VOTE: March Challenge
Welcome to the first Sponsored Theme for the 2012 Book Club! Earlier this year, I put up a thread requesting theme ideas and what books would encompass said themes (you can still comment on that post here), and one of the first themes really caught my eye. So please, welcome temporaryworlds, who selected March's theme: Michael L. Printz Awards & Honors. In the real world, temporaryworlds is a librarian, which means she's always finding out about the most fascinating books and awards. I've been following her blog for several years now, and I have to say, if you aren't doing the same, you're missing out.
Now, let's talk about March's theme. I'll let temporaryworlds explain:
Much like a Newbery Award for young adult literature, The Printz Awards is distributed once a year by the American Library Associations and recognizes the best in young adult literature from the previous year. I know I always try to read at least one of the selections each year, and have come across some fantastic reads from a variety of genres. As a result, I was very happy when calico_reaction asked me to guest host this month's book club, using this theme. Our selections for March have either won the Printz Award, or have been honored in previous years. Some are well known and beloved titles, while others may seem new to you.
Interested yet? Please note, all selections are Speculative Fiction, or at least they appear that way based on their summaries. :) Let's take a look at the books temporaryworlds selected for us, and then vote for our favorite! :)
Please note: if you don't have a Live Journal account but can comment using OpenID, just go to Live Journal's home page and in the upper right-hand corner, log in using said OpenID address, and then you can vote on this page!
Nancy Farmer: The House of the Scorpion
From the unique combination of the timelessness of an old and seemingly forgotten world deftly mixed with the futuristic reality of a brave new world comes a chilling tale of ethics and mortality that is thought provoking and macabre, and yet strangely fascinating...Is this the way of the future? Matt is six years old when he discovers that he is different from other children, from other people. To most people Matt isn't a boy, but a beast, dirty and disgusting. But to El Patron, lord of a country called Opium, Matt is the guarantee of eternal life. El Patron loves Matt as he loves himself - for Matt is himself. They share the same DNA. As Matt struggles to understand his existence and what that existence trully means, he is threatened by a host of sinister and manipulating characters, from El Patron's power-hungry family to the brain-deadened eejits and mindless slaves that toil Opium's poppy fields. Surrounded by a dangerous army of bodyguards, Matt longs for escape. But even escape is no guarantee of freedom because Matt is marked but his difference in ways that he doesn't even suspect.
Terry Pratchett: Nation
The sea has taken everything.
Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne-a girl from the other side of the globe-is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.
Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives -- all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down. . . .
Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.
Meg Rosoff: How I Live Now
“Every war has turning points and every person too.”
Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.
As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.
A riveting and astonishing story.
Rick Yancey: The Monstrumologist
These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed.
But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets.
The one who saved me...and the one who cursed me.
So begins the journal of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore War throp, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a grueso me find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.
Critically acclaimed author Rick Yancey has written a gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does a man become the very thing he hunts?
All synopses ganked from Amazon.
Remember, pick the book that interests you the most. Even if this isn't your genre of choice, the idea is to challenge yourself. Read something new. You never know, you might like it. :)
And while this might be obvious, consider the following before making your selection:
1) Does the premise interest you?
2) Do the first couple of pages (if available) interest you?
3) Do any of the reviews on Amazon (or elsewhere) make you reconsider?
Don't vote solely on the prettiest cover (tempting as it might be), and that's especially true if you don't plan on reading the book, because your vote dictates what others (like me!) are going to read for the challenge. And don't let the three questions above scare you out of a book, and don't let them convince you that you won't like any of them. The trick IS to challenge yourself, but I hope you're giving each book a fair shake before voting. :) I want you to know what you're getting into if your selection wins!
Know what you want to read? Then it's time to vote!
Poll March Challenge: Michael L. Printz Awards & Honors
Please note, I will not vote unless it is to break a tie.
You've got until midnight, Thursday, January 5th to make your decision. Vote for the book that YOU want to read the most, and if you're torn, tough. You gotta pick one. :) If you've already read ALL of the books, pick the one you'd most like to re-read. If you're not participating, then maybe next month will bring something more to your liking. :)
I'll announce the official winner on Friday, January 6th, so don't pick up your copy (whether you buy or borrow) until I make it official. Unless, of course, all of these books are so appealing to you that you must have them all. In that case, have fun and start reading! :)