Short List #3 – Our Top Three Vote

Now that Newbery “season” is ramping up, here is our third short list.  We try to follow the process that the official Newbery committee uses as closely as possible, so this list comes as a result of a Top Three Vote where each of our club members nominated their three favorite books and told us why they think they are Newbery contenders.  All the books that were nominated are included in this list.

• Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
  **”Very unique plot.  Wonderful writing…” –April
• Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia by Brandon Sanderson
  **”Brandon Sanderson can write in a way that makes you know intimately all the characters…” –Ezra
• Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry
  **”When you read the book you feel as if you are really there.” –Kaeli
  **”What really stands out to me is how well the author describes, grows, and develops the characters.” –Ben B
• Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
  **”Since this  is written from the perspective of an autistic kid… I felt like I got inside his head and realized how autism affects someone.” –Anna
• Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
  **”It flowed well and I never got bored with it.” –Zoe
• Daughters of the Sea: Hannah by Kathryn Lasky
  **”You can really picture the characters.  Very well written.” –Abby
• Discordia: The Eleventh Dimension by Dena Salmon
  **”This book stood out for me, having a love of video games.  I love the whole idea of gaining levels, and I think it is very creative.” –Jay
• Dormia by Jake Halpern
  **”It was definitely a fun read…” –Ruchi
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
  **”This book really resonated with me.” – Layne
  **”You can really feel the main characters, as if you could walk out into the street and meet them.” –Chaz
• The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb
  **”This gave me some insight on a time period that I’ve never heard much about.” –Bette
• I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
  **”The consistent humor kept me in stitches the whole book.” –Alex
• If the Witness Lied by Caroline Cooney
  **”Addresses important issues, realistic, good characters, VERY GOOD PLOT…” –Hannah
• Jane in Bloom by Deborah Lytton
  **”This book contains some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever encountered…” –Layne
• Just One Wish by Janette Rallison
  **”I refused to close the book until I’d read every word.” –Layne
  **”The main character did something that you would never expect to happen, much less work, but when it did I was able to accept it as possible in the circumstances.” –Rachel
• Kaleidoscope Eyes by Jen Bryant
  **”I could really connect with the ever-changing characters.” –Alex
• Mare’s War by Tanita Davis
  **”The two stories flow and work together and characters 3-dimensional.  Writing style is beautiful, as it does not have to rely on a captivating plot to keep the reader reading.” –Chaz
  **”By the middle of the book I couldn’t put it down.” –Jasper
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
  **”The story was very exciting and I couldn’t put it down.” –Ben O
• Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel by K. A. Holt
  **”This book has a creative plot that makes you want to keep reading.” –Jay
• Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta
  **”This is your classic baseball book – the underdog wins.  But the way it happened was unexpected, and it was humorous.” –Patrick
• My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
  **”I must admit that Ms Rallison spins a fairy tale full of romance, action and humor.  She can write like few can, and I think we need to reward her.” –Ezra
• Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French
  **”It was fun to read, educational, and one of those books that really makes the reader stop and think.” –Breanna
• Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes
  **”This actually made me view some things in life completely differently, and I learned a lot about army families.” –Breanna
• The Red Blazer Girls by Michael Beil
  **”I felt as if I were one of the Red Blazer Girls solving the mystery myself.” –Kaeli
• A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
  **”I felt like I was in the book and friends with Bob.” –Jasper
• Scat by Carl Hiaason
  **”4 plots all come together… very memorable.” —Hannah
  **”The characters were AMAZING!” –Bette
• Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott
  **”Attention to detail.  Amazing characters.  Nice plot.  Actually kept me interested!” –Bette
  **”It really opened my eyes and helped me realize the horrors of prejudice.  I felt like I was this girl experiencing everything she was.” –Zoe
• When the Whistle Blows by Fran Slayton
  **”The best aspect is the relationship of the boy and his father growing throughout the book.” –Rachel
  **”I felt like I knew all the characters as close personal friends.” –Ben O
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
  **”Plot is unique, story interesting, all while touching deeper themes.” –Chaz

Road to Tater Hill by Edith Morris Hemingway

Summary: At her grandparents’ North Carolina mountain home during the summer of 1963, eleven-year-old Annie Winters, grief-stricken by the death of her newborn sister and isolated by her mother’s deepening depression, finds comfort in holding an oblong stone “rock baby” and in the friendship of a neighbor boy and a reclusive mountain woman with a devastating secret. 213 p., Delacorte Press.

 

Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Summary: James, one of Peter’s original Lost Boys, is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England’s throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures who are after starstuff hidden in an underground vault which has only one key: the Sword of Mercy. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it’s up to her eleven-year-old daughter, Wendy, to keep the starstuff out of the creatures’ clutches … and Peter Pan may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom.  515 p., Disney/Hyperion Books.

Find it at WCPL

A Pearl Among Princes by Coleen Paratore

Summary:  As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Gracepearl feels her deceased mother guiding her toward a decision between life on a remote, agrarian island with her childhood love, or somewhere far away with a young man in training to be a prince.  195 p. Dial Books for Young Readers.

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The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer

Summary: Two years after their adventures in The Land of the Silver Apples, the apprentice bard Jack and his Viking companion Thorgil confront the malevolent spirit of a vengeful mermaid and begin a quest that casts them among the fin folk of Notland. 479 p., Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

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Back Home by Julia Keller

Summary: Thirteen-year-old Rachel Browning understands that her father will be different after being injured in the Iraq War, but no one is prepared for the impact that his traumatic brain injury and other wounds have on the entire family. 194 p., EgmontUSA.

Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye

Summary: Formerly dead Milton Fauster tries to save his older sister Marlo from “eternal darnation” when she is sent to another educational level of the Underworld reform school known as Heck. 362 p., Random House.

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Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Summary: Stubborn, self-reliant, eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, moves to the country to live with her prickly half-uncle, a famous doctor and sculptor, and together they learn about trust and the strength of family. 241 p., Front Street.

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The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor

Summary:  In Fayette, South Carolina, the highlight of Popeye’s summer is learning vocabulary words with his grandmother until a motor home gets stuck nearby and Elvis, the oldest boy living inside, joins Popeye in finding the source of strange boats floating down the creek. 149 p., Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

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The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell

Summary: Ten-year-old Christina lives a sheltered life until she discovers a secret tunnel, an evil plot to enslave orphans, and a mysterious source of energy known as zoom. 291 p., Henry Holt & Co.

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ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor

Summary: Virtuous Queen Alyss, who has lost the power of imagination, and her murderous aunt Redd battle for control of Wonderland. 370 p., Dial Books.

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William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Summary: In 1938, twelve-year-old William has already decided to leave home when his younger sister informs him that she and their brother and sister are going too, and right away, but complications arise when an acquaintance decides to “help” them. 214 p., Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

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The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech

Summary: In a tiny village in the Swiss Alps, an angel meets an American girl named Zola who has come with her father to open a school, and together Zola and the angel rescue a group of homeless orphans, who gradually change everything. 164 p., Joanna Cotler Books.

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The Squire’s Quest by Gerald Morris

Summary: Terence worries about the lengthy absence of his faery friends as he travels to Greece to aid the Emperor Alexander and attempts to thwart a nefarious plot by Mordred to assume the throne held by King Arthur. 275 p., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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Pop by Gordon Korman

Summary: Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus in hot water. 260 p., Balzer & Bray.

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