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.