Today we had not one but two great lists (I’d like to say “that go great together,” but actually there is zero overlap).
First, the morning greeted me with the Morris shortlist, which I wasn’t expecting until Monday, and settled the pesky question of whether Seraphina counts as a debut. (It does, clearly, since it made [...]
What a Day!
By on December 6, 2012
Nonfiction! Finalists!
By on December 4, 2012
Probably you have all seen the shortlist for The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction already, but just in case: Bomb We’ve Got a Job Moonbird Titanic Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different (Click through for descriptions/why statements and cover art.) Of the five finalists, we thought We’ve Got a Job skewed a bit [...]
Nonfiction! Finalists!
By on December 4, 2012
Probably you have all seen the shortlist for The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction already, but just in case:
Bomb
We’ve Got a Job
Moonbird
Titanic
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different
(Click through for descriptions/why statements and cover art.)
Of the five finalists, we thought We’ve Got a Job skewed a bit young (but will be posting [...]
Get Ready, Get Set, READ!
By on December 2, 2012
Well, folks, the results are in! We voted down the Pyrite Nominations to create a shortlist, and here it is:
I don’t think there are any real surprises here, except maybe the margin; Code Name Verity pretty much swept it.
Your task now, should you choose to join the fun (and regardless of whether you voted on [...]
Seraphina
By on November 30, 2012
Seraphina, Rachel Hartman
Random House, July 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Gosh golly, but I love rereading.
Books change upon acquaintance. They get deeper (or, sometimes, shallower, but let’s not go there); different aspects bubble to the top; when the reader is no longer at the mercy of the plot’s momentum there is time to really savor all the different [...]
Seraphina
By on November 30, 2012
Seraphina, Rachel Hartman
Random House, July 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Gosh golly, but I love rereading.
Book change upon acquaintance. They get deeper (or, sometimes, shallower, but let’s not go there); different aspects bubble to the top; when the reader is no longer at the mercy of the plot’s momentum there is time to really savor all the different [...]
Pyrite Poll!
By on November 29, 2012
The poll is up! I realized, belatedly, that actually it should probably have been that everyone votes for 5, and the top ten most selected titles are the Pyrite* shortlist. Next year, hopefully we’ll get the math bits figured out. Data nerds, feel free to give statistical collection tips if you have any.
But hey! [...]
Lists, Lists, Lists!
By on November 29, 2012
Yesterday was full of goodness! We saw the New York Times Notables, Library Journal’s YA for Adults list (which has strong crossover with the contender list, no surprise), and a peek (via Twitter) at the SLJ list, which is full of goodness and a few surprises.
Sometime in the next few days, and as even more [...]
Second Chance Summer (Doesn’t Have a Chance at the Gold)
By on November 25, 2012
Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, May 2012
Reviewed from final copy
My friends, I have failed. For the first time this season, I’m calling DNF on an auto-contender I’m meant to be reviewing.
Second Chance Summer is a fine book. But 100 pages in, I can see that the literary merits don’t [...]
Code Name Verity
By on November 21, 2012
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
Hyperion, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
At last! I finally get to write about my one true love of the year, the book I will champion against all others as the be all, end all best book of the year.
(Sorry, Railsea, you rock, but you’re still not number one, Pyrite nomination notwithstanding.)
Oh god, [...]
Pyrite Printz: Deadlines!
By on November 19, 2012
The Pyrite Printz nomination period is drawing to a close!
Nominations are scheduled to close Wednesday, 11/28.
You may nominate any YA title published in the US in 2012. You may only nominate one book. Ready? Head over to the original nomination post to nominate via commenting.
Straw polling/ranking/winnowing will take place on 11/29-30, with the goal [...]
The NBA Winner!
By on November 15, 2012
More Roundup (Debut Style!)
By on November 13, 2012
Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone, Kat Rosenfield
Dutton, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Buzz and anticipation, impressive writing, and a whole that ends up not quite hitting it out of the park — haven’t we heard this story before?
Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone has some really magnificent sentence level writing. Some of the best out there [...]
The Wonders of the Railsea
By on November 9, 2012
Railsea, China Miéville
Ballantine, May 2012
Reviewed from final copy
Oh this book!
This marvelous & bizarre book, with far too many ampersands & lots of literary antecedents. It is a marvelous invention full of fun & surprises. & it begs for rereading, often a Printzly quality.
China Miéville is, among adult genre circles, a serious literary darling. He has [...]
Middle Age Girl Power: Grave Mercy vs The Wicked and the Just
By on November 6, 2012
Grave Mercy and The Wicked and the Just are, in so many ways, polar opposites.
But how often do we see YA books set in the Middle Ages? Not very, which makes it almost impossible not to think of these in a compare and contrast essay. So that’s what you get.
Both feature strong female heroines, well [...]
Is It That Time of Year Already?
By on November 5, 2012
You know, the time of year when it’s all about the lists? When we see what achieved consensus among the review journals, what got dissed, and what we missed?
Why yes, folks, it IS that time, because November started with Publishers Weekly Best Books 2012. Now, PW is always first, and they’re earlier this year than [...]
Does Never Fall Down Stand Up to the Hype?
By on October 31, 2012
Never Fall Down, Patricia McCormick
Balzer + Bray, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
National Book Award Finalist. Three stars. Patricia McCormick. Never Fall Down is a critical and popular darling, and there is absolutely no question about the emotional impact of the story. You would need to be a stone to stay dry-eyed reading about the atrocities Arn [...]
A New Kind of Fairy Tale: Dust Girl
By on October 28, 2012
Dust Girl, Sarah Zettel
Random House, June 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Welcome to the Dust Bowl as you’ve never seen it before, peopled by lots more than, well, people, in a new series that covers some of the same territory as American Gods or The Flight of Michael McBride (sadly out of print, but a crossover treasure if [...]
A Confusion of Princes (or, Khemri’s Clearly Excellent Adventure)
By on October 25, 2012
A Confusion of Princes, Garth Nix
Harper, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Let’s go back in time for a moment, to the heady golden days of science fiction as the place where sweeping stories examine the nature of humanity and also contain explosions and cool tech.
Are you with me?
Because A Confusion of Princes is a throwback in the [...]
A Confusion of Princes (or, Khemri’s Clearly Excellent Adventure)
By on October 25, 2012
A Confusion of Princes, Garth Nix
Harper, May 2012
Reviewed from ARC
Let’s go back in time for a moment, to the heady golden days of science fiction as the place where sweeping stories examine the nature of humanity and also contain explosions and cool tech.
Are you with me?
Because A Confusion of Princes is a throwback in the [...]
