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[CCBC-Net] Favorites of the Year
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From: goldschp at tds.net <goldschp>
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 20:49:34 -0600
I'll weigh in with my favorite YA of 2007. I was disappointed in 2006, but this year was a complete turn around in my opinion with lots of high-quality books to choose from. My personal favorites:
"Converting Kate" by Beckie Weinheimer -- a story about spiritual self-discovery as a young woman leaves her mother's church and seeks to find how to meet her own spiritual needs. Deeply moving and engrossing, dealing with spiritually in a mature fashion not always seen in mass-market publishing.
"Anything But Ordinary" by Valerie Hobbs -- a boy and girl whose fortunes wax and wane (with several life-changing turnings-of-the-table) form the background of an unusual story about friendship as their relationship undergoes some complex changes from growing up. A rare sophisticated look at human relationships and the meaning of love.
"Harmless" by Dana Reinhardt -- chilling story about a lie that spins out of control. The plot device may be a bit tired, but Reinhardt creates a much more scary story (choosing to forego the complete happy ending that these stories tend to usually aim for). I liked her previous "A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life" but this novel shows growing depth as a writer.
"Me, Penelope" by Lisa Jahn-Clough -- I picked this one up at the CCBC book sale without any high expectations and was blown away by the originality of the writing and the strong and original voice of the story's heroine. The story itself (girl dealing with death of baby brother and mother's distance) sounds like nothing new, but a good writer can turn an old story line into gold with moderation, wit, and understanding of the teenage mind.
I also wanted to give an honorable mention to "In the Name of God" by Paula Jolin which portrays the complicated world of being a teenage girl in Syria, trying to provide understanding for a Western readership of a different culture of great political significance in today's world. The book has its flaws, but the effort of creating the book and making something that can be so readable and yet so eye-opening/educational deserves greater attention.
I know that there were many other excellent books this year and I don't want to say that my five listed here are the "best" ones, but these were my personal favorites and were each truly excellent and outstanding contributions.
Paul Goldschmidt
---- Megan Schliesman <schliesman at education.wisc.edu> wrote:
> It's time to begin what has become the one of the most enjoyed topics on
> CCBC-Net--our annual discussion of favorites of the year.
>
> Let us know the children's and young adult titles published in 2007 that
> you have found especially notable, distinguished, entertaining,
> enjoyable . . . you get the picture. What are you excited about? What
> 2007 books do you want to make sure other members of the CCBC-Net
> community don't miss seeing or reading?
>
> Megan
>
> --
> Megan Schliesman, Librarian
> Cooperative Children's Book Center
> School of Education
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> 608-262-9503
> 608-262-4933 (fax)
>
> schliesman at education.wisc.edu
>
> www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Thu 06 Dec 2007 08:49:34 PM CST
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 20:49:34 -0600
I'll weigh in with my favorite YA of 2007. I was disappointed in 2006, but this year was a complete turn around in my opinion with lots of high-quality books to choose from. My personal favorites:
"Converting Kate" by Beckie Weinheimer -- a story about spiritual self-discovery as a young woman leaves her mother's church and seeks to find how to meet her own spiritual needs. Deeply moving and engrossing, dealing with spiritually in a mature fashion not always seen in mass-market publishing.
"Anything But Ordinary" by Valerie Hobbs -- a boy and girl whose fortunes wax and wane (with several life-changing turnings-of-the-table) form the background of an unusual story about friendship as their relationship undergoes some complex changes from growing up. A rare sophisticated look at human relationships and the meaning of love.
"Harmless" by Dana Reinhardt -- chilling story about a lie that spins out of control. The plot device may be a bit tired, but Reinhardt creates a much more scary story (choosing to forego the complete happy ending that these stories tend to usually aim for). I liked her previous "A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life" but this novel shows growing depth as a writer.
"Me, Penelope" by Lisa Jahn-Clough -- I picked this one up at the CCBC book sale without any high expectations and was blown away by the originality of the writing and the strong and original voice of the story's heroine. The story itself (girl dealing with death of baby brother and mother's distance) sounds like nothing new, but a good writer can turn an old story line into gold with moderation, wit, and understanding of the teenage mind.
I also wanted to give an honorable mention to "In the Name of God" by Paula Jolin which portrays the complicated world of being a teenage girl in Syria, trying to provide understanding for a Western readership of a different culture of great political significance in today's world. The book has its flaws, but the effort of creating the book and making something that can be so readable and yet so eye-opening/educational deserves greater attention.
I know that there were many other excellent books this year and I don't want to say that my five listed here are the "best" ones, but these were my personal favorites and were each truly excellent and outstanding contributions.
Paul Goldschmidt
---- Megan Schliesman <schliesman at education.wisc.edu> wrote:
> It's time to begin what has become the one of the most enjoyed topics on
> CCBC-Net--our annual discussion of favorites of the year.
>
> Let us know the children's and young adult titles published in 2007 that
> you have found especially notable, distinguished, entertaining,
> enjoyable . . . you get the picture. What are you excited about? What
> 2007 books do you want to make sure other members of the CCBC-Net
> community don't miss seeing or reading?
>
> Megan
>
> --
> Megan Schliesman, Librarian
> Cooperative Children's Book Center
> School of Education
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
> 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290
> Madison, WI 53706
>
> 608-262-9503
> 608-262-4933 (fax)
>
> schliesman at education.wisc.edu
>
> www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Thu 06 Dec 2007 08:49:34 PM CST
