Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Published by Balzer + Bray in March 2015
Michael L. Printz Award Winner, 2016.

"Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go." -- From Goodreads

Will you like it?
This book has aspects of magical realism.  The majority of the book is set in present day/ reality.  You really have to suspend your beliefs with this one.  Overall, it's a great story that features beautiful language.  I'm not sure I would have picked this one up if I didn't need to read it for book club, but after mulling over the story for awhile, I'm glad I ended up reading this one.

Disclosure: I borrowed a copy from my local library.

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki 
Illustrated by Mariko Tamaki
Published by First Second on May 6, 2014
Caldecott Honor 2015
Printz Honor 2015

Summary: "Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It's a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other."  -- From Goodreads

I picked this book up after I learned it had won a Caldecott Honor and a Printz Honor.  It's pretty extraordinary for a book to be able to be an Honor for both medals, so I knew I had to move this book to the top of my reading list.

The pictures are gorgeous.  The water scenes are layers and layers of purple with bubbles of white.  The water scenes alone could win many awards.  I felt something was lacking when it came to the writing of the story.  There were many things that felt unresolved to me.  I wanted Rose to find out more stuff about her mom and the boy from the convenience store.

Overall, definitely pick this book up for the illustrations.  They are stupendous.

Disclosure: I borrowed a copy from my library.

Youth Media Awards

On Monday, the American Library Association announced the winners of the Youth Media Awards (like the Oscars but for books).  The winners are:

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

Caldecott Medal

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Newbery Medal

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Printz Award

Check out the other winners here.  Are any of these books going to be on your TBR list?

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Published by Dial on September 16, 2014

Summary: "Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world."  --From Goodreads

What I Loved:

JudeandNoah.  These characters are so complex, and I love it.  I love that the story is told from both Jude and Noah's points of view.  They seem to come alive off of the page, and they both have to deal with some pretty major issues.  

The language.  The word choice that Jandy Nelson uses is exquisite.  "His face is a room overstuffed with furniture".  His descriptions are unique, and that made it easier to imagine the characters he describes.

What I disliked:

Noah as narrator.  I found Noah's chapters to be pretty scatterbrained.  Or he was too excited, so I felt the compulsive need to rush through those chapters because he was so excited.  Or it was a way to show the differences in ages from when they were 13 to age 16.

Overall.  I fricken loved this book.  Yes, it did seem like it took longer than normal to read this book, but I am so glad I did.  It was a great book to kick off the 2015 with!

Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my library.