The Hero and the Crown
Author: Robin McKinley
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Aerin discovers the secret of a fire proof substance and goes off to find dragons.
Verdict: A rare good prequel
My rating: 5 stars
Like Jake and Me
Author: Mavis Jukes
Genre: Realistic Fiction/Picture Book
Plot: A boy tries to bond with his stepfather
Verdict: Not that great
My rating: 2 stars
The Moves Make the Man
Author: Bruce Brooks
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Jerome tells the story of his runaway friend Bix and Basketball
Verdict: I don't like sport books
My rating: 1 star
One-Eyed Cat
Author: Paula Fox
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Ned is guilt-ridden after firing his gun in the dark because he thinks he wounded a cat.
Verdict: The writing is a bit choppy and ploddy
My rating: 2 stars
The medal winner from this year, The Hero and the Crown is one of my favorite books and a rare prequel that outshines the original book. It and the original book, Newbery Honor winner The Blue Sword are part of McKinley's Damar series, which really is only these two books and a few short stories. McKinley is known for her retellings of fairy tales (similar to Gail Carson Levine, but McKinley's are more YA than children's lit) but Damar is an original series, not tied to any previous tales. I love all her writing, it is very smooth and descriptive.
The other three books from this year are more realistic. Like Jake and Me is an advanced picture book. The story is about a boy who is trying to bond with his very rugged, cowboyish stepfather. It is unclear if his biological father is deceased or his parents are just divorced. I wanted to like it but it seemed like it was missing something. Be warned, in one picture, the stepfather is almost completely naked. I wasn't sure that was terribly appropriate. The Moves Make the Man is a sports book. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of sports books but sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, like with 2015's The Crossover. Sadly, this book did not impress me. It is told in first person by Jerome, an African American high school student, who ends up being the only African America student in a whole white school. He loves basketball but is not given a fair chance at the basketball team. He makes friends with Bix in Home Ec class and teaches him the game. I think it had many redeeming qualities and possible points of discussion but I didn't like the narrator's voice and as I said, I'm not big into sports. One-Eyed Cat is more of a historical fiction book. The main character, Ned, receives a gun for his birthday but it is taken away by his father. He goes and gets it anyway and fires it into the dark. The rest of the book is about his guilt because he believes he injured a cat. I thought it plodded a bit but it is a good example of a book with guilt as the theme and the ending actually fit the rest of the story.
