Holding Up the Universe vs. Girl in the Blue Coat

I absolutely loved Girl in the Blue Coat. This one gets my vote for sure. I enjoyed reading from an eighteen year old girl's perspective, especially in the midst of WWII. I thought it was neat to get an inside look at Hanneke's life working in the black market. It also made me realize, think about and appreciate the more intricate details of things that were happening during this time period; for example, parents giving up their babies to families that could provide a safer home, even if that meant possibly never seeing each other again after the war. I felt nervous for Hanneke throughout the story and sad for her when she spoke of Sebastian. I also loved the ending; I found it to be the best ending to a book that I have read in a long time.

I have already recommended this book to one of my students who is an avid reader, takes an interest in WWII (she loved reading Wolf by Wolf), and who is a bit of an "old soul" herself. This was a few days ago and she is already halfway done reading. I think there are many other students who would love to read this book as well. I felt so many different emotions while reading; relief, nervousness, happiness, and grief, to name a few. I would highly recommend Girl in the Blue Coat to both students and adults who take an interest in this time period. This read was a nice change from the teenage romance novels I typically read. Although I love a good teenage romance novel (big John Green fan!) especially ones that alternate between two characters, Girl in the Blue Coat was a refreshing switch.


                                              

Girl Holding Up the Blue….Holding Up the Girl…Holding Coats?...forget it.

Both were fine.  Maybe even more than fine.

I’m sort of with a few of the others who have weighed in.  I think Girl in the Blue Coat is likely the better book, but Holding Up the Universe knows its audience in a HUGE way; it is far more likely to be devoured by our students.

Both are guilty of abandoning ideas/characters/motifs that are initially so intentionally carefully crafted at the expense of the machinations of plot in a way I didn’t mind until I was finished because both are twisty enough to keep you reading.  But...neither really passes a lot of scrutiny.

I think Hesse’s book wins out, however.  Mainly on the strengths of those last few pages, which, in context, are really something special. (Please note:  whenever I have waxed poetically about the last few remarkable pages of a flawed novel, that novel has been eliminated.  See:  Grasshopper Jungle.  The Bunker Diary.  More Than This. Others.  I shall refrain from writing more.)

I’m not sure that I LOVE either one of them.  I’m sort of surprised that both of them have found their way into the semi-finals.

Is this Zombie Pick time?  Because, whatever it is, it’s going to drive straight up the centre for the win this year.

Hell Like Edmonton Froze Over

Lisa:

 This was a difficult decision for me as I loved both of the books.First, The Girl in the Blue Coat. Historical fiction, WWII, the Resistance, Nazis - everything that I love in a book. The plot was fairly unpredictable which I also appreciated. But as far as putting this book into the hands of students? I think that the audience is slightly limited because of the female protagonist and the ending which, at times, was difficult to follow.  Holding Up the Universe is much more appealing for students. With both female and male voices, I can see the book in far more students' hands. Plus it is full of good old teenage angst that drives me a little bonkers, but let's face it, our kids love. So...hell has finally frozen over: I am in agreement with Holly. My vote goes to Holding Up the Universe.

Holly:

 I wouldn't have said hell froze over, more like the heavenly sky has opened for the first time. Gee Lisa, quit being the mean girl. HA!

I liked both books as well, and I did appreciate that the setting in The Girl in the Blue Coat showed readers how life was in a country being controlled by the Nazis. I think it is admirable for a girl in that time to be participating in the black market, and the story idea around that was engaging. It is empowering to have a strong women protagonist in historical fiction to show readers how they played important roles as well. Holding Up the Universe  was a book I could not put down and finished quite quickly. I really like Libby's strong sense of self- most girls would never have that much confidence in themselves, let alone after what she went through. I did find that Jack's facial recognition issue might have been a stretch at times, but it tied nicely in the end. I think there needs to be more stories in the world about girls like Libby or Willowdean in Dumplin' and that girls who feel like they can relate to these characters need to have these books in their hands, because it doesn't mean that the teenage world is a hopeless loveless place for them. I can imagine Holding Up the Universe being some sort of cool movie that is a cross between Glee and Hairspray. Oh, and the dual narration was cool too. My vote is for Libby and Holding Up the Universe, the by far more memorable character out of the two.

Annabel: 

Holding up the Universe gets my vote because it's smart, funny, clever, unique and thoughtful.  It kept me turning the pages and I could see so many 'high school' issues explored in it without it become too 'heavy' on the issues.  I really enjoyed The Girl in the Blue Coat and think it is a valuable asset to the body of work on WWII and it prompted me to do some further research into this part of Dutch history.  However, I became confused at the end and had to re read a couple of times to straighten out the conclusion in my mind.

Dia:

I very much enjoyed The Girl in the Blue Coat though the big betrayal at the end seemed glossed over after so much build up. I think it is a book that hits the historical fiction, disruptive fiction we've been discussing this year at school. Holding Up the Universe is a book I read last year and really loved. I think parts can also be used for disruptive thinking about issues students can relate to. Some feel it is a big ball of teen angst but so is junior high and I think for eights and nines this could be a book you could discuss in parts or as a whole. It is still a 5/5 book for me and gets my vote this round.  

Andrew and Andrea both vote Holding Up the Universe.  Tammy and Arlene maybe the wildcards on an otherwise sweep for Holding Up the Universe with love to Girl in the Blue Coat.

something clever (or we couldn't think of a witty title)

Westminster enthusiastically votes for Scythe to advance to the next round! If you don't know the background of the story yet, this is how I've been summarizing it for every student I've recommended it to: it's the future, and everything is perfect. No hunger, starvation, war, death. Total immortality. The problem - population control. Scythes must be chosen to kill people to keep the population under control. The story follows two teenagers who are chosen to be scythe's apprentices as they learn the ins and outs of the gruesome trade.

            Scythe was a very interesting take on a dystopia and made the idea feel fresh again. The duel narrators and their relationship with each other was very engaging, particularly as the story takes unexpected turns. We also loved the challenging vocabulary and thematic elements that the story included. The book made at least two of us turn around and put the sequel on hold at the library! We can see this being very well received with students and adults alike.

            The Smell of OtherPeople's Houses was also a real page turner.
It told the story of four teenagers whose lives ultimately collided in a small
town in Alaska. The narrative style was very engaging, the characters were
likeable, and the author used great imagery to tell the story. In the end
though, we all thought that it wouldn't be as well received with students,
although we definitely want it to make its way to our library!

A Universe of Coats

Girl in the Blue Coat was a compelling read.  I was quickly drawn to Hanneke: she is spunky and independent, which appeals to me as a female reader.  By setting the book in Holland, it is a non-traditional approach to WWII.
I teared up while reading it; my palms got sweaty and my heart raced.  It was easy to get invested in these characters and this story.  The plot twists were both natural and surprising.
I liked this book.  So much so, that I recommended it to two people before I had even finished it.  Neither of these people, however, were teenagers.  And I think that matters.


I read Holding Up the Universe in one day.  This feat is telling because I don't actually have that kind of time to commit to reading.  But I did anyway.
I was completely prepared to dislike this book because 1) I cannot stomach teenage romance  2) I want more for my students than reading teenage romance  3) I already liked Girl in the Blue Coat. 
But then.
I was intrigued by the effectiveness Jack's coping mechanisms.  I respected Niven's efforts to write Libby as a confident girl who defies stereotypes.  I found the romance unobtrusive to the characters' development.  I -- liked it.
This book is not without its issues: it has gratuitous swearing (but so do teenagers), the stock characters are a bit heavy handedly flat, the basic story arc feels predictable (though, what is the line between 'time-honoured' and 'iterative'?). 

I think, overall, that teenagers would like Holding Up the Universe.  I should say 'teenagers who are more reluctant readers' would like Holding Up the Universe.  Teenagers who are already avid readers may prefer Girl in the Blue Coat, but we already have them onside, don't we? 

Scythe Gets Gleaned at DDM

Here are DDM's thoughts on Scythe vs. The Smell of Other People's Houses:

Renae: Based on all of the blog posts I read that raved about Scythe and its big ideas that "make you think," I was expecting big things. After the first 50 pages or so, the book seemed to deliver.  It presented an intriguing view of what our world could become (a sentient cloud that knows everything and solved all the world's problems, living forever but giving up meaningful life as a human) and I was interested in seeing where the book would go with these topics. 

Sadly, it turned out to be pretty boring. When I was around halfway through, I just kept wishing it was over and couldn't believe how much of the story was left. Rather than tackle any of the moral dilemmas presented in the opening of the novel, it instead focused on the (pointless) romance between the two main characters and their goal to avoid having to glean one another at the end of the novel. Yeah, I was happy all the bad guys died in the end, but who cares? What I really wanted to know was, if overpopulation was such a problem and the Thunderhead can apparently just fix everything, why didn't it fix that by allowing natural deaths to continue? Why do the Scythes even exist? Did I miss something?? Maybe these questions will be answered in the next book. However, I am not interested enough to spend time reading the sequel. 

Brandy Lee: I agree. I usually like Shusterman's work, but this seemed a bit too contrived, I guess. It took a really long time for me to get into the story and I didn't connect with the characters. They have this unrequited love thing, but it didn't compel me to care about how it actually worked out in the end.

Renae: I know Smell isn't the overall winner of the year. I get that it has some pretty cliche things and wraps up really nice and neat in the end. However, I actually cared about the characters. It was a nice story and even though it may sometimes be far fetched, I liked it when different plot lines began to weave into one another and all come together in the end. I wish there was a few more chapters to either go deeper into the backgrounds of certain characters (like Gran). I think my students would think it lacks action and probably wouldn't be into it very much, but it was a quick read on a sunny spring break afternoon. I vote for this one. 

Brandy Lee: At first I thought I wouldn't like the other book, but I grew to like the narrators, even though some were more developed than others. Excellent imagery in the writing - felt like I could picture myself there. There was a bit of cliche "you can choose your own family by forming an unbreakable bond with friends", but I felt for the characters, so I could look past it.

Our votes go to The Smell of Other People's Houses!

Girl in the Blue Coat powers over Holding up the Universe

 

Holding up the Universe is narrated by both characters, Libby Strout once America's Fattest Teen and Jack Masselin, the swaggering male on campus.  The author effectively gets readers into both kids’ heads as the characters show there is more to someone's story then first revealed.   Discomfort and fear plague both characters as this book unfolds and many readers will enjoy this poignant book.

Girl in the Blue Coat: This story is rich in emotion and content.  The reader is drawn into the world of Hanneke who spends her days cycling through her occupied city, gathering items from the black market for her boss.  A turn of events leads Hanneke on a search for a missing 15-year-old Jewish girl and into a pocket of resistance that Hanneke did not know existed.  Hanneke begins to understand the horror facing her country and the rest of the world.   The author's strong research meshes well with the present tense narration from Hanneke - bringing a past time and place to life. 

My vote for continuing:  Girl in the Blue Coat

Submitted by: Maureen