Saints vs. Colors

(Subtitle: better late than never!) 

Thank you, Smackdown Deities, for a great start this year! Overall, we enjoyed both of these books, and appreciated their many strengths. Both have compelling female protagonists, both feature authentically-represented diversity (#ownvoices) and explorations of identity, and both deal sensitively with lots of relevant contemporary issues - namely, mental illness in The Astonishing Color of After, and sexual assault in Saints and Misfits.

We were unanimous in voting Saints and Misfits to go forward, though. We found the ideas around internet shaming and how teens interact with their internet identities especially intriguing. How the main character moves through choices involving "sexting" and communications felt very applicable to the experiences that some our own students go through.  Another strength was the way that the novel handled romance, and that it wasn’t a dominant feature or driving force. It also does a wonderful job of depicting various elements and tensions of Muslim life in Canada, and adding nuance to the representations we’re typically presented with.

The Astonishing Color of After, on the other hand, was a bit too heavy-handed with the romance, and tried to juggle too many storylines. The story of the protagonist's mother's suicide, and the journey to Taiwan to uncover the secrets of the past, would have been better, we thought, if not bogged down by the inclusion of the romantic confusion with the best friend. We really liked the magic realism, though, and the ample, mouth-watering depictions of Taiwanese street food, so this one is definitely still worth a read!

Saints and Misfits for the win!

Darius the Mighty: An Collection of Emails

I rather miss the lunch hour yelling and screaming over books, but when your book decisions are due the same week as report cards you instead resort to emails that you furiously type at breaks.

Me to team:

What are your votes?

I am throwing mine to Darius. It got me in the feels at the end and I may have cried when his mother said goodbye to her dad for the last time.

Lil:

Darius gets my vote too. I enjoyed reading all the complexities of the relationships that developed through the story- the ties that bind and understanding one another.

Tammy:

I must be a hard @## because both books bored me. I am choosing Darius only because the writing was better. I liked that the author depicted mental health as a generational disease and that Darius was learning to cope with his depression in healthy ways. I also appreciated that the author only suggested at a possible sexual encounter between the two friends; leaving the reader to determine the level of intimacy shared. Darius was well written, but too slow to be a Smackdown contender.

Andrew:

Mighty did not live up to its' name as I struggled through the book to get to the end. For a mystery, there was very little suspense or drama. As well, the coincidences in Mighty were far too many. For that reason alone, Darius gets to move on.

Dia:

I didn't hate Finding Mighty, but it wasn't the best mystery for kids. I found some things went unexplained like why Myla is afraid of high buildings. I thought the author was trying too hard to put in too many "cool" things like Parkour or tagging or gangs (#westsideforlife).

On the other hand I found Darius very engaging. It was heart breaking to see what Darius thought were facts around his Dad's feelings for him. I loved learning more about Zorastrianism which I knew nothing about was fascinating. Most importantly I loved the friendship that Darius found. I know it can be read perhaps more but I like that if it is great, but that the friendship is the foundation piece. This is an easy choice for me.

So there it is,
Darius moves on.

#northsidestillalive