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December 11, 2008 by Betsy Bird

And the Winner of This Year’s “What YA Novel Should I Read” Contest Is . . .

December 11, 2008 by Betsy Bird   7 comments


Well, I have to say that this was by far the most exciting vote I’ve had on my blog in a while.

If you will recall I offered a challenge to my readers.  I would select six of the most discussed YA titles of the year and you, dear readers, would tell me which one to read.  The books were:

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Graceling Kristin Cashore
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Paper Towns by John Green
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

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So far so good.  But not having my finger firmly on the pulse of YA readership kept me from realizing that there was a title missing from this list ("Just one?", growl the authors out there).  One in particular anyway.  I had heard lovely things about E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks but somehow it slipped my mind when typing out my list.  So Lori from Queens (remember her from the cute shoe post I did a week or two ago?) made it a write in vote.  And nothing would ever be the same.

At the outset I thought that Impossible would be getting a lot of loving, but to my surprise it was Graceling that took an early lead.  Paper Towns jogged merrily behind, but it seemed from the start that we had a winner in Cashore’s novel.  Then all of a sudden Frankie Landau-Banks crops up and everything changes!  Graceling‘s win was no longer assured.  The numbers began to even out.  Tender Morsels made a brief lunge forward but was forgotten once more.  Living Dead Girl got a write-in vote, but didn’t budge after that.  And Little Brother?  No one was willing to wholly commit to recommending it as the number one YA read.  If they did they mentioned another book alongside it (so I didn’t count either vote).

No sir, it was Frankie and Graceling to the bitter end.

By the final tally one was ahead.  But I had to take into account an emailed vote I’d received a week before.  And that, my friends, finished the job.  Here are the scores as I got them:

Impossible: 3
Graceling: 8
Paper Towns: 6
What I Saw: 3
Frankie: 8
Tender Morsels: 4
Living Dead Girl: 1

Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for the first TIE I’ve had in these votes.  Instead of reading just one YA novel this year I will be reading:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore



AND

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart



. . .  which, I notice to my chagrin, is no longer on my bookshelf.  Crud.  Off to the library I go.

Thanks to everyone who voted and offered their strong opinions one way or another. 

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy Sears says

    December 11, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Both should be good choices giving you a sense of the range of YA this year. A little YA in the mix is good for the soul

  2. Fuse #8 says

    December 11, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    True. A little adult wouldn’t hurt either, but you’d be amazed how easy it is to skip. I’m getting better, though.

  3. Shelf Elf says

    December 11, 2008 at 5:33 pm

    Betsy – I’m jealous that you’ve got those 2 titles lined up next on your TBR list. They were two of my favorite reads of 2008. Enjoy them!

  4. Jennifer says

    December 11, 2008 at 7:37 pm

    Graceling WAS AMAZING. I really loved it. Impossible had lots of wholes in teh plot. 😀 Enjoy Graceling though.

  5. Rotem says

    December 11, 2008 at 7:49 pm

    Two very, very good choices–definitely my top two. I did also love WHAT I SAW, for the record. 🙂

  6. Laura says

    December 12, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    I agree with Shelf Elf – you have some wildly entertaining, fantastic reading ahead of you. What a fab way to end 2008!

  7. Chrisin NY says

    December 15, 2008 at 11:11 am

    Both daughter and I loved Frankie…hope you do too.

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