The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Lennie Walker is grieving. Her older sister, Bailey, died suddenly of a heart condition and Lennie is suffering in isolation. She's shut out everyone important in her life; her grandma, her uncle and her best friend, Sarah. Her only outlet is the poems that she writes on scraps of paper and scatters around town. Not even her formerly beloved clarinet playing produces relief. Then she connects with Thoby, Bailey's boyfriend. Though she finds strange comfort in him she can't deny her feelings for the new boy in school. Joe Fontaine is French, gorgeous and a musician, like her. She doesn't want to abandon Thoby, but how can she resist Joe?



The Sky is Everywhere is written in an endearing contemporary style, yet it is disjointed and I didn't enjoy it. The author tosses almost every cliche of young adult fiction into the pot, mixes it up and produces a tedious and frustrating plot. Her 17-year-old characters sound like 40-year-olds and her adult characters are juvenile. Her dialogue is similar to that of TV shows like Glee and Gossip Girl. It is undeniably clever, but it gets old. This works well for a teen audience, but from an adult perspective it's too forced. I also didn't care for the foul language and frank crudity of some scenes. I read this novel for the Printz challenge. I don't think it will win.

Picture Books Obsolete?

The New York Times recently published an article called "Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children". What is your opinion?

Can You Pick the Printz?

Since we're holding a Mock Newbery challenge, why not hold a Mock Printz challenge as well? Again we'll read the books on the following list and pick our individual winner a week before the Midwinter conference. Join us!


You by Charles Benoit



Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi


Incarceron by Catherine Fisher


Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta


Under a Red Sky by Haya Molnar


The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson


The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork


Nothing by Janne Teller

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me By Nan Marino

This is a terrific historical/realistic fiction from the early 1970’s before we had the computer/information explosion thrust upon us, and another great story written by a librarian! Set in the summer of 1969, when Jack Lalane, TV, letter writing, and Vietnam were on America’s radar. Readers get to experience the Apollo moonwalk as well as learn some hard facts of life along with 12 year old, Tammy Simpson. Tammy “lost” her best friend, exactly 45 days ago, to be with her biological mother. Muscle Man is the new foster kid that moves in next door, and just can’t seem to tell the truth. It's Tammy's job to expose this kid and all of his lies, she thinks.

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz 117 pages

Third person fantasy about, “Flory,” a night fairy who must adapt to her new “day fairy” status when a bat accidentally nips her wings, and causes her to live in a new garden. Great example of living within changing circumstances, empathy, and helping others. High-level vocabulary discussed (such as suet, torpor) as well as habits and environments of various garden animals. Gorgeous color illustrations, rich with detail to bring this new world to life for the reader.

Can You Pick the Newbery?

Here at Sunset a few of us are going to participate in a Mock Newbery contest. The Newbery winner will be announced in January 2011 (I couldn't find the exact date). Here is the list of ten books that we plan to read and choose our winner from. I gleaned these titles from looking at other libraries Mock Newbery programs. These were the most mentioned titles. We plan to read them all (there are only 10) and then make our individual choices for the winner the week before the announcement. Feel free to join us or let us know of other books you think should be considered.

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Keeper by Kathi Appelt

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

The Water Seeker by Kimberly Holt

The Night Fairy by Laura Schlitz

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

Woods Runner is a short, yet powerful tale of one boy's race to rescue his parents, who are prisoners of the British during the Revolutionary War. Samuel lives with his parents in the forests of Pennsylvania where they live a peaceful life with several other villagers. Samuel is relied upon by the village to provide meat for them and has become an expert woods runner and hunter. One day while he is out hunting, tragedy strikes; his village is burned down and his parents are taken captive by British soldiers. Hot on their trail, Samuel is determined to save them. Along the way he encounters injury and savagery and unexpectedly becomes the guardian of a little girl named Annie. The tale follows Samuel all the way to New York City, where thousands of prisoners are living in dismal conditions. Interspersed with facts about the Revolutionary War and how people lived during this time period, I found Woods Runner to be fascinating and suspenseful. I would recommend this for fifth grade and up.