A Monster Calls beats Split

Westmin agrees with each other again.  Darn.  I was really hoping to Smack someone in this Smackdown.  Furthermore, we agree with Vanessa and Jaylene to put A Monster Calls through to the final.  I agreed to make the post if Wendy and Renae would write haiku poems! 

So, Wendy created two poems that she claims she didn’t like, but are better than my efforts: 

Gut roiling, tears spill

Imagination captured

Prosaic Split lost   

Angst fair and angst foul

Recipes for quick healing

Story beats the pill

Here are Renae’s brilliant Haikus:

Anger and bruises

A father’s mark on a son

Will Jace overcome?

Tragedy abound

A tree teaches a lesson

A Monster Calls wins

Renae also said:  I really liked both of these books for different reasons. Split is harsh, real, and fast-paced. I wanted to know how all of the characters turned out in the end and I think for mature readers this book offers a lot for discussion around the topic of abuse.

A Monster Calls also dealt with a situation that many people face in losing a loved one to cancer, and I really liked the character of the monster/yew tree in showing Connor a truth about himself and about life, and how he dealt with his mother’s illness and his guilt surrounding it.

That said, since all of the other books I previously voted through are now in the final round, I vote Split as my zombie pick! 

(Unless, for some reason, Okay for Now doesn’t win it’s round, then she’ll pick that one). 

On that topic, Wendy claims her Zombie pick has to be the first book she read—Now is the Time for Running.

And, I think we should give A Tale Dark and Grimm another look in the Zombie round, unless someone makes a compelling post lobbying for another choice.