Newbery 2015

The Crossover
Author: Kwame Alexander
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/Poetry
Plot: Josh and Jordan are twin brothers who play basketball in middle school. Things change when their dad gets sick and Jordan discovers girls
My verdict: Made me cry
My rating: 4 stars


El Deafo
Author: Cece Bell
Genre: Biography/Graphic Novel
Plot: Cece loses her hearing at age 4.  She struggles to understand in a world of speech and to fit in at school.
My verdict: Loved it!
My rating: 5 stars


Brown Girl Dreaming
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Biography/Poetry
Plot: Woodson talks about her childhood.
My verdict: My favorite Woodson book
My rating: 4 stars

Once I finished reading all three books, I realized that none of them are "normal" novels.  We have two poetic novels and a graphic novel.  I am glad to see that the American Library Association is tipping its hat to "non traditional" novels when they have great content.  I can honestly say that I enjoyed all three books (even though I didn't think I would).

I find that poetic novels are quick and readable and often invoke an emotional response that you wouldn't normally get in a regular prose novel.  It is also great for biographies because you can get short snippets of a person's life easier in poetry. The Crossover is all about basketball.  I don't like basketball so I thought I would hate it.  However, the poetry drew me in and I ended up crying at the end.  Brown Girl Dreaming was being pegged as the winner for this year and I can see why.  This is an excellent autobiography of Woodson and it never has a dull moment. 

The book that I really wanted to read from this year was El Deafo.  The cover looked so intriguing.  To my knowledge, it is the first graphic novel ever to receive a Newbery honor.  There are several books on the Newbery list that address disabilities (A Corner of the Universe, Rules) but this author addresses her disability with a sassiness that makes the book so upbeat.  I loved how she used rabbits with their long ears as the characters.   Even if you don't like graphic novels, you need to give this one a try.