Every You, Every Me vs Revolution

vs



Only speaking on behalf of me....I started Every you, Every me and thought it was really unique. Loved the photos and the story was intriguing - until it got weird. Suddenly a girl from out of nowhere shows up and ends up being the photographer. I didn;t really get where she came from and I don;t believe she was every really introduced properly. Disappointed :(
Revolution was a nice surprise. I've said it before in this very blog - I am not a history buff. What Revolution did was actually make me interested in the French Revolution. I wanted to know more, I wanted cheer for the heroine. Way to go Jennifer Donnelly - my vote is Revolution to move on.

Beauty Queens V.S. A Monster Calls

      Hey there, Misses Jasper Place! Miss Allendale here for the vote! I’m with you, girlfriends! Although I originally giggled out loud with the satirical comedy of Beauty Queens, I got bogged down after a while and threw it into my makeup bag to stagnate while I went on to A Monster Calls. 

     Wow! This one is a  quick read, but lots of depth - a cunning fusion of fairytale, horror, and realistic fiction that draws the reader in with a mixture of suspense and empathy (not to mention nightmarish illustrations). The novel was written posthumously by Patrick Ness, friend and colleague of the late Siobhan Dowd, who passed away at age 47 from breast cancer. Unfortunately, I have just the student who may some support in the reading of this text and will be keeping my copy to pass along (Is that okay, Dia?). 

    I’m voting for A Monster Calls to move on to the next round... and it looks like young readers would agree. On February 23^rd, A Monster Calls won the Red House Book Award for Older Readers and best overall book of 2012 – based on the votes of 83,000 young readers. It has also been shortlisted for LA Times Book Award and Bram Stoker Award (horror) and has been nominated for the Carnegie as well.  Siobhan Dowd created a legacy for sharing literature with disadvantaged children and youth in the UK (see  Siobhan Dowd Trust). I’m REALLY hoping to find the time to read some of Siobhan Dowd’s  and Patrick Ness's other works. 

     BTW, I have a feeling the next round will be a tough one...

Just going to say....

I just finished The Freak Observer and I liked it.....a lot!

A Monster Calls vs. Beauty Queens

Mona: Hey Barb.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I loved Beauty Queens when I first read it.  I laughed at the tongue in cheek and enjoyed the unrealistic yet entertaining series of events. I was surprised at the indiscriminate killing off of various characters, which just added to the surreal experience on the island.
Barb: Well Mona, I agree that the idea was clever but I felt the book got more annoying as it went along.  Did you actually read all those footnotes??
Mona: At first I read them all, and I will admit that I started skimming as the story progressed.  I tried not to take any of it too seriously, and was in it for the laughs.  There was a serious side though - in that the book dealt with parent issues/pressures and the various responses of the girls to that pressure.  Warning for prudish- there was a lot of sex, but the story also dealt with love and sex, both gay and straight in a reasonably sensitive and humorous manner. What do you say to that, Barb?
Barb: That was part of the problem.  Libba Bray tried to deal with everything, plus the kitchen sink.  She could have used a good editor.  I just think it went on too long.  I could find people to recommend this to, but it's not one I would recommend often. If you have this book in a junior high it would need to be in a section reserved for mature readers. For me this book was kind of like a stupid movie.  You have to be in the mood for it.
Mona: So I guess I was in the mood for it.  I would also be careful of who I would recommend it to.

So now on to A Monster Calls. What did you think of that one Barb?
Barb:I LOVED IT!!
Mona: ME TOO!!
Barb: It's the best book I've read in a while.
Mona: I thought so too. I was sure I was going to vote Beauty Queens through to the next round, but once I got caught up in A Monster Calls, Beauty Queens was dead to me!
Barb and Mona: The Fairy Tales that had no message (ha ha) were compelling (actually the whole book was compelling). It was a clever combination - dealing with bullying and death together in the book. We were never sure where imagination ended and reality began, but that was okay. It was actually part of the magic that drew us into the story.We both laughed at times and shed a tear at times as we followed the main character, Conor, through the story. Little things, like a sapling growing out of a knot of wood in Conor's room, or berries covering Conor's floor were enticing little tidbits that added to the whole. The illustrations were completely amazing. They enhanced and were an integral part of the story.

If you haven't figured it out by now, we both loved A Monster Calls and give it two votes to move on to the next round. (And they say JP doesn't like anything). The decision now rests on you, Fred and Robin. (But if you don't pick A Monster Calls, two monsters from JP may come calling!!)

Round Two -Down for the Count...What Happens Next

You are a big beautiful group of bloggers. One way or another (bullying is not a bad verb!) we finished round two pretty much on time. What happened in as few words as possible you ask?

1. JP picked the best of the worst and now Revolution will go against Every You Every Me that squeaked through in a split decision.

2.Freak Observer moves on stronger than ever though detested early on by some. It will face Okay for Now....which apparently is okay.

3.Selznick, possibly unhappy at not getting the Caldecott mashes his graphic novel opponent into death and will face Split. Those reading this book may need therapy and I definitely do... now that The Mostly True Story of Jack was spit on and left for dead.

4.This last bracket is a doozy. Beauty Queens was left for dead...but always check the pulse. It comes back to smack again against the sob inducing A Monster Calls. JP is judging this round and they don't like anything....interesting times.

Emails to bloggers will follow with details on your books and your brackets. Go smack yourselves. Next deadline: April 2nd. I know that seems like a long time but I refer you to an earlier Brad post about time.

Wonderstruck vs. Manga Man

It's the showdown of graphic novels! Enjoyed the artwork of both of these, but the ideas in Wonderstruck take it above Manga Man.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck is another excellent offering from Brian Selznick. This story is about a deaf boy who leaves a hospital and goes on a search for his father and some family connection. Meanwhile another story of a deaf girl unfolds in pictures. The two stories cleverly mesh together in the end and lessons are learned about belonging. The touch of nostalgia, great illustrations and well-told story make this book the winner.

Manga Man by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran

In Manga Man, a manga guy, Ryoko, comes through a portal to the world of American comic style. He meets an American comic style girl, Marissa, and they fall for each other. Much of the book is about how Ryoko's strange manga-ness awkwardly affects life in the American comic world. For example, he teaches Marissa how to climb out of the comic frames and into others; his thought bubbles appear to other characters; and his fast speed lines actually materialize and litter the ground. Thematically, I suppose it is about acceptance of others, no matter how different.

If you are a "manga lover," this book is enjoyable because you get the jokes; if not, some of the references are missed and parts of it might even feel "icky" to read. I definitely know some kids who would think this book is cool.

Guantanamo Boy Vs Revolution

            

If only we could ditch both books but Dia (the bully) won't let us.

We could find students to recommend both of these books to but we wouldn't want to see either of them win.

Guantanamo Boy was predictable right from the beginning. When the family decides to go to Pakistan you know that Khalid will be arrested. He is interrogated and tortured (surprise, surprise) in Pakistan and then again in Guantanamo Bay. It seems like the author wanted to make the book longer so she repeated the exact same torture scenes in a different location (although we did learn a lot about water-boarding).

Though it is a work of fiction Guantanamo Boy is based on  fact and some students (especially boys) would be interested in reading it.

Revolution is a story of teen angst, family problems, time travel, redemption, music, and the French Revolution. We both enjoyed the premise and the story line but it went on a bit too long. If you are a history buff or have an obsession with the French Revolution this is the book for you. If you don't, and have insomnia this is also the book for you.

And so, Revolution moves on only because it's the book we disliked the least.

Mona & Barb