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, January 9, 2019

The Poet X
I have to admit that I’ve never read a book of poetry other than what I’ve used with my Grade Fives. For this reason I was a little hesitant about the book and wasn’t sure if I’d like it. I actually loved The Poet X and read it within the day. After a “heavy” read with Children of Blood and Bone I was hoping for something a bit lighter. I wouldn’t say this was a light read (it addresses some important issues such as gender stereotypes, questioning one’s faith, homophobia and finding your voice) but it was an engaging read. It took a bit of time, and some page skimming, but The Poet X captivated my interest in a way that I was not expecting. I loved reading how Xiomara found her voice by writing and then eventually performing her own poetry. I found myself connecting with the main character and actually cried at the end (I won’t say why for those who haven’t read it). I was not a fan of the romance between Xiomara and Aman but I enjoyed that X had someone in her corner other than Twin. Our team votes for The Poet X.
At first I did not enjoy the format of this book, but soon realized how this could be used with some of my struggling readers. I have found it difficult to find low-vocab/high-interest books for my jr high students, and feel this novel is something my struggling readers might enjoy. Even though some text was written in a foreign language (Spanish?), the story was interesting and kept my attention. Coming from a family of immigrants, I found I could relate to the overly-restrictive nature of the main character's upbringing. (Karen)

Children of Blood and Bone
Feeling rather embarrassed that I didn’t love this!
After various raves and reviews about this novel, I was excited to read it. The title, the novel cover and the reviews all appeal to the excitement that one would hope for in the plot. The summary leads you to think it’ll be a great read, but yet, I only made it to page 30. I’m relieved I didn’t make it any further after hearing my team and their reviews!
Nellie Carlson voted against this one and quoting the email I received “ Blood and Bone was dark and generally not a genre that we enjoyed.”
I agree as does Rachel, as the length is the first deterrent, although I’d teach students not to judge a book this way, I found very little in the first few pages that made me want to persevere. The main character (can’t even recall her name) might have won me over by her rebellious ways but it just didn’t hook me. I’m going to put it down to the genre, I have a hard time with the fantasy genre!
This book was not at all what I thought it would be. The main character's over use of sarcasm left me feeling less than sympathetic. I found the whole book to be dark and not enjoyable to read. (Karen)

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