In BOB’s final round, The Closer, Newbery Medalist Clare Vanderpool, selects Steve Sheinkin’s Port Chicago 50 (Roaring Brook) as the victor of the yearly virtual tournament of books for children and teens. This nonfiction title about a group of African American men who endured discrimination, disaster, and charges of mutiny for standing up to the U. S. Navy during World War II beat out crowd favorite Cece Bell’s graphic novel memoir El Deafo (Abrams) and E. Lockhart’s much buzzed about YA novel, We Were Liars (Delacorte, all 2014). After the first match of Round 3 in the March Madness–like elimination competition, in which author judge Kekla Magoon had the difficult task of choosing between El Deafo and Jacqueline Woodson’s lauded Brown Girl Dreaming (Penguin), many BOB fans lamented the fate of Woodson's free-verse memoir.

Round 3, Match 1: Brown Girl Dreaming vs El Deafo http://t.co/kkX0Kql22i This one was brutal. #sljbob — Kelly Iverson-Egge (@MrsIversonEgge) March 26, 2015

Tomorrow it's El Deafo vs Brown Girl Dreaming in #sljbob I'm glad it's the talented Kekla Magoon judging and not me! — Erica Bretall (@ebretall) March 25, 2015

Printz winner Marcus Sedgwick deliberated between Port Chicago 50 and the middle grade Scandinavian myth–rich West of the Moon by Margie Preus (Abrams) in the second match of Round 3. In his explanation for advancing the informational book, he shared, “I value that it demonstrated something that we need reminding of constantly—that whenever there is positive progress in the world it comes about through the actions of men and women deemed, at the time, to be awkward, unreasonable, or in this case, mutinous.” The crowd-sourced Undead Poll is a BOB tradition in which the contest’s followers can vote for their favorite contenders. The voting took place in the weeks before the first Battle and fans had the opportunity to “resurrect” their darlings: whichever book had the most votes would come back in the game to compete in the final round. In a surprising turn of events, We Were Liars was the lucky winner of the Undead Poll. The final match saw a nonfiction title, a middle grade graphic novel memoir, and a plot-twisting YA book go head to head to head. “Twists and turns.  Crossroads.  Switchbacks.  Forks in the road.  Roadtrips and reading are full of choices and peril.  It seems safer to sit idling in the middle of the road.  But it’s time to crank up the engine, fold up the map and choose a course.  For a  wonderful story of history, honor, and courage, I choose Port Chicago 50,” says Closer Vanderpool in her final, decision, a shock to many.

SHOCK result!: El Deafo vs The Port Chicago 50 vs We Were Liars — @SLJsBoB SLJ's Battle of the Books http://t.co/4WEjTN85Ae — storyvilledispatches (@storyvilled) March 31, 2015

@SLJsBoB Wowza! Would not have guessed!! — Kathy M Burnette (@thebrainlair) March 31, 2015

Even the author of the victorious title was slightly surprised at the win. "I'm incredibly honored, and always thrilled with any chance to get the Port Chicago story out there. I don't for a second think my book is 'better' than any other in this battle—there were a lot of personal favorites in there, and I'm pretty sure my own daughter was rooting for El Deafo. Still, very exciting!" Sheinkin shared with School Library Journal in an email.