National Book Award Shortlist Announced!
It's here! It's here!
M.T. Anderson, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party (Candlewick Press)
Martine Leavitt, Keturah and Lord Death (Front Street Books/Boyds Mills Press)
Patricia McCormick, Sold (Hyperion Books for Children)
Nancy Werlin, The Rules of Survival (Dial/Penguin)
Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese (First Second/Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck)
WOO-HOO! Go go go American Born Chinese!
And a nice smattering of YA as well (though I think there'll be some objections to the fact that King Dork, An Abundance of Katherines, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl didn't make it).
posted by fusenumber8 @ 12:35 PM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
On your recommendation I bought American Born Chinese for my future-graphic-novelist son, and then all four of my kids devoured it.
Hooray for ABC. I picked up that book on your recommendation and really enjoyed it.
I didn't "get" Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist OR An Abundance of Katherines. Am I the only one?
Woo-hoo Octavian Nothing -- that book is A-MA-ZING!
I *just* finished SOLD yesterday and thought it was an important novel. The writing was beautiful and near perfect in parts, although the ending was unsatisfying.
An unsigned review for Children's Literature had the following to say: "...The book brings the reader to an understanding that is certainly deeper than the superficiality of Gloria Whelan's comparable Homeless Bird, which also addresses a social issue of the subcontinent, the plight of child widows... The narrator's voice wavers during descriptions of customs and festivals, context descriptions that convey the particular fascinations of a visitor rather than the familiarity of one speaking from within... The ultimate resolution of Lakshmi's escape being made possible by Americans feels disappointing. It seems to run counter to the heartfelt tale in the afterword about Nepali women, some of them survivors of brothel life, working to fight this sinister trade. Still, this is a story of courage, which is precisely what it takes to plant one's literary work in unfamiliar soil."
I could have written that review (I didn't); I feel EXACTLY the same way.
I also didn't get (or really enjoy) Nick and Norah, and I know editors who have both loved & hated it.
Am I the only person on Earth who hated King Dork?
I've only read 1 of those...sigh. Time to place holds.
Honestly, I've only read one as well. Last night I was informed that a read of Octavian Nothing would be in my best interest. I've had a copy of The Rules of Survival on my shelf as well.
And just to be clear, I haven't read a single one of those YA books I mentioned in my piece. No time! No time!
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