I wasn't able to attend the first meeting of the season, but I still want to share my opinions! Because I am judgmental! I read 11 (and abandoned 1) of the 17 books on the list, and here's what I thought of them. I missed the meeting because I had an event, but I've added the discussion results.
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer CholdenkoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So so many kids have parents who just can't take care of them ... it makes me sad, and it makes me wonder just how many of my students are in situations they shouldn't be. I am thankful that Choldenko chose to make Hank's new classmates kind v. including any bullying. I could only handle so much angst.
VERDICT: Keep
Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A return to old form for Lowry ... this read like a book from my childhood. LOVED young Sophie's narration. Not sure if my students would understand Sophie Gershowitz' stories.
p. 7 - "Begin on the day that is different."
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's a Gary Schmidt book. Maybe I have read too many of them.
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
We never found out what the rites were!
Agree with another reviewer that the Spirit storyline could have been edited out.
Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hit and miss, like most books in the genre, but I appreciated that Watson used different poetic forms throughout, and Holmes' collages are lovely.
Olivetti by Allie Millington
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Have I really never read a book with a sentient typewriter before? Great idea. But the book, sadly, disappointed me. Really did not like that the Everything That Happened was some giant secret nobody talked about. And the climax after the road trip? Really?
p. 35 - "But humans will believe anything. Especially if it means they can get what they want."
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wish the spooky wallpaper girl had shown up earlier. She went from a flicker to a bitch to a gross entity to nothing in the matter of several pages. And we don't know who she was or how she got there. And she ended up having nothing to do with Violet's fatigue? Frustrating.
Also, Violet managed to not see her little brother - who lives in the same house - for DAYS?
The Selkie's Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was interested to read this because Nova Scotia and selkies, but it was just kind of boring. Some great sentences, though, like "Here the air’s flavored with the salty scent of sea wrack. Sandpipers stitch the hem of the waves, probing for prey with their bills." That's some poetry right there.
VERDICT: Keep
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Vordik's demise was quite nasty. As are most of the characters. This was fine for a middle-school graphic novel, but I'm not sure why it is on Newbery lists. I am realizing that one thing my students are missing out on with their reliance on graphic novels for almost all of their reading is that they rarely read descriptions of scenes or actions. It's just all dialogue.
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I cannot picture handing this to any of my students.
Ghosts that only Charisse can see. Charisse only reading the Bible and Leaves of Grass. "Every good story is a love story." Uncle Ted's painting of the history of the world. "Mysterious Barricades." Astral projection.
Pinky, on the other hand, would be a hit with my kids. She needs her own early reader.
The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Too much description too often of the music AND the colors. I wish Isler had picked one or the other. Especially since so many of the music details will be lost on the intended readers. "[H]is grin like a glittering arpeggio" ... what does that even mean? Let alone the references to specific composers and pieces. I've played some, so I got some. But my students ... nope.
Also, her conversations with Shanna don't seem to have made any difference in the future, so what was even the point?
I wish the supernatural stuff had been cut and way more attention given to the past and its repercussions earlier on in the book.
Tree. Table. Book. by Lois LowryMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A return to old form for Lowry ... this read like a book from my childhood. LOVED young Sophie's narration. Not sure if my students would understand Sophie Gershowitz' stories.
p. 7 - "Begin on the day that is different."
VERDICT: Keep
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. SchmidtMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's a Gary Schmidt book. Maybe I have read too many of them.
VERDICT: Keep
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'ShaughnessyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
We never found out what the rites were!
Agree with another reviewer that the Spirit storyline could have been edited out.
VERDICT: Keep
Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée WatsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hit and miss, like most books in the genre, but I appreciated that Watson used different poetic forms throughout, and Holmes' collages are lovely.
VERDICT: Drop
Olivetti by Allie MillingtonMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Have I really never read a book with a sentient typewriter before? Great idea. But the book, sadly, disappointed me. Really did not like that the Everything That Happened was some giant secret nobody talked about. And the climax after the road trip? Really?
p. 35 - "But humans will believe anything. Especially if it means they can get what they want."
VERDICT: Keep
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne UrsuMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wish the spooky wallpaper girl had shown up earlier. She went from a flicker to a bitch to a gross entity to nothing in the matter of several pages. And we don't know who she was or how she got there. And she ended up having nothing to do with Violet's fatigue? Frustrating.
Also, Violet managed to not see her little brother - who lives in the same house - for DAYS?
VERDICT: Drop
The Selkie's Daughter by Linda Crotta BrennanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was interested to read this because Nova Scotia and selkies, but it was just kind of boring. Some great sentences, though, like "Here the air’s flavored with the salty scent of sea wrack. Sandpipers stitch the hem of the waves, probing for prey with their bills." That's some poetry right there.
VERDICT: Keep
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera BrosgolMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Vordik's demise was quite nasty. As are most of the characters. This was fine for a middle-school graphic novel, but I'm not sure why it is on Newbery lists. I am realizing that one thing my students are missing out on with their reliance on graphic novels for almost all of their reading is that they rarely read descriptions of scenes or actions. It's just all dialogue.
VERDICT: Keep
Ferris by Kate DiCamilloMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I cannot picture handing this to any of my students.
Ghosts that only Charisse can see. Charisse only reading the Bible and Leaves of Grass. "Every good story is a love story." Uncle Ted's painting of the history of the world. "Mysterious Barricades." Astral projection.
Pinky, on the other hand, would be a hit with my kids. She needs her own early reader.
VERDICT: Keep
The Color of Sound by Emily Barth IslerMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Too much description too often of the music AND the colors. I wish Isler had picked one or the other. Especially since so many of the music details will be lost on the intended readers. "[H]is grin like a glittering arpeggio" ... what does that even mean? Let alone the references to specific composers and pieces. I've played some, so I got some. But my students ... nope.
Also, her conversations with Shanna don't seem to have made any difference in the future, so what was even the point?
I wish the supernatural stuff had been cut and way more attention given to the past and its repercussions earlier on in the book.
VERDICT: Drop
DNF:
- Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz (No thank you on the creatures)
VERDICT: Keep
