You Know What I Like - Disappointment...

Sounds bizarre, I know,but what Arlene and I have noticed in this last round is people are mad at each other. How could you pick Counting by 7s? How could Bomb go on? How can you not see the ending of More Than This is stupid? Or profound? How can you dump Wonder? How can you later champion another chance for it? How can you change your mind? The answer, dear readers, to all these questions is at the essence of Smackdown...reading is deeply personal and you have to do it to get your students to do it. When you are passionate about what moves on, what doesn't and what didn't really move you you are proving you have a reading life - and you have a shot at getting your students to build their own.

As always, I encourage the Booktator in all of you - fight with your words for what you loved or hated - go ahead comment. What I would say? I'm glad Counting by 7s is in the final it moved me and I encourage all of you to read Brent's comments because he is able to articulate my thoughts far beyond: book good. I did like Leonard Peacock - don't hate the angst just because so many of us work waist deep in it. I loved Bomb so I'm not sorry it's there but I do hear Trinity, a graphic novel, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm may be the book many of you wanted Bomb to be. Try it let me know. I haven't read More Than This but it seems like Ness always incites a debate over beauty vs. accessibility and that's not a bad way to spend some time.

Where does this leave us? Counting by 7s vs Bomb vs our zombie pick: let me stop you here.  Remember that certain social teacher who always told you how important your vote was? This is never more true than for this vote...I had three people who didn't vote and a time line that stretched and stretched. Here's what I was left with:

More Than This: 4 votes. Wonder: 6 votes. Eleanor and Park: 6 votes. One and Only Ivan: 7 votes. Aristotle and Dante: 5 votes. My vote hanging out goes to...One and Only Ivan because I just can't face one more tie vote.