The Family Romanov vs. Only Ever Yours

I echo what my reading mates posted about both of these books. I appreciated Fleming's choice to only include small details that were actually substantiated by historical evidence, rather than going the route of the overly-speculative, fictionalized history that seems to be really popular in YA (and poorly researched) non-fiction. I also appreciated the inclusion of primary sources throughout, although as Brad noted in an earlier round, they got a little old and I found myself skipping over yet another narrative of poor peasant life. It was a quick read, and while I don't feel like it presented a ton of new information or a totally different perspective, I think some students might like it.

I actually stopped reading Only Ever Yours. 100 pages in and I still felt like all I had read about were the same routines of body-shaming. I get it, dystopian society, you're judgy and awful and women have no rights (they don't even have capital letters!) The characters felt flat and the narrative didn't seem to be going anywhere fast. I could envision a certain kind of student enjoying it - one who had made their way through the entire Uglies series (and every other series in the genre) - but I can't envision a student thinking that this was the best book they'd read in ages.

My vote goes to The Family Romanov.

PS - I heard on CBC that there is a special marathon confession happening today at St. Joseph's Basilica. In honor of the event, I will confess my sin here: I shouldn't have voted against Symphony for the City of the Dead! And certainly not in favor of The Lumberjanes. I think it's actually - in retrospect - one of the better books this Smackdown. Mea Culpa.

Crossover vs. Gabi

I have to say that I really enjoyed both books, however, Crossover was the one that I just couldn't put down. In saying that, I realize that it played right into my love of basketball, but I can easily picture the connection that our students will make to the characters and the poetic style.

Gabi was real, honest and a bit raw at times... I enjoyed it, but didn't feel the same need to keep reading, and struggle to envision it as part of our library collection. My vote is for Crossover to move on.

Our vote to move onto the next round is The Crossover by Alexander Kwame.

The two contending books were Gabi: A Girl In Pieces by Isabelle Quintero and The Crossover by Alexander Kwame .

We chose The Crossover for several reasons. For one, it evoked a much stronger emotional response from the reader than Gabi: A Girl In Pieces did.  The use of prose was a unique way to represent the voice of the main character in the book.  You don't read many teen poetry books about a young basketball player whose father dies rather suddenly. The Crossover's characters were easy to relate to and, as we were reading, we were slowly drawn more and more into the book. At a certain point in the book, we didn't want to stop reading. With all factors considered, The Crossover was simply a more interesting read.

Gabi: A Girl In Pieces had it's high points too. It too was very interesting. We liked the characters and the addition of the drawings and poetry. However, Gabi: A Girl In Pieces didn't make us feel as deeply as The Crossover, and that is why it is not moving on.

Submitted by Cara (teen reader) and Maureen

First, know this: I have no idea if this whole blog thing is actually going to work. It is true, I have never actually blogged before. There. I said it...out loud. But this time, I am moved. I am moved to say this: What is the purpose of this whole Smackdown thing anyway? Is it for us to read and enjoy these books all the while keeping our students in mind so hopefully we can pass some gem of a book onto them? Or is to find those books which we feel will most appeal to our kids and throw the rest out - no matter how freaking good the book is?
SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME! I need direction... I don't do well with ambiguity...
So I turn to our fearless leader. I ask her why? Why are we reading these books? Give me some criteria for choosing one book over the other? Sure it is easy when you have a snoozer up against something great. But what about when you have Gabi, A Girl in Pieces against The Crossover? What then??
Nothing. She gives me nothing but a small grin and a you-figure-it-out kind of talk. What kind of answer is that? sigh
So, I am trying to figure it out. I loved Gabi; I read it in one sitting. I found the characters to be authentic and honest. It is the kind of book that deals with issue after issue, but does so in a way that makes it all sound so real rather then checking off the standard issue list that seems to be so very popular this year. How can I not vote for a book that I love? Well...there are very few students I can give this book to in my class right now. I couldn't even book talk it to my whole class after spending a Saturday on the couch reading it. And then, there's The Crossover and Paranych breathing down my neck - threatening to turn my class full of basketball players against me if I vote against it. For me The Crossover was fine, but that's it - it was just fine. It was certainly not a sit-on-my-couch-and-read it-all-day kind of book. But...here is a book I can give to my students right away. As a matter of fact, when I read it a few months ago, I did just that, and all of my kids loved it. But, alas, I did not. Which of course brings me back to purpose. What is the purpose of this whole Smackdown thing?! Argh!!
Ultimately, of course, my vote didn't matter anyway because my group voted for The Crossover to move on because it is a book we can all give to our students. And yup, that's right. I voted for Gabi, A Girl in Pieces because it is just that freaking good. If you haven't yet read it, you probably should - even if you don't have a student you can give it to.

Family Romanov vs Only Ever Yours -

Tammy:
Another round of Smackdown and it's time to choose a winner. The opponents in this round are Louise O'Neill author of Only Ever Yours versus Candace Fleming, author of The Family Romanov .

The problem , yet again, is I am not in love with either book. Why? Well, when I discuss literature with my students, I tell them that the really good books are those that make us feel deeply. I sermonize that the great novels become friends to us as we travel through the lives of the characters , as we experience and learn what is it to be human .  

And there the problem lies; neither book evoked any journey I want to be on. Only Ever Yours , was a good book but in the end the characters lived in a dystopian society where no woman could escape or be redeemed. Women were doomed and the main character had to choose between death or eternal servitude to men. Interesting but too depressing and by the way - can we have a novel without a lead character with an eating disorder?

The Family Romanov was semi -interesting and well written for a high school text on government systems. I teach history and enjoyed the use of primary source information and the introduction of our youth to Rasputin but let`s face it, it wasn't interesting enough to captivate my interest or to recommend as a must read book. The Smackdown victor, I believe should be a MUST READ.

Thus, reluctantly, I will choose Candace Fleming as the winner but PLEASE send me a book that I think my students absolutely will love!

Nancy
I reluctantly supported Only Ever Yours way back in another round (was it really round one?) but could not engage with the characters even remotely.. yet another dystopian novel that highlights the worst of the worst of high school girls, and never redeems itself. Upon receiving this round of books, I predicted that it would not be difficult for Family Romanoff to win this round, even though I'm not a big non  fiction reader.

Romanoffs was well written and engaging as it enlightened the reader on the lives, backgrounds and social circumstances around the ill-fated dynasty.  It purveyed background knowledge clearly and with a fluid writing style and I did find myself enjoying the read.  I personally would have enjoyed a more story format as it does read a bit like a well written text, however I was hooked.  As a young reader looking for historical information, I imagine I would prefer a more concise format; as a reader for pleasure and information, it may just hit the right mark.  It is my choice as well  to proceed on in the Smackdown!  And Tammy, I agree... give me a whopper of a book!

Just One Gal's Opinion....

Gabi vs Crossover

This is just one girl's opinion and as it turns out, she is not in the majority on this one (aka why doesn't anyone listen to me?).  I really liked Crossover, it was an interesting combo of sports and verse.  It had lots to offer (see my other teammates posts) AND I could recommend it to kids AND it's in my library but.......

There was something about Gabi, about the self-deprecrating chubby gal who was still popular in a way, still got the guy (or two) and lived with a somewhat normal/crazy/normal family.  As I read it I felt like it so accurately represented how teenagers talk to each other and how they rationalized with themselves. It just felt really honest and darn it, she used the word "crack-a-lackin"!! That being said, it cannot go in my K-9 library. Spoiler alert: I am actually OK with Crossover moving on as both books were well worth the read.

Crazy Nest

Between Crazy, by Linda Phillips and The Nest, by Kenneth Opel, I have to choose Crazy.  Dia immediately sent me an email asking for me to explain myself when I sent in my vote…so I’ll try.

 If you know me, other than The Crossover, I have a serious dislike for novels in verse.  When I read the majority of novels in prose, I feel disconnected from the protagonist or I feel like nothing is fully explained.  But with Crazy, I got Laura.  Coming from a family with mental illness sprinkled here and there, I understood her deep rooted issues with her mother.  The raw emotions in this book were felt deeply by me.  When Laura’s mother went back to the hospital for shock treatments, I hated her mother with her, but I also felt a sense of compassion.  I, like Laura was conflicted.  Should her mother come home?  Should Laura open herself up to be hurt again by her mother…by the world?  I just found it so moving and somewhere in Laura’s dark world I could see myself.  Laura’s fear of becoming her mother and hiding her passion for painting in hopes that she could hide from mental illness too is something I can relate to.  My grandmother passed this year after struggling with Alzheimer’s for over a decade.  The fear that I too may spend my last year’s struggling to find myself in a lonely abyss sends a prickling fear through me that I quickly package away to deal with when I’m ready.   Linda Phillips just dug into the core of me and gave words to my fears, which is something Kenneth Oppel was not able to do.

The Nest…what?  Disturbing.  Confusing.  Those are only a few things I felt while quickly making my way through The Nest.  Now, I have nothing bad to say about the book.  In fact, I gave both novels a 4 out of 5 on Goodreads, but I sure didn’t connect with The Nest.  Yes, normally I would love a book that makes me question if what the character is seeing is real.  But this…this was just plain strange and not a charming strange.  Can anyone tell me if there was actually a cunning bee queen intent on feasting on the carcass of a dead baby?  I’m still completely confused…  But somewhere in this deeply disturbing world, Steve learned a beautiful lesson.  I do wonder though, if the wasp Queen had promised his real baby brother would be taken care of, if Steve would have allowed for the exchange to happen.  Surprisingly, I felt that The Nest paralleled the theme of Monster’s Call.  Both boys were facing difficult family situations and were visited by an ominous character that taught each boy a life lesson.  Monster’s Call ended with an ugly cry, whereas The Nest ended with a stunned silence.  I’ll keep The Nest in mind for the zombie pick, but for now I place my vote with Crazy.  

Tristin Pawluk