Not Much of a Fight

I had the task of picking for our team. My first choice disappeared before our number got called, and so did my second. I'd heard good things about Maybe He Just Likes You, so I went for it. If I'd realized Fighting Words was by the author of The War that Saved My Life from a couple of smacks ago, this bracket might have been my first choice. 

In The War that Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley created an amazing story and a character with a unique and powerful voice. Delicious Naeveh Roberts has an equally compelling voice and a forceful story to tell. The things that happen to Della and her sister are heartbreaking, but it's a novel that sings the power of hope and healing. The author manages to deal with drug addiction, sexual assault, and attempted suicide in a way that is both very honest and entirely appropriate for young audiences.

Maybe He Just Likes You left us all a bit uncomfortable. Maybe it was just that we, as teachers, don't like to think that unwanted touching may be happening around us undetected. That we miss calls for help. That our favouritism is obvious. Or maybe it's that Barbara Dee's writing came up a bit short. It felt like the issue was the driver, rather than storytelling. The ending also wrapped everything up too neatly, with a pretty bow on top. Kudos to Dee for addressing a timely and difficult topic, but it felt too much like she wrote the book to address the topic. 

Fighting Words is ready to take on another contender.

Renée, Lynette, Kym, Jessica