SLJ BoB: No Kat-Fight For You!

What, you thought I would go with the girl-fight joke instead?

Judge Nancy Werlin read Graceling and The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary; her selection of the non-fiction book means that Graceling will NOT be going up, so their will be no Katniss/Katsa match-up. Put your jello away.

Werlin is the only Round 2 Judge who not only discusses books that did not advance; and gives them high praise; she basically says the other books should have advanced.

THEN, to add the drama, Werlin says her decision was easy-peasy. OK, I made up the easy-peasy part; she actually said: "Those match-ups would have been tough. This one isn’t, even though I must say it’s shamefully unfair to have to compare these two very different books. But it’s like Sherman marching to the sea; it’s like Katsa against Po. There’s no question of the outcome. The Lincolns wins over Graceling."

No question, dear readers. NO QUESTION. Werlin, like Judge Pierce, speaks critically about the books and the writing. (Note to readers and authors: a critical reading of a book, discussing the writing as Werlin does, is NOT a bad review).

Also the good? In talking about The Lincolns, Werlin talks about the writing, not the history: "The material was presented clearly, beautifully, fully, and with respect for the reader’s intelligence and understanding."

What does this mean for next week?

Judge Linda Sue Park, with Octavian and Chains;

Chris Crutcher, with Hunger Games and The Lincolns.

While this is all about individual preferences, it is interesting to observe we have two historical fiction books, a dystopian fantasy, and non-fiction.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy