Smackdown Books 2021

Ordinary Hazards
We Dream of Space
If These Wings Could Fly
We Are Not Free
The King of Jam Sandwiches
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
The Companion
Punching the Air
Show Me a Sign
Land of the Cranes
Furia
Dragon Hoops
When Stars Are Scattered
Snapdragon
The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark
American as Paneer Pie
Tune It Out
The Gilded Ones
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
Switch

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

This Has Never Happened Before!

 I have no idea what will ultimately win this year's Mighty Smackdown but I can tell you it will be a victory for women.  One of the big complaints in Smackdown is that you are often required to compare two books or three that seem to have no connection to each other and somehow, then, come up with criteria to justify your choice.  Not this year. For the first time in Smackdown history you have a three way competition with books who all carry strong stories to readers about abuse and finding a way to grow into power when circumstances have told you that your are not entitled to it.  So now decisions will have to be made on delivery or audience or your own comfort level with the way we handle books about abuse.

I have voted but can say without hesitation that all three of these books have space on my shelf. 

I do not want to be accused of swaying votes so will not share my choice but I do want to encourage people to vote and to blog. 

Readers are the ultimate winners and these books are exactly what I think of when research shows us that reading builds empathy.

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