My Little "Dead End in Norvelt" Story

Lucky me: I already have two copies of the 2012 Newbery Award winning book: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.

My library is small and I hardly ever order two copies of the same book. That's what interlibrary loans are for. But I do happen to have two copies of Dead End in Norvelt. The company we order books from sent me the copy I ordered several months ago and then sent a copy to a library in Maine with a packing slip that listed my library. The library in Maine sent the book to me, thinking I hadn't received the copy I ordered. I called them and said, "No, you must have ordered a copy. I already have mine. Should I send this back to you?" They said nope, no one up there ordered a copy of the book. I laughed and said, oh, you should... it's very good.

I kept the second copy behind my desk all these months. I figured I would have it cataloged if it won any awards and, if it didn't, I'd give the second copy away during our summer reading program. When it won the Scott O'Dell award last week for historical fiction, I thought, well, it's a good thing I saved it. And, now, it has won the Newbery and I have two copies for our shelves!

It's a silly little story, but it makes me happy.

Comments

Harry vs. Septimus

Sometimes, I like the Septimus Heap series more than the Harry Potter series. There I said it. It’s a secret I’ve kept from all but my kids for a long time. Don’t get me wrong: I’m wild about Harry. I’ve knitted Harry Potter bookmarks (in Gryffindor colors, naturally). I’ve thrown at least two Harry Potter-themed birthday parties, complete with a sorting hat I made. I’ve stood at line overnight at Barnes and Noble waiting for the next book to come out three times. I read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in one day. But, often, I like Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books ( Magyk , Flyte , Physik , Queste , Syren , and the just published Darke ) more. And I’m not entirely sure why. My current theory is that the Septimus Heap books are better written and, while also highly derivative, much more charming. The characters are human (muggles, even) and fraught with faults. Also, the Harry Potter books are, rightly so, about Harry. Everything is from Harry’s perspective. Sadly, we don...

"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin

I’m a horrible blogger. Several times this past year, I thought I should just quit this. But I keep being drawn back. So, I’m going to do a little catching up and see how well I remember some of the books I read much earlier this year. Stay tuned. Today, however, I’m just going to write about one. I’ve been singing the praises of The Fifth Season all year even though I’m late to the party: It was published in 2015, and Jemisin is well-known as a gifted writer in the sci-fi and fantasy world. Since then, she has come out with the next two books in The Broken Earth trilogy and has won the Hugo Award three years running. No author has ever done that, let alone a black, female author. Back in 2015 she was the first African-American to win the Hugo for Best Novel. Actually, this year’s Hugos were dominated by women as female authors won in all the major categories. This is important. I’ve been noticing odd twitter posts lately about how women really don’t play video games or ar...

"Eighth Grade Is Killing Me," by Jennifer Holm and

Remember the old J.K. Rowling web site? The one me and hundreds (thousands?) of teens and kids (other adults?) used to pore over as we waited for the next book to come out? It opened with a picture of her desktop, and you could click on gum wrappers, paperclips, her date book and then cool things would happen. It was neat. Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick , a new book by Jennifer Holm and illustrated by Elicia Castaldi, reminds me a lot of that site (which no longer exists, by the way). Each two-page spread is a snapshot of what’s going on in Ginny Davis’s life. The story is told entirely through photos, notes, Ginny’s poetry assignments, comic strips, and other odds and ends. It’s an interesting format and a very quick read. At first I had wished there was more to Ginny’s story--she’s a likable character—but then I realized that the form fit the function. Tweens will appreciate every last detail of Ginny’s life as they pore over each page. The story has a good arc, there's ...

Stacked Shelves

Search This Blog