[mrh Posts: 4,678 Status: Online www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

Just finished reading OKAY FOR NOW,

Haven't yet read any of the other books on the Newbery list, though, so I'm hoping I'll just be blown away by how all-fired good they are that they could beat this one.

I'm not always this partisan, but...to me it still remains a mystery that OFN could be passed over.

[AnneN Posts: 541 Status: Offline]

Count me as another one who loved (loved!) OKAY FOR NOW.  I read this while walking chilly Manhattan streets, and little tears froze on my cheeks, and my fingers became numb because I kept taking my gloves off to turn back a few pages and look at the relevant birds.

Also loved SCORPIO RACES.  Which I read, however, in warmer climes!

 

I love it when I'm completely inspired by a book!

[CC Posts: 536 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

I just finished reading Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey, which won a Printz honor. I thought it was very well done, about racism, secrets, lies, and the sad fact of being a human being that causes us all to not stand up for others or ourselves. In other words, I can envision thousands of high schoolers having to read it and write a book report... Not so sure it'll catapult it into best-sellerdom.

Count me as another one who loved (loved!) OKAY FOR NOW.  I read this while walking chilly Manhattan streets, and little tears froze on my cheeks, and my fingers became numb because I kept taking my gloves off to turn back a few pages and look at the relevant birds.

Um, I guess I need to read this. Wow!! 

[m_stiefvater]

When I finished reading THE SCORPIO RACES I was crushed....how can I ever achieve that level of writing? It is beautiful and hypnotic. Plus I was totally digging Sean. (Puck, not so much, but I didn't care. The language was what drew me in.)

I want to write at this level. I want to bring people into a world that is real, like this one, and make them fear the coast, the waves, and the horses' teeth.

*Giant blush.* So weird, because isn't this normally what *I* am saying about other people's writing!?!?!


Personally, I was so pleased with the Printz medalist because I'd just finished reading WHERE THINGS COME BACK and really loved it, so I was happy to see it win (although I'd be happier if they changed that weird, MG looking cover). I have started JASPER JONES, which I was given in Australia, where it's marketed as an adult book, so I was a bit-bugged eyed when it was announced for an honor here, because I didn't even realize it was eligible.

I was a little bummed by the Newberys. Only 3? And where's the magic?

[MegM Posts: 428 Status: Offline WWW]

I have started JASPER JONES, which I was given in Australia, where it's marketed as an adult book, so I was a bit-bugged eyed when it was announced for an honor here, because I didn't even realize it was eligible.

A lot of libraries here have two copies of Jasper - one shelved in YA and one in adult fiction. I think it's often seen as a crossover, because of the ages of the protagonists, plus the themes, which have been mentioned here. Sonya Hartnett's work often gets the same sort of treatment here. CC, I would not be at all surprised if Jasper ended up on lots of high school reading lists - it certainly has here.

[m_stiefvater]

A lot of libraries here have two copies of Jasper - one shelved in YA and one in adult fiction.

I sort of wish that would happen to more titles here in the U.S.

[olmue Posts: 4,249 Status: Offline WWW]

I agree that the cover to Where Things Come Back looks awfully MG. I'm looking forward to reading it.

As to dual-shelving, I love that idea. My last library was huge, and they did that quite frequently. There were books that were double-shelved in MG and YA, and others in YA and adult. It was a fabulous system. But I suppose it depends on how much $$ your local library has.

[Whizbee Posts: 368 Status: Offline WWW]

A lot of libraries here have two copies of Jasper - one shelved in YA and one in adult fiction.

My library does this with a lot of their YA books, which is great.

I'm adding another book to my Should Have At Least Gotten A Newbery Honor And Could Have Taken The Top Award (If It Had Been Eligible): A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness. I thought everything about it was right on, the monster character especially.

[Whizbee Posts: 368 Status: Offline WWW]

Just read The Returning by Christine Hinwood, which got a Printz Honor. I really liked it--the characters and the setting were really interesting. But I'll admit it's a challenging read. There isn't really a direct plotline; it's more a collection of related short stories, some of which are less plotty than others. Also, the writing tends to be opaque--it can be hard to understand what's happening at any given moment, and it's especially difficult to interpret the dialog. Even so, I found it engrossing and came to really enjoy the characters.

[dinalapomy101 Posts: 2,190 Status: Offline Happy writing to all! WWW]

A lot of libraries here have two copies of Jasper - one shelved in YA and one in adult fiction. I think it's often seen as a crossover, because of the ages of the protagonists, plus the themes, which have been mentioned here.

I sort of wish that would happen to more titles here in the U.S.

I love this idea in theory and in my 4 years as a YA librarian in one medium-sized public library have had adult crossover books in my area, but now that my YA shelves are jammed to/past the max, I literally HAVE to weed the books that we also have a copy of in the Children's or Adult section. And I know the Adult and Children's librarians do the same thing bc of space issues.

So yeah, crossover in both areas is nice for browsing, but there is just no room at all for me to carry duplicates of ANY books unless they are out so often (Twilight, Hunger Games) that NO copies are ever on the shelf.

Another issue is that for the book to be shelved in my YA area, the $ comes from my budget, which is based on the price of YA books (ie cheaper than adult books). So if I were to buy books pubbed as adult titles for my YA collection, my budget would  not stretch as far -- whereas the Adult budget is based on the (higher) cost of adult books.

Not sure how that budget part works in Australia, for example, but it does make a big difference here when our book money is separated by collection.