- To Kill a Mockingbird against Unbroken
- Far Far Away against Thirteen Reasons Why
We will publish the winners of Round 4 Monday!!
PDF of Brackets
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Here we are...heading into the final round!! And it is down to four books!!
Who will emerge victorious and make it to the Final Round?? Don't forget - if your favorite book has not made it this far, it's not too late to vote in the Zombie Round!! The book receiving the most popular votes will "rise again" to battle the Final Two!!
We will publish the winners of Round 4 Monday!! PDF of Brackets
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Unbroken and Boxers and Saints are not typical books I would ever pick up. They are simply not my styles. With that being said, both books were pleasantly surprising, but for different reasons. I read Boxers & Saints in two days, Unbroken in two weeks. The first was an easy read once I picked up the rhythm of the graphic novel and taught me about culture and the Boxer Rebellion (talk about an interesting point in history!!). Unbroken challenged my memory of World History. Both novels had me searching out facts about incidents in history.
I thought about which I should pick. I went back and forth on it and it comes down to Unbroken as my winner. While Boxers & Saints was a great book, Unbroken is a book I would recommend to my friends or anyone I come in contact that loves history. Hillenbrand tells the story of Louie Zamperini all the while keeping pace with what is going on in the world at the time. My favorite, and probably the most influential point in the novel for me, was when one of the Olympians stayed a day longer after the Olympics, in Germany and the anti-Semitism propaganda came out. I began to make so many connections. When Louie and his two buddies were on the rafts in the ocean – I kept turning the page even thought it was 1 in the morning. I was riveted as to how they could survive, how the shark kept hitting the raft, and I experienced fear for them when they were rescued. Eventually, I had to put the book down for the night. The story is about bravery and the human spirit, about friendship and survival, and most of all perseverance and it’s the winner of this round! Michelle Rowe is an ELA teacher at Chautauqua Lake CSD. Read more about Michelle and our other judges on the Meet the Judges page! Divergent and Thirteen Reasons Why couldn’t be more different. One, a tale told by a recent suicide to the people who led her to commit to death. And the other a sci-fi adventure with an unlikely hero. Honestly, hard to compare.
I read Thirteen Reasons first and was prepared to give the round away to Divergent almost immediately. I thought Thirteen Reasons had a couple of pretty big weaknesses. First, the narrator Hanna’s voice is fairly unrealistic. She just doesn’t sound like a teenage girl to me. She sounds like someone who would write for TV would try to write the way a teenager speaks. I had a hard time buying it. Also, the structure of bouncing between Hannah’s voice on the tapes and Clay’s thoughts as he listens to the tapes was grating. It just happens too frequently. Often times, it’s every sentence or two the reader jumps from Hannah’s story to Clay’s thoughts and back again (and again), rarely allowing for me to be taken away into either story. But Divergent had its own weaknesses. I got the feeling that Divergent was able to be published based on the idea that it had so much in common with other YA novels and series out there already. The unlikely hero, the outsider, the alternate future for the country…heck, it even had its own version of The Sorting Hat. To its benefit, it was a page turner: I wanted to figure out Four, I wanted to know how her rankings play out. So, my winner… I’m moving on Thirteen Reasons Why because of its strengths. Jay Asher’s story is incredibly believable. Painfully believable. New girl arrives. Feels betrayed. Is the target of a rumor. Feels isolated. Reaches out but doesn’t get the help she was looking for. All snowballing towards something terrible that no one sees. There is a scary truth to the way Hannah’s story plays out. And that’s one thing great books can do for us- show us our real world through fiction. Michael DeCaprio is a Race to the Top Facilitator for the WSWHE BOCES in the Saratoga Springs area. Read more about Michael and the other judges on our Meet the Judges page. As the two books lay on the table before me, or actually as both their covers stared at me from the screen of my Kindle app, I knew I would have a difficult choice. Dystopian literature is my favorite. Who wouldn’t love a world that seems familiar, but holds dangers and rules we can only imagine. Legend is set in a society that is divided. Day, one of the main characters was born in the slums and is one of the countries most wanted criminals. June, scored a 1500 on the “what to do with the rest of your life” exam, and begins a career in the Republic’s military. These two main characters find themselves mixed up in love, murder, and are both unsure of who to trust. Although the plot seemed vaguely familiar, the characters pulled you in. Each has a multileveled persona that kept me wanting to read and root for good to triumph evil. Divergent is also set in a world that could be a version of our own. Beatrice is turning 16, an age when the youth of this society must choose the faction they will work for the rest of their life. She narrows her choices down to two factions, one which her family belongs to, and one in which bravery and fighting is encouraged.
Before I started reading Divergent, I felt it reminded me of Hunger Games, so I was not sure I would like it. As I started reading it I was reminded of The Giver (My favorite dystopian book ever!). The more our main character learns about her family and the factions the more complicated her life becomes. Will her society unravel if she pulls the threads? Even though Divergent felt familiar it broke away from my preconceived notions and stood on its own. It combined action, romance, and revolution all in a unique package. I enjoyed both Legend & Divergent, but Divergent is the winner in this bracket! Karen Kondrick is a teacher in Ripley Central School. Read more about Karen (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! Despite being an avid reader, I have never been the biggest fan of historical text. Yes, I have read many pieces, yet the only historical topic I have ever been drawn to read about was the Holocaust. Then, during my round of Battle of the Books, I was presented with not one, but two pieces of literature that were based on events in history. Needless to say, I was slightly reticent about having signed up. As far as my reading went, I was pleased that I had read my first novel, Inside Out and Back Again, with my 8th grade class earlier in the year during a module. This freed up my time to be able to tackle the relatively lengthy novel Unbroken in my spare time…oh wait, I don’t have much of that! When I began Unbroken, after having been daunted with the notion it was nearly 400 pages, I was nervous about the lack of connections my students would be able to make with the novel. Wondering if Inside Out and Back Again would simply win by the default of having a character closer to their age for textual connections and being more reasonable in length. As I continued to read my opinions began to unravel, as did the pages, as did my enjoyment for the text. And the winner is…………………………………………….
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand!!!!!!!!!! Despite getting off to a rocky start I quickly fell in love with not only the text, its message, but most importantly the protagonist of the story. Louie Zamperini came to life throughout the pages as being the type of individual that not just some, but many of my students could relate to. He evolved over the course of the text to be someone that I cared about, fought for, and wanted to meet. These are the types of characters that ultimately bring literature to life. These are the types of characters that create a passion in students; and when they are able to see these types of individuals flourish, they realize they can as well. I can honestly say that I am excited to share my passion for this text with my students and look forward to the conversations that will ensue. Unbroken is a fantastic novel and should not be pushed aside due to its graphic content as some may be wary of. Life is full of chaos and conflict; look at the daily news or the newspaper. It is important to recognize this as educational settings are the perfect place of departure for safe conversations on scary topics. This novel is more than worth the time and effort of teaching it, as it has made me a better person from reading it! Alison Spacciapolli is an ELA teacher in the Pine Valley Central School District. Read more about Alison (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! Comparing Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Although Uprising puts up a valiant fight, it is no match for the complex, intricately woven story and lessons found in To Kill a Mockingbird. Both novels provide the reader with an intimate glimpse into the lives of young women and both provide situations aimed to evoke empathy and both provide heroes, yet Harper Lee has offered Americans the epitome of humanity in Atticus Finch. Utilizing flashbacks, Uprising reveals the immigrant experience in the United States during the first decade of the 20th century. Through Bella, an Italian, and Yetta, a Russian the reader learns of the trials and tribulations of immigrant females yearning to survive the harsh early industrial America. Both Bella and Yetta have unluckily found employment at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. They will be joined by Jane, who throws off the “shackles” of wealth to join the working masses. These three teenagers bonds will become unbreakable as they begin striking for decent treatment and suffrage in 1909. Fighting social, political ind economic injustice, nearly dying, these women will win better working conditions, only to face the greatest battle; the fire to consume the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in March of 1911. This fire will stand as the turning point for all American workers toiling in horrific conditions. The loss of 146 people will cause the laissez-faire attitude to end and state and federal laws protecting workers to begin. While this is an exciting piece of historical fiction, it pales in comparison to the lessons we learn in To Kill a Mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a life altering piece of literature. On the surface, this story is told from the point of view of Scout, a young girl living in Alabama in the 1930’s. Scout, along with her brother Jem and their friend Dill ….Through the lense of innocence, several, more intricate and sensitive themes emerge. Like peeling an onion, the reader learns of the injustice done to African Americans through the heartbreaking story of Tom Robinson and the life lesson, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (p. 39). As Scout and her crew encounter others who are “different”, Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, Mayella Ewell and even Calpurnia, the audience is reminded of Atticus’ sage advice. Another layer in the onion, is Atticus as a moral guide and ethical compass, not only for the residence of Maycomb and his children, but more importantly for the readers of the novel. Ultimately, Atticus reminds us of the golden rule through this analogy; “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (C. 10) To Kill a Mockingbird is a piece of literature that changes your life and hangs in your soul like dew in the grass on a warm summer morning. Marcy Sweetman is a Staff Development Specialist with the Integrated Education Services (IES) team at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES. Read more about Marcy (and our other judges) on our Meet the Judges page! Although I thought that both books were worthwhile reads, I picked 13 Reasons Why as the winner over The Book Thief.
One of the reasons I chose 13 Reasons Why is because it is a book that deals with an issue that I believe touches a lot of people in one way or another…suicide. Although I thankfully don’t know anyone personally who has committed suicide, I do know a lot of people who have thought about it and I think this is true for many people. I think that depression, and even wondering what the world would be like without you, is something that a lot of people consider, especially as a teenager. It’s a topic that many can relate to. An issue that I had with this book is that the reasons Hannah gives for killing herself don’t seem very good or any more traumatic than things that happen to a lot of people. I also thought it was unfair and a little cruel that she laid the blame and the burden of listening to her reasons on Clay. Imagine how hard it would be to lose someone in that way and ALREADY have guilt that you should have seen the signs or been able to help and now you have to deal with this? However, I think one thing that the book does well is show that sometimes one tiny thing you say or do, which may seem trivial to you, can really effect another person’s outlook on life. Be aware of how you treat others because you never know what they are going through and how you might impact them. Kim Joslyn is the Library Media Specialist at Chautauqua Lake CSD. Read more about Kim (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! Ask someone who loves to read and now works with data for a living to choose a winner in a young adult Battle of the Books and you’re asking her to re-visit not only her middle and high school experiences but to determine an evidence-based winner. So I dutifully got copies of Eleanor & Park and Boxers and Saints (The Box Set). I had an immediate, qualitative response to one over the other based on the covers and presentation but I wanted to be a fair judge and use evidence from the text to support my decision. I snuggled up with a cup of tea and Eleanor. I sighed over descriptions of her hair (redheads can never get enough love) and her strong spirit (the girl has grit, buckets of it) and her equally slow and fast fall into love with Park. I thought, more than once, “I like this Park kid.” But as I read, my brain and eyes kept getting pulled back to Boxers and Saints, waiting patiently, teasing me with two sides of the same story. When I deemed enough time had passed, I put down Eleanor and picked up Boxers and it was all over except for the evidence collection. Eleanor & Park is a solid, lovely story yet it’s a story has been told before and likely will be told again. Boxers and Saints isn’t a story that I’ve read before. Almost everything the author, Gene Luen Yang, does while helping his two main characters tell their stories is different. I couldn’t predict. I couldn’t guess what might happen because Yang doesn’t let us stop long enough to wonder. His drawings are active, full of motion and potential energy. He even lets a character name herself. Known only as Four-Girl, she seeks out the bright shadow of Joan of Arc and the safety she thinks she sees in Christianity. Don’t know what the Boxer Rebellion is? Don’t worry. Little Bao and Vibiana (the name the Four-Girl finds for herself) will walk you through it. Don’t expect hand holding, though. You’re not going to get it. Instead, you’re going to get images, feelings, and decisions that will leave you wondering why the read and review count for this book on Amazon, Nook, and GoodReads is so low. 74,000 people have rated Eleanor and Park on GoodReads, only 314 rated Boxers and Saints. That’s 314 people now moving around in the world who stop randomly to wonder, “Was that the only choice left?” 314 people who are likely scouring Wikipedia and the internet for more information about the Boxer Rebellion and wondering about our individual role in bigger stories.
My mom’s family is big and loud and Irish. For several decades, Northern Ireland was a dangerous place to live as citizens sought to free themselves what they saw as an unfair, unkind government. My mom’s family thinks they were freedom fighters. Someone else’s family thinks they were terrorists. I’m not sure there’s a right answer. You’re going to ask the same question about Little Bao and the best part? You’re not going to be able to answer. But you’re going to be grateful you read Boxer and Saints. Jennifer Borgioli is a consultant with Learner Centered Initiatives, LCI. Read more about Jennifer (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! What if our first acquaintances with people came by way of their stories? Not the easy ones we typically share upon meeting someone for the first time. The kind that matter. The kind that define us. You know....those stories: the kind that are hard to tell while looking someone straight in the face. Auggie Pullman's story is that kind of story. It broke my heart, and I know it will break your heart too--in all of the ways a proper story should. But that's not why I'm calling Wonder the winner here. I'm calling it the winner because it made me think in ways that no book ever has. It made me....wonder.
You see, on the inside, Auggie is much like many other boys his age. He loves Star Wars and Halloween. He stresses out about making friends. He's nervous about going to school for the first time. He loves and loathes his family in equal measure, and he grapples with the cards that life has dealt him. He's just like everyone else. On the inside. Except Auggie isn't just like everyone else on the outside. He was born with a variety of genetic abnormalities that, even after 27 surgeries, leave his face significantly disfigured. It's my hunch that his story isn't one that most readers would have the courage to listen to, if he were slide into a seat beside them, look into their eyes and tell it. Many readers would look away. Not because they couldn't bear witness to his disfigurement, but because they couldn't bear witness to his pain. Reading Auggie's story is easier than listening to him tell it, I'm certain. Reading his story is enlightening, too. I have a hunch that if we weren't able to read it, the whole of it would ever be told. Perhaps Wonder will make you wonder, as I do:
My first and only acquaintance with Auggie came through Palacio's story. It came through the page. It's a wonder how words direct our eyes and our hearts to what matters most. City of Bones was incredible....you should read it...really.... but Wonder? Wonder was important. Angela Stockman, among other roles, is the founder of WNY Writer's Studio. Read more about Angela (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! With titles like Frightful’s Mountain and Dragonwings, one might conclude that these are both books about birds. Well, that would definitely be wrong! Laurence Yep is a master at writing about the immigrant experience of several generations of the Young family in his Golden Mountain Chronicles collection. Dragonwings is not a story about birds; however, it is a story about flight and freedom. This Newberry Honor book tells the story of a young Chinese boy named Moon Shadow. As a child, Moon Shadow is sent to join his father in the Land of the Golden Mountain - America. Moon Shadow quickly realizes that he must support his father’s dream of flying and does so despite many trials and tribulations. Laurence Yep weaves facts and myths in a seamless manner. Jean Craighead George’s young adult fiction book, Frightful’s Mountain, is an adventurous sequel to Newberry Honor winning My Side of the Mountain and On the Far Side of the Mountain. In Frightful’s Mountain the reader reconnects with Sam Gribley as he struggles with the decision to let his pet peregrine falcon, Frightful, go. Throughout this book, Frightful faces many obstacles as she comes into contact with several humans, both helpful and harmful, as well as various animals that contribute to the ecology of the Catskill Mountains region. Jean Craighead George’s ability to transport the reader into the wilds of New York State changes how he feels about the natural world around him.
Both books are beautifully written, entertaining, and suspensful; however, Jean Craighead George’s Frightful’s Mountain is so realistic that the reader will have to read the author’s notes just to be sure that the book is not a work of non-fiction. Frightful’s Mountain takes the reader to a place where he begins to understand how humans and nature must learn to coexist in a manner that will benefit one without harming the other. This captivating story will make you want to become a naturalist! Tammy Kirsch is a teacher with the Orchard Park CSD. Read more about Tammy (and our other judges) on the Meet the Judges page! |