In Blink & Caution (Candlewick, 2011) by Tim Wynne-Jones I never mistook whether I was hearing 17-year-old Caution or 16-year-old Blink. Maybe that’s why it won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction for 2011!
These two runaway/street kids in Toronto are both in trouble. They meet through a con and despite herself, Caution wants to help Blink solve the mystery he witnessed. But can these two learn to trust each other?
This Tim Wynne-Jones is NOT the nuclear physicist, according to the author website. But there you can learn about the variety of books Tim has written, about all his awards, and more.
Category: Award Winners
Split
“Now I have to start lying.” Isn’t that a great first line?!
16-year-old Jace shows up at his brother Christian’s apartment, or at least what he hopes is his brother’s apartment, and the last name says Marshall, not Witherspoon. He drove all the way from Chicago to Albuquerque and he might not be in the right place?
Split (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010) by Swati Avasthi is a story about escaping domestic abuse. But physically escaping is easier than escaping the damage done. You’ll have to read the book to see whether Jace and Christian can do so in this award winning debut novel. (Split won in the Cybils YA Fiction category for 2010!)
There’s a book trailer on Swati’s site. Plus you can enjoy reading about her playlists and naming (and renaming) her characters.
Crunch
Crunch (Katherine Tegan Books, 2010) by Leslie Connor is one of those books I’ll be rereading again and again. It was very, very good!
14-year-old Dewey and his 5 siblings, ranging in age from 5 to 18, are alone. Mom has gone with Dad on his long haul truck for their 20th anniversary. But what is supposed to be a short trip becomes something else when there’s no fuel. Dewey and younger brother Vince were simply keeping the Mariss Bike Barn going, but now everyone is coming to get bikes repaired. The roads are empty, even the freeway. When will their parents be able to come home?
Don’t miss out on this near future story that also has some mysteries going on!
You can read about the author and her other books on her site, where I learned her favorite treat is dark chocolate. Yumm!
The Everafter
How could you resist an opening like this? “I’M DEAD. Not by-parents-told-me-to-be-home-by-twelve-and-it’s-two-o’clock-now dead. Just dead. Literally. I think.”
In The Everafter (Balzar & Bray, 2009) by Amy Huntley, Madison doesn’t know where she is or how she got to what she calls “It.” She finds objects from her life and finds she can revisit the events where she lost that item. If she finds it in real life, the object is gone in “it,” so what’s the point? You’ll have to read it to find out!
Visit Amy at her website where you can also watch a book trailer, and listen to an excerpt from the audio book.
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Amulet Books, 2010) by Tom Angleberger is one cute middle grade graphic novel.
6th grader Tommy is trying to figure out if the finger puppet is real or, as his friend Harvey says, just “a paperwad.” But Dwight isn’t smart enough to say all the things Origami Yoda says, is he? Tommy has each person write up their Origami Yoda experience and then both Harvey and he comment. Book ends with Tommy and his conclusions, oh, and directions to make your own Origami Yoda.
Read an interview with Tom about the book here. His website has a superfolder talk zone where you can see pictures of other characters made by fans.
The next book, Darth Paper Strikes Back, has recently come out. Don’t you love the title? I need to get my hands on that one.
Check out Tom’s alter ego at Berger and Burger.