Smackdown Books 2021

Ordinary Hazards
We Dream of Space
If These Wings Could Fly
We Are Not Free
The King of Jam Sandwiches
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
The Companion
Punching the Air
Show Me a Sign
Land of the Cranes
Furia
Dragon Hoops
When Stars Are Scattered
Snapdragon
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark
American as Paneer Pie
Tune It Out
The Gilded Ones
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
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Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Holding Up the Universe vs. The Hate U Give

From DDM, all three of us read The Hate U Give and loved it. We all agreed that the main character had a strong, authentic voice. The issues raised may have been hard for us to fully understand because we don't live in that world, but the message was strong and we felt it was an important book to read and share with others.

Only one of us had a chance to read Holding Up the Universe. It was generally an entertaining read but after a while it sort of felt like reading a script for your average teen movie. Yes, the prosopagnosia may be a unique feature, but all of the usual suspects were there (the outcast, the cool guy, the immature jocks, the popular girls, etc). It went on a little too long and had a few too many sub-conflicts that dragged the story down in some places.

Our votes go to The Hate U Give for this round.

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