Banned Books Week: The Hunger Games

This week, in honor of "Banned Books Week," I will be taking a look at some of the books that I have read that fall into the "banned" category.  For me info on the different books that have been banned, check out this site: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10



Book series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot: Katniss replaces her younger sister as tribute in a fight to the death between 24 young tributes.  The Games are punishment for a rebellion against The Capital.
Books:

1. The Hunger Games
2. Catching Fire
3. Mockingjay

Reasons why it is "banned:"  anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
My overall rating: 4 stars

This book series has gained immense popularity and acclaim but has stirred up some controversy.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but I can see why some people might want to ban it. 

Anti-ethnic:  This had never occurred to me.  Looking back, most of the characters are white, although Rue is described as dark skinned.  With the nature of the current state of affairs, a widespread ethnic cleansing or ethnic flight would not have surprised me which may explain why most of the characters are white.  I don't think it's necessarily wrong to have only one ethnic group in your writing. 

Anti-family:  I'm not sure why this is a reason either.  Katniss is in a single parent family.  The love of her sister puts her into the arena in the first place.  The conditions in which the normal people live are pretty appalling so it's not a surprise that families aren't always perfect.  Unless they're referring to the fact that families are ripped apart by the games. 

Insensitivity:  The book is set in a hostile world so there is a bit of insensitivity.  It comes with the territory.

Offensive language:  There's a bit but I don't remember it bothering me much.  I've seen worse.

Occult/satanic:  I don't remember any elements of this in the book at all. 

Violence:  This is about the only true reason I can find in this whole list.  The book is very violent.  Children die.  My husband refuses to read the book because of the violence against children.  The point of this book is to show a revolution and revolutions are generally bloody.  However, it is not senseless violence, the violence does have a teachable meaning behind it.  I'm not sure if that makes it any better.

As a parent, I have no qualms about reading this book to my children but I would probably wait until they were middle schoolers.  It opens up a lot of discussion points that I think are important. 

Dune is a YA Novel?

A friend of mine posted an article last week on Facebook that I found interesting.  It's title: When Did Dune Become a YA Novel?

The author of the article was surprised when he found out that Dune, the classic and complex science fiction novel by atheist Frank Herbert, was considered a Young Adult (YA) novel.  After some further research, he discovered that the American Library Association (ALA) defines YA as anything that 12-18 year olds are willing to read, a definition that he finds "squishy."

I had always thought that YA literature was, well, literature aimed at young adults.  Literature with slightly more complex and mature themes compared with "Children's literature."  Literature that was "safe" for young adults to read.  Needless to say, this changes my approach. 

Under this definition, if 12-18 year olds are reading say, Fifty Shades of Gray, it becomes "YA Literature."  This is something I think parents and teachers need to be on the look out for.

Censorship and the banned book list is a rather complex topic that should be saved for its own post.  However, as a parent and pre-service teacher, I think there are books that are not appropriate for children and young adults to read.  I do think the "banned books" advocates take it to the extreme (I recently found out that Green Eggs and Ham is on the banned list, seriously?). 

What I think we can take away from all of this is that "YA" does not necessarily equal "safe."  Parents should always know what their children are reading and take appropriate steps from there.  Know the content of the books your child is reading.  If you haven't read the book, Google it.  Wikipedia and Goodreads can easily get you a synopsis.  Knowing the content helps you open a dialogue about the appropriateness of the book or, if it's too late for that, discussing the questionable content of a particular book.  After all, knowledge is power.

Newbery 2010

When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Miranda's friend Sal suddenly stops hanging out with her after being punched by a random person.  Her mother prepares to go on the TV show Pyramid.
Verdict: A bit confusing
My rating: 3 stars


Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Author: Phillip M. Hoose
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The true story of Claudette Colvin, the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on a bus and inspiration to Rosa Parks.
Verdict: Courageous girl
My rating: 4 stars


The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Set in 1899, Calpurnia Tate learns about the natural world from her naturalist grandfather.
Verdict: Lots of nature
My rating: 3 stars


Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Author: Grace Lin
Genre: Fantasy (folklore)
Plot: Minli decides to seek The Old Man in the Moon to change her family's fortune.
Verdict: Awesomely woven tale!
My rating: 5 stars


The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Author: Rodman Philbrick
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Homer goes off to rescue his older brother Harold who was illegally conscripted into the Union army.
Verdict: A lighter Civil War adventure
My rating: 3 stars

2010 definitely brought a mixed bag of different books to the Newbery table.  I was very impressed by Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and I am a little sad that it did not win the medal.  In her author's note, Grace Lin talks about how she was not interested in her Asian heritage until she started reading Chinese fairy tales.  Her book is an attempt to make these tales accessible to Westerners.  Claudette Colvin was also very interesting reading as I did not know that there were others who refused to give up seats on the bus before Rosa Parks.  Phillip Hoose also conducted in depth interviews with Claudette so it's almost an autobiography.  When You Reach Me is a decent book but it is hard to say too much about it without giving away the ending.  In my opinion, I thought some of the Honor books deserved the medal more.

Newbery 1991

Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Maniac Magee is a homeless white boy who finds himself in an extremely segregated town.
Verdict: Interesting tale
My rating: 3 stars


The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Charlotte Doyle is a young lady who travels to America on a cargo ship.  During the voyager there is a mutiny and Charlotte joins the crew
Verdict: Not realistic at all
My rating: 3 stars

Both of these books are a little odd.  Maniac Magee is written like "the true story" of a legend.  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is exquisitely crafted and well written but I find it very hard to believe the premise. 

Newbery 1988

Lincoln: A Photobiography
Author: Russell Freedman
Genre: Non-fiction
Plot:  The story of President Abraham Lincoln from birth to assassination.
Verdict:  Interestingly written biography
My rating: 3 stars


After the Rain
Author: Norma Fox Mazer
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Plot: Rachel deals with the fact that her grandfather is slowly dying of mesothelioma.
Verdict:  Heart wrenching story
My rating: 3 stars


Hatchet
Author: Gary Paulsen
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Brian finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash with only his hatchet to help him survive.
Verdict:  Boring with an abrupt ending
My rating: 1 star

Let me honest and say that I had a terrible experience with Hatchet during seventh grade.  It was assigned reading my teacher basically ruined the book.  I wasn't into the survival genre either and I was extremely disappointed by the ending. 

After the Rain could be very useful for a student who has a dying relative and it struck a cord with me because I have lost many close relatives.  However, the rest of the plot of the book did not spark my interest so I could not rate it higher than 3 stars. 

I remember being assigned Lincoln during my children's lit course and I enjoyed it.  It has lots of pictures (so it really is a "photobiography") and gives an interesting account of the life of Lincoln.  It was definitely my favorite of the three.

Newbery 2013

The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Plot: Ivan is a gorilla who lives at a shopping mall with his friends that include an elephant and a dog.
Verdict: First Person Gorilla
My rating: 4 stars


Splendors and Glooms
Author: Laura Amy Schultz
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Lizzie Rose and Parse travel with their guardian, puppet master Grisini.  After they perform at rich girl Clara's party, Clara goes missing and the two children must unravel the mystery
Verdict: Extremely creepy
My rating: 4 stars


Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The stories behind the scientists, politicians and spies involved in the race to build the atomic bomb.
Verdict: Excellently written
My rating: 4 stars






Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Mo and Dale become amateur detectives after their neighbor turns up dead.
Verdict: Spellbinding mystery
My rating: 4 stars

I felt all the books this year deserved to be on the list.  They were each unique in their own way.  I probably would have given Three Times Lucky the medal but I understand that Ivan, with it's unique writing style from the perspective of a gorilla, had extra medal appeal.  Splendors and Glooms was extremely creepy.  I'm not sure I would use it as a read a loud.

Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue

Book Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue
Author: Tomie dePaola
Genre: Autobiography
Plot: Tomie dePaola writes about his early childhood, moving to his family's new home and living life in the 1940s.  The last three books deal with how things changed during World War II
Books:

1. 26 Fairmount Avenue
2. Here We All Are
3. On My Way
4. What a Year!
5. Things Will Never Be the Same
6. I'm Still Scared
7. Why?
8. For the Duration

Overall rating: 4 stars

This is a really impressive series.  Long time children's book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola decided to write a series of short chapter books about his early childhood in the 1940s.  It starts with the building of the family house and continues with Tomie starting school and the birth of his little sister.  We see him loving art class and tap lessons.  Then World War II starts, and we see things change.

The books are extremely short and easily read by a good reader in under 30 minutes, however, I enjoyed every minute of them.  Since he's aiming these are smaller children, he doesn't drag things out (which is probably why the books are so short) and he makes sure to keep the plot moving.

Newbery 1999

Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Stanley Yelnets is sentenced to dig holes in a dried up lake for a crime he didn't commit.
Verdict: Great story!
My rating: 4 stars


A Long Way from Chicago
Author: Richard Peck
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Joey and Mary Alice visit their grandmother in the country in 1929.  Each chapter is a different year that they visited.
Verdict: Wild!
My rating: 4 stars

I really loved both these books.  Both are entertaining and easy to read.

I did not think I would like A Long Way from Chicago but it was a great read.  Peck's sequel, A Year Down Yonder, won the Newbery Medal in 2001.

Series - Crispin

Book Series: Crispin
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Set in 1377, Crispin is forced to flee or be killed after his mother dies.  He searches for freedom while traveling with his companion Bear (and later Troth and Owen).
Books:

1. Crispin: The Cross of Lead
2. Crispin: At the Edge of the World
3. Crispin: The End of Time

Overall Rating: 4 stars 

This is a nice historical fiction series written by Avi.  His writing in this book is fast paced which is a nice change from other historical fiction I've read where it reads like a snail-paced textbook.  The books fall in quick succession so the time period covered by the series is actually pretty short - perhaps a few months at the most.  I can see young boys really getting into this series because of the pacing and the main character being a young boy.

On a separate note, I love how Avi brings out how uneducated peasants of that time really were.  Crispin doesn't know much about anything and it really brings into perspective how valuable education is.

Newbery 2003

Crispin The Cross of Lead
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Crispin is forced to flee after his mother dies because he is falsely accused of a crime and faces certain death if he is caught.
Verdict: Great medieval story
My rating: 4 stars


The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot: Matteo lives in futuristic Mexico where he finds out that he is a clone of El Patron.
Verdict: Chilling concept but fantastic
My rating: 5 stars


Pictures of Hollis Woods
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Hollis Woods is a foster child who has been bounced from house to house.  As she lives with her current foster parent, she reflects back on her last placement when things went horribly wrong.
Verdict: I was relieved at the happy ending
My rating: 3 stars


Hoot
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Roy tries to untangle the mystery of the barefooted running boy while developers have problems with vandalism at the site of a new Mother Paula's Pancake House
Verdict: Excellent satire and not overly environmental
My rating: 3 Stars


A Corner of the Universe
Author: Ann M. Martin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Hattie's world changes when her mentally retarded uncle Adam comes to live with her grandparents.
Verdict: Sad ending
My rating: 3 stars


Surviving the Applewhites
Author: Stephanie S. Tolan
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Jake comes to the Applewhites' "unschool" and gets involved in their crazy family and a production of The Sound of Music
Verdict: Riotous Fun
My rating: 4 stars

This was a jammed packed year of good books for Newbery with a wide variety of storylines and moods. The House of the Scorpion, Pictures of Hollis Woods, Crispin, and A Corner of the Universe are extremely dark but Hoot and Surviving the Applewhites are humorous.  The House of the Scorpion would have been my pick for the year with Crispin a close second.  I was pleasantly surprised by the Applewhites and overall I think I can say I liked every book from this year. 

Allow me to highlight the following:

• Carl Hiaasen is actual an author of adult books and a satirist.  This was his first book for children.  He also resides in Florida, the setting of the book.
• Crispin was Avi's 50th book.  
• Ann M. Martin wrote The Babysitter's Club series.  
• Nancy Farmer lived along the Mexican border for a time which is where her knowledge of Mexico comes from

Series - Charlie Bone

Book Series:  Charlie Bone
Author:  Jenny Nimmo
Genre: Fantasy
Plot:  Charlie Bone goes to school at Bloor's Academy, a school for gifted children.
Books:

1. Midnight for Charlie Bone
2. Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
3. Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
4. Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors
5. Charlie Bone and the Hidden King
6. Charlie Bone and the Beast
7. Charlie Bone and the Shadow
8. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight

Overall Rating: 3 stars

This series is kind of a "dark Harry Potter."  Hogwarts was mostly a happy, cheerful and safe environment but the Bloor family are the antagonists in this series so Bloor Academy is a mostly hostile environment.  There are two kinds of children at Bloor's: gifted and endowed.  The "endowed" children have special powers and are mostly descendants of the Red King, an ancient king and magic-user.  The early books involve Charlie learning about his endowment and wondering what happened to his father, who mysteriously vanished.  The later books delve more into the mysteries surrounding the Red King.  Unlike Harry Potter, the book doesn't entirely happen at the school, since the children go home on weekends so places in the town like the Pets' Cafe are featured prominently.

Like J.K Rowling, you can see Nimmo's writing evolve with each book.  

Newbery 1981

Jacob Have I Loved
Author: Katherine Patterson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Louisa watches as her younger twin Caroline gets all the attention from her parents and struggles to make a place for herself.
Verdict: Sibling rivalry
My rating: 3 stars


The Fledgling
Author: Jane Langdon
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Georgie is an 8 year old girl who learns to fly from a goose.
Verdict: Boring and convoluted
My rating: 1 star


A Ring of Endless Light
Author: Madeline L'Engle
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Vicki spends the summer watching her grandfather die and being pursed by three different boys and working with dolphins.
Verdict: Nice coming of age story
My rating: 3 stars

Two of these books are great but the other one is a total waste of time.  Both Jacob Have I Loved and A Ring of Endless Light have a "coming of age" theme for young girls.  The girls face different circumstances but a similar overall theme.  I enjoyed both.  Both authors (Patterson and L'Engle) are also very well known and are on the Newbery list multiple times.  I enjoy reading both of them.

The Fledgling, on the other hand, bored me to tears.  I don't know how it was considered "a great book."  The characters were tedious and the plot was almost non existent.  Given the setting, I suspect that it was supposed to have transcendentalist overtones in that but I've found that trying to fuse philosophical underpinnings into a book often ruins the book.

Newbery 2011

Moon Over Manifest
Author: Clare Vanderpool
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Abeline is sent to live in Manifest, Kansas while her father works on a railroad job.  She works to uncover the mystery of a box of items and letters she finds in her room
Verdict: One plot line was great and the other was lacking
My rating: 3 stars


Turtle in Paradise
Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Turtle is sent to live with her aunt in Key West during the Great Depression. 
Verdict: The ending will make you want to scream
My rating: 3 stars


Heart of a Samurai
Author: Margi Preus
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Based on actual events, 5 young Japanese fisherman are stranded in a storm and rescued by a whaling boat. The youngest, John Hung, is befriended by the boat's captain and has adventures in America.
Verdict: Great adventure story
My rating: 3 stars


Dark Emperor and Other Poems of Night
Author: Joyce Sidman
Genre: Poetry
Plot: A book of poems about creatures of the night.
Verdict: The illustrations are gorgeous!
My rating: 4 stars


One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams-Garcia
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: In the summer of 1968, three girls travel from New York to Oakland, CA to be with their mother who abandoned them after the birth of the youngest.  Their mother still wants nothing to do with the and sends them off to camp every day.
Verdict: You will want to repeatedly slap their mother
My rating: 3 stars

This seemed to be a year for historical fiction.   Moon over Manifest and Turtle in Paradise are so similar in terms of theme and setting but they go in slightly different directions.  I don't think Moon over Manifest deserved the medal. I would have rather seen Heart of a Samurai or Dark Emperor take it.  I hate to say it but Moon and Turtle just had plot lines that I felt had been done before.  In contrast, Heart of a Samurai had a fresher concept.

Heart of a Samurai is set in the period of Imperial Japan when Japan was isolated from the outside world.  Another Newbery book worth reading with it is the nonfiction book Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun.

The Dark Emperor is a picture book of poems.  Picture books are not often honored by the Newbery committee. This one has extremely awesome art.

One thing I credit reading the Newbery list with is getting me to branch out and read more ethnic literature.  This year has an example of that with One Crazy Summer.   It is a historical fiction novel set in 1968 and has a lot of tie ins with the Black Panthers (the girls' mother is working with them).  It would make a very good read to go along with civil rights discussions.  I thought the girls' mother was a bit of a jerk and I constantly wanted to slap her for being a bad mother, as she pretty much leaves the girls to their own devices and doesn't seem to pay any mind to them.

Newbery 1924

The Dark Frigate
Author: Charles Boardman Hawes
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Philip Marsham joins the crew of the Rose of Devon only to have the ship taken over by pirates and be pressed into the service of the pirates.
Verdict: Swashbuckling
My rating: 3 stars

There's not a ton to talk about for the books of 1924 as there was only one book to read.  I was intrigued before I read it. My husband and I were looking online to find out if the book was public domain or not and he ran across some reviews of the book saying that they wouldn't let their children read the book because of the violence.  My response: what violence?  Yes, the pirates kill the crew but it's not terribly graphic like a lot of modern literature.  If you're a fan of Treasure Island, I would recommend the book.  My only reason for keeping my rating at 3 stars was that it took 70 pages to get to any decent action.

Newbery 2009

The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: After his whole family is murdered, an infant boy is adopted by a graveyard and protected from the killer and raised by the ghosts residing there.
Verdict: Simply amazing!
My rating: 5 stars


The Underneath
Author: Kathi Appelt
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: An abandoned calico cat and her kittens live underneath the house of the horrible Gar Face with his dog   Ranger in a bayou.  Meanwhile, Grandmother, an ancient lamia prepares to wake from her thousand year imprisonment and seek revenge.
Verdict: I couldn't put it down
My rating: 4 stars


The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom
Author: Margarita Engle
Genre: Nonfiction/Poetry
Plot: The story of Cuba's wars for independence told in poetry, highlighting the work of Rosa and Jose, two nurses who tended the wounded while hiding from the enemy
Verdict: Great way to learn about history
My rating: 3 stars


Savvy
Author: Ingrid Law
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Everyone in the Beaumont family has a "savvy" or special ability.  Mississippi is approaching her 13th birthday where she should discover her savvy but her father is in a major accident and she tries to travel to him.
My verdict: Wild ride on a pink bus
My rating: 3 stars


After Tupac & D Foster
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Neeka and her best friend become friends with D and listen to Tupac's music.
Verdict: Deep social commentary
My rating: 3 stars

The winner this year really shocked me.  In a good way.  Neil Gaiman writes awesome stuff but most of it is too off the wall or mature to be considered for Newbery.  When I found out that The Graveyard Book  had won, I almost flipped.  I hadn't read the book yet but it went to the top of my too read list.  Another book this year that surprised me was The Underneath.  Animal fantasy can get really old but this was actually well written with wonderfully fleshed out characters.  I also found The Surrender Tree interesting because I did not know that Cuba had a long war to independence, nor that there were concentration camps involved.  After Tupac had some really deep commentary.  It was the third book I'd read by Woodson and even her children's picture book was deep.  All around, the books were good this year.

Newbery 2012

Dead End in Norvelt
Author: Jack Gantos
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Jack is growing up in Post-WW2 Norvelt, PA but he gets grounded for the summer after he accidentally fires his father's Japanese rifle.  The only thing he's allowed to do is help one of the old ladies in town write obituaries.
Verdict: Wild and crazy
My rating: 3 stars


Inside Out & Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Genre: Poetry/Historical Fiction
Plot: Ha is a Vietnamese girl who escapes from South Vietnam right before the fall of Saigon.  Her family is relocated to Alabama as refugees and they try to fit in a strange new country.
Verdict: Great story
My rating: 3 stars


Breaking Stalin's Nose
Author: Eugene Yelchin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Sasha's father is taken in for being a traitor the day before he is supposed to be initiated into the Young Pioneers but he goes to school anyway.
Verdict: Wow.  Just Wow.  Chilling.
My rating: 5 stars

Interestingly enough, this entire year is historical fiction, although two of the books are based on some actual events.  My favorite of the bunch is Breaking Stalin's Nose.  Dead End in Norvelt was fine in my opinion but I find it drags a bit in parts.

Jack Gantos is known for his Joey Pigza series, but Dead End in Norvelt is loosely based on his life.  There are some interesting sequences with his nosebleeds and also with Hell's Angels. 

Inside Out and Back Again is an interesting poetic novel which is technically fiction but is also based on the author's actual experiences.  I think it may find a kindred spirit with English Language Learners who can relate to the author's experience of not knowing any English and going to school.  I would contrast this book with Grace Lin's The Year of the Dog which has some similar themes about fitting into a school as an Asian American.

Breaking Stalin's Nose is extremely chilling.  I read it shortly after reading Hitler Youth and I saw a lot of parallels between the Hitler Youth and the Young Pioneers.  The book is a very quick read and takes place in the span of less than 24 hours.

Newbery 2006

Criss Cross
Author: Lynne Rae Perkins
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Debbie wants something to happen.  Hector wants to learn guitar.  Lenny fixes things. 
Verdit: A hodgepodge of stories criss crossing together
My Rating: 3 stars


Whittington
Author: Alan Armstrong
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Whittington is a cat who finds a home in Bernie's barnyard of old and misfit animals.  Bernie's grandson, Ben, has dyslexia and can't read so his sister is teaching him in the barn with the animals in exchange for hearing the history of Whittington and his cat.
Verdict: Charlotte's Web meets Whittington's cat
My Rating: 3 stars


Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Genre: Non fiction
Plot: This is the story of the Hitler Youth, an organization that started as a political campaign for the Nazi party and grew into a mandatory training group for young children to be indoctrinated into Nazi thinking during Hilter's regime and World War II.  It includes the experiences and outcomes of actual children involved with the Hitler Youth.
Verdict:  Chilling to the core
My Rating: 5 stars


Princess Academy
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: In the kingdom of Danland, the girls of Mount Eskel, a remote mountain territory, find out that the future wife of the royal prince will come from their territory.  All the eligible girls are rounded up for "Princess Academy" to make them suitable matches for the prince.  They struggle to learn to read under the demands of their tutor, Olana. 
Verdict: Surprisingly good
My Rating: 4 stars


Show Way
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Biography
Plot:  The story of the female ancestors of the author, many of whom were slaves and made "show way" quilts, showing the way to freedom for escaping slaves.
Verdict: Made me smile
My Rating: 3 stars

This is another year with a wide variety of books.  I was pleasantly surprised by Princess Academy, which has a deceptively "fluffy" title that made me think it would be akin to The Princess Diaries (it's not). 

Hitler Youth was an extremely interesting book.  I think I liked it the best out of the books this year.  I read it about the same time as Breaking Stalin's Nose and the two merged together in my head to give me a chilling picture of children turning their parents in and the death of free speech.

Criss Cross does not really have a cut and dried plot.  I have read several books like that and I am often disappointed because I feel "unfulfilled" when I reach the end.  This one did not disappoint me, fortunately. 

Newbery 2004

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Despereaux is a mouse who is exiled from the mouse community and is also in love with the princess. 
Verdict: The cover has a cute mouse with a needle for a sword!  So cute!  Oh yeah, the book is great too.
My rating: 5 stars


Olive's Ocean
Author: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Martha and her family go to visit her grandmother in Florida but Martha is haunted by the death of her classmate, Olive.
Verdict: Boys are jerks.
My rating: 3 stars


An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
Author: Jim Murphy
Genre: Non-Fiction
Plot: Philadelphia had a huge Yellow Fever Epidemic in 1793.  Thousands died.  This is the story of how it all started and how the doctors tried to treat it and in the end, an explanation of what Yellow Fever is really all about
Verdict: I'm never going near a mosquito again!
My rating: 3 stars

This year, I can definitely say that The Tale of Despereaux was the clear winner.  I remember ordering the hardcover from my book order the fall of 2004 and being enchanted as soon as I started reading it. My children's lit professor personally knows Kate DiCamillo, who is actually a really nice lady. I love almost everything that I have read by her.

Olive's Ocean is written by Kevin Henkes, who is the author of many children's books with mice like Lily's Purple Plastic Purse.  This was change of pace for him but it was good.  I found out that this book is on the challenged list but I had no issues with it.