I Make My Own Rules

I feel like there is some sort of rule that if I didn't vote for a title in a previous round and it comes back at me again in another round I still shouldn't vote for it.  Arlene and I battled for Midwinter Blood  over Nazi Hunters a few rounds back with our staff, and sadly we were the minority.  This book still refuses to die, as it came back to our bracket again against We Were Liars.  I read Lockhart's book this summer and loved it.  The scene in the front yard had me utterly confused and had me hooked.  As I read, I knew something terrible had happened, but what? It reminded me of Halse Anderson's Speak where it takes the whole book for the horrific memory to come to the surface.  And that is precisely what I loved about this book- the whole thing just explodes at the end.  This old money family provides a (possibly) true look into how  power can corrupt a family and then decimate it.

We Were Liars has been floating around my room for the last few months and it hardly ever makes it back onto the shelf.  Readers immediately tell a friend that they MUST read it, and so the cycle continues.  Just yesterday two of my students were discussing a scene from the book.  Watching students talk about this book is interesting because the one who has read it always has to be careful about how they discuss or explain something as to not give away the ending.   I book talked Nazi Hunters to my homeroom the other day and two students immediately wanted it.  It is no surprise that the girls are the ones that gravitate to We Were Liars and the boys are fighting for a copy of Nazi Hunters.

My vote is for We Were Liars, my zombie pick is still up in the air.