It was a dark and stormy meeting. Andrew’s voice bellowed like so much thunder…Dia and Annabel huddled under the library tables hoping to escape his wrath….till the calmer, redacted (thanks for the new word Brad)version of Every You Every Me could move on to the next round.
Actually there were five of us at ABM voting and it was a split decision 3 to 2. Andrew was disappointed and even called me a bully – I know shocking but I believe this is just a residual effect from last year’s SD. The whole panel can agree that both books are worth reading and that both books suffered from different weaknesses and strengths. We felt Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin was best when it focused on the introduction of a deaf high school student into a regular high school. When the second half of the book lapsed into a silly Hardy Boys adventure we all lost a bit of interest. We all liked the writing style of EYEM but the angst was very angsty and we did feel that this book would be harder for students to pick up on their own. A reader will have to invest some time but once this story turns to mystery it becomes more successful and you want to know where the pictures are coming from. We disagreed on the ending which I found interesting but others found forced. Why did it edge ahead? I think because there is, amongst the angst, really thoughtful themes that are enhanced by the photography within.
Sigh. Andrew. One day, The Mighty Smackdown will include a 600 page book about the kooky misadventures of a young John A. Macdonald, solving crimes in 1830s Kingston, like "who stole Farmer MacGregor's illegal still?," and Andrew will finally enjoy a Smackdown book. Oh yes--there must also be a saintly Social Studies teacher who serves as a mentor/guide to young Johnny A.
ReplyDeleteWait a second. I think I'm on to something here...
I had the understanding that the term "Smack-down" was to refer to the book and not the reader... although a 600 page Sir John A. mystery in the style of Encyclopedia Brown would be rather enjoyable, I think that is beside the point here. I have strong opinions about the books I read. Just because I have yet to convince other in my reading circle to share my point of view, I still stand by what I said.
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