. I hope for a miracle but I think the book will be stronger if we have a hopeful but not happy ending. We’ll see very shortly.
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fairrosa
Good reading so far — book 35. But I’ve been wondering – are there good new books that feature African American young people without putting them in a historical time of racial tension or illustrating how difficult their lives are? I want a Princess Diaries, The Winnie Years, Alex Rider, or The Secrets series — with the main characters who look, sound, and act like so many of my wonderful, unique, smart, and outstanding students who happen to NOT be white.
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fairrosa
Book 34 was very satisfying: It’s the kind of magical stories that I enjoy — a very clearly defined, fairly fresh newly invented magica concept/object; dangers and concerns that make the reader really worry and want a good resolution for; characters that I want to root for; and solid prose that flows quite beautifully without feeling contrived. Definitely a story I’ll recommend: to readers who can appreciate a deeper and quieter kind of magical stories.
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fairrosa
I feel the dread of finishing any book these days… so many start off fun, well written, with promising premises — and then do not have the sustaining power to deliver all the way through. Just started book 34 this morning, a random (judged by the cover and title) choice, and really am savoring it. There is something new and unusual, slightly melancholy but full of cool imagination: just the kind of children’s books I love. Let’s hope this is a winner (for me and my young readers!)
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fairrosa
So bummed that the last part of book 33 is no where near as much fun as the first part; it also lost its pacing and does not have a nearly good enough ending. It definitely would have benefited from tighter and more demanding editing. The meandering back stories and unfocused details totally need to be trimmed and the final scenes absolutely need reworking so it does not end so limply, leaving the reader lost and dissatisfied.
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fairrosa
Reading book 33 and thoroughly enjoying it. It’s almost impossible to describe or categorize this imaginative, humorous, smart, quirky, suspenseful, unconventional book by an out-of-the-box author. The book is over 400 pages long but it is a breeze to get through! I am captivated.
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fairrosa
I’m reciting the criterium of “Distinguished” like a mantra as I read these days. Is there anything in the book that makes it stand out, above and beyond the other books that I’ve read? Does it appear that the author has taken special care in crafting the story: in tone, in the way the sentences are structured, in developing a character, in shaping of the narrative: whether a made up story or a real telling of something in history or in current day life? Will it leave an indelible impression for a young reader who will, in his/her future, draw the memory of the book and to either relish the beauty of literature or capture a glimpse of revelation? Will I be able to promote it passionately, without doubt? To me, so far, there are about 5 outstanding, distinguished, remarkable titles while many others are just “really good.” I’m hungry for more.
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fairrosa
Book 32 does not stand out to me at all. It’s the same old, same old.
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fairrosa
A few thoughts on book 31: I can’t say that this is an outstanding book, even though I can see how it might have broad appeal to early teen girls. The situation is set up to pique a reader’s curiosity and the whole time when you read, you feel like you are a voyeur into these characters’ internal thoughts and feelings (and these are very shallow and immature feelings for the most part). It might be fun and thrilling for some, but I kept feeling “unclean” because reading the story felt like gossiping and the ending didn’t help cleanse my conscience. The narrative structure gets repetitive and tedious and loses momentum half way through the story. That said, there are moments of insight and revelation and these characters seem real enough. Certain plot advancements are not expected and I appreciated those.
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fairrosa
Reading Book 31 even though I have not finished 30: I felt bogged down by lots of detailed information and that the original anticipation of following just a few strands so that there is a deep and large impact on this historical event didn’t materialize. It feels disjointed at times and I wonder how young readers will react to this if the only experience they have with this event is through reading this one book: would they form a clear large picture with small details filling in or would they be confused and baffled by so many people and happenings swirling around from page to page, chapter to chapter?
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fairrosa
Just want to take a moment to say how much I love being on the 2013 Newbery Committee already — simply for the high quality of books published this season and for the variety of suggestions: age range and genres and styles.
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fairrosa
I love the author’s (book 29) skillful hand at metaphors. Each one is descriptive and totally accurate — helping the reader understand the characters very quickly and how the narrator feels about them. Also very grateful that although the first paragraph of the book is in first person present tense, the story took place in the narrator’s past and wisdom and observations and speculations of motives and emotions can be naturally inserted.
I need to figure out why the last 1/3 of book seems flatter than the first 2/3. I think the author, when trying very hard to incorporate the real events in history for this part, probably lost a bit of the writer’s intuitive spontaneity. A couple of invented events, although making the tale a little more exciting, actually make it less attractive to me because the strength of the book came from the rich inner life of the protagonist and when so many external things happen and get added to her experience, the unique tale suddenly became just another mundane historical fiction. That said, I am still very much impressed and felt the strong personal impact of that historical period in that town.
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fairrosa
Book 29 has such a great voice. I’m already really into the character and curious about what’s going to happen next to her.
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fairrosa
Book 28 starts off quite fun and clever. Hopefully it will give me some pleasure today!
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fairrosa
Done with book 27. I remember a super smart little girl (about 4) who used to come to the public library and checked out a lot of books with her mom. One of the series that I couldn’t get her to take out is Amelia Bedelia. Most readers find the books and Amelia Bedelia’s incapability to understand higher level language expressions hilarious and amusing, but not this little girl. She expressed extreme distaste when she was presented with these books — because she couldn’t stand the stupidity of Amelia Bedelia. When I was reading book 26, I continuously felt like that little 4-year-old — that the protagonist is intentionally made to be so clueless so there would have been a bit “reveal” and “shock” toward the end of the story. The only problem was that she has not demonstrated such incapability elsewhere. And since we are seeing everything through her eyes and I already knew EXACTLY who or what of every situation as it arises, I felt impatient, and eventually angry, first toward the main character, but eventually at the author. I really don’t like being manipulated this way.
