Stand we will!

 Smackdown the 11th - First Round

Vanessa, Colleen, Joni, and Mel

  vs  

Free Lunch            Stand on the Sky

Vanessa: Well Free Lunch was a tough way to start the round.  90%  of the book is terrible things happening to the main character over and over again followed by a final chapter or 2 of how things immediately got better.  I didn't find the writing all that strong and the quick turnaround in the end seemed implausible.  In the beginning he kept saying how money would make everything better and the ending supported that when mom gets a job.  And it’s based on the author’s life growing up.  I have children from tough homes but this book seems to say that money will solve their problems..what happens if the windfall never happens.  This is a pass for me.

I loved Stand in the Sky, I have always wanted to go to Mongolia and I thought they captured the pressures of conforming to the culture and the need to find yourself within that ideology.  Stand in the Sky is my vote!

Colleen:  I read “Free Lunch” first.  I saw that it was non-fiction before I started reading so that might have helped with my expectations.  Even though the topic was heavy I found it an easy read.  Sadly, I also felt this story was similar to the home lives of many of our students.  I liked the main character and was rooting for him to escape his environment.  I was extremely disappointed however with the abrupt ending.  It reminded me of the stories I used to write in school.  Once I realized I had hit 1,000 words I would wrap up that sucker super quick.  I kept reminding myself that being non-fiction the author had to stay true to real life events, however implausible they may seem, but I still wasn’t convinced anything really had changed and their lives would now improve.  Perhaps I’ve just become too jaded.  Overall I thought the book was fine and something my kiddo would probably read, but it certainly wasn’t my favorite.

I had high hopes for Stand in the Sky, however the book ticked me off immediately by having a typo in the first paragraph.  The FIRST paragraph!!!  I decided to move past this and kept reading.  It took me quite awhile to read the first quarter of the book because I kept falling asleep.  To be fair I’m not sure if this is a true reflection of the book or the nightly egg nogs I’ve been enjoying.  Prior to reading this book I knew very little about Mongolia, the Kazakhs or eagles so I enjoyed learning about all of these things.  I also enjoyed the process as Aisulu carves a place for herself in her community, and watching the subtle shifts in her community as they come to accept her new role, some more readily than others.  I didn’t however feel this was an extremely well written book.  There were spelling and grammatical errors throughout and the  author would often repeat herself, perhaps for emphasis, but I found it interrupted the flow of the book.  The book did however have a great ending and for this reason I’ll give Stand in the Sky my vote.

Joni: I actually enjoyed “Free Lunch” a lot (haters)! It was a simple read that I think would make it very accessible to a wide audience, while boasting extremely complex and important themes. In many ways I could identify with the main character, going back to childhood feelings of insecurity and uncertainty of how to ‘fit in’. This, alone, would be very relatable to most youth. The wider message of systematic poverty, racism and abuse also struck a chord. Having spent a period of my childhood being “poor” this book would have been meaningful to read, at that time, to have me look at my situation from a new perspective. Our work with at-risk youth came to the forefront of my mind, thinking about how little things, like the lunch binder, might cause anxiety in children who live in fear of how others might see them if they knew the truth about where they came from. It made me think about ways I can approach things in a more sensitive way. I feel that this book has the power to bridge the gap between children of different socio-economic backgrounds, bring up important conversations, build empathy and tighten a community, if integrated as a class-wide novel study. I feel that this book has an important place in YA literature.


To say that I am a little obsessed with Stand on the Sky is a massive understatement. I have already started a novel study on it with one of my reading groups (it is on Epic!) and quickly gained kid-approval of the first chapter. I loved learning more about the exotic location, the always mysterious to me Mongolia, and culture that was integrated so beautifully into every aspect of the story. How cool is it that the author spent a month in Mongolia ‘being’ a thirteen-year-old girl living in a ger and doing all of the ‘girls work’ to bring this level of detail and credibility to the character, Aisulu?! There were so many things I loved about this book, from the relationships between siblings, parents and Aisulu’s ‘adopted’ family, her aunt and uncle, to the challenging of gender norms and what that looked like in Kazakh culture, to the ever important message of being true to yourself and staying strong in your convictions. The descriptions were easily read and understood while being powerful and effective. I loved this book and 100% vote for it to be our pick!


Mel: I liked “Free Lunch” more than Vanessa...reminded me of some of what might be going on in some of my students’ homes. Was halfway through when I realized the author and main character had same name so then I felt more intrigued as to its “true” factor.. The writing made more sense as it felt more like memories. I believed that money made things better/easier for all involved and thought it showed that desperate side to poverty. BUT I do agree that Mom changed in ways that I thought were not authentic (and boyfriend too). Abusers don’t just turn it off. HOWEVER….

LOVED LOVED LOVED “Stand on the Sky”. I’ve never read a story about Mongolia and flipped several times to back cover to see where the author was from. Connected with story of person trying to change or feeling different from culture, rules, family. Love the Eagle. Love the Auntie. Love the Girl. Love the “Yoda” Grandpa who appears in story with wisdom, protection and guidance. Have already emailed a former student because she will LOVE this book.

Stand on the Sky is moving on!