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I am one of the lucky book bloggers who is a judge for this year's Cybil awards. My category is Graphic Novels, and the short list is pretty amazing. A big thanks to all of those involved in whittling the titles down to a manageable 10!

Some of my favourite books of the year are on this list. (You will notice that my Top 5 lists had no graphic novels...this was an intentional move considering the timing of the judging.)

So follow this link and find out if your favourite gn made the list!

Found on the Cybils blog this lovely morning: the shortlist announcements for each category:

Click on each genre for its short list:

Easy Readers
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Fiction
Non-Fiction MG/YA*
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Fiction

Happy New Year, book lovers!
--Anne Levy, Editor

*We expect this list soon. Sorry for the wait.

Schmatz, Pat. 2008. Mousetraps.

Mousetraps is a busy little book. In a way it reminds me of Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. And it feels like a cousin once or twice removed from a Barry Lyga novel*. At the heart of this novel, is the story of an almost-friendship. Once upon a time (back in elementary school) there was a girl, Maxie, who was quite good friends with a boy, Roddy Nash. After a violent (bullying) incident in middle school (seventh grade, I think), Roddy moves away...only to resurface several years later in high school. He is now calling himself Rick. Maxie is shocked to see him in her chemistry class. Not happy. Not upset. Just shocked. You see in the last year (or two) when she'd known him she had begun to distance herself from him. His nerdiness was becoming more apparent--or perhaps, she just began caring that he was a bit different from the other kids.

Now that he's back, Maxie is trying to decide what their relationship--if any--should be. Just lab partners? Just friends? Just friends outside of school? Boyfriend and girlfriend?

As I said, this is a busy book. There are many different complicating layers to the basic plot. Her cousin, Sean, and his biracial jock boyfriend, Dexter, who is still in the closet. Her best friend, Tay, who is becoming more and more distant as she experiments with drugs. And there are the assumptions and burdens of memory. How traumatized was Roddy from all those years before? Is Rick gay? Is Rick in denial? Does Rick have an anger problem? Now that it's written out, it doesn't seem like those additional story lines would cloud up the text...but it just felt like this was too much of a "problem" novel.

I think the book tried to do too much in a way. (Especially towards the end.) Yes, life is complicated. Yes, people often have more than one problem to deal with at a time. But the characters and the plot seemed to only have dimensions because of the problems. Take away the problems, and what you're left with are very flat characters. The problems define the characters. That isn't true of everyone. There are a few that are multi-dimensional.

Another review of Moustraps: Amanda,
*I'm thinking of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Meldrum, Christina. 2008. Madapple.

The women resemble schoolgirls with gangly limbs, ruddy cheeks, plaited flaxen hair; they walk holding hands.

Weird and sometimes wonderful is how I'd describe Madapple by Christina Meldrum. It's not a novel for everyone. It's a bit dark, a bit moody, at times overwhelming, and not a bit traditional. It's a complex plot in a way. Well written. Well imagined. But very weird. Of course, there are plenty of folks that would read that description and think "this is the book for me!"

Set in the modern world--in America to be exact--the book has a very strange otherworldly feel to it. In part because our heroine, Aslaug, has been raised in isolation. Her mother, Maren, is a hard woman to know, to understand, to love. The two have been living in the country, living off the land for the most part. Aslaug has never attended school or church. She's never interacted or associated with anyone really. Though the two did occasionally venture into the nearest town to collect their mail and buy a few supplies now and then. But she's never known about the real world. She's lived a very sheltered, very odd existence. The information that her mother thought was most important to pass down to her daughter--and the information that her mother chose to conceal--is what sets Aslaug apart from her peers. What Aslaug knows is the natural world--the world of herbs and plants and weeds (roots, barks, etc.) She knows what plants are poisonous, and which ones aren't. And it is this knowledge of the natural world (in some ways associated with witches and witchcraft) that get her into trouble as the reader learns.

Maren, Aslaug's mother, dies of cancer. Though the powers-that-be suspect foul play for a bit and place Aslaug under arrest. (True, it was a bit strange that this teenage girl would try to bury her mother in the back yard after discovering her body instead of calling the authorities and arranging for a proper burial. But this "mistake" makes sense in connection with Aslaug's upbringing. What does she know of the authorities? Of the police? Of what's proper and improper?)

After Maren's death, Aslaug goes to stay with her mother's sister--her aunt Sara--and her cousins, Sanne and Rune. One might for half a second think this would be an improvement for her. That she would learn what it was like to be normal, to be loved....but no....this family she now finds herself in is just plain weird. Weird and a bit delusional. A bit out-of-place. Completely alien-outsider-culture going on in the midst of a modern day setting. What makes them so weird? They're cult-like, ultra-weird, non-traditional, spiritual-religious environment where everything's turned inside out and upside down and given a good shake or two.

Did I like it? Yes and no. I can see that it's well done. But it's a bit too weird for my personal taste. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I read it. I couldn't put it down. It had me hooked from almost the very start. But once is enough for me. I won't be rereading it anytime soon. But I wouldn't be surprised to read that others loved it. Or if it began receiving attention on best-of-lists, etc.

I don't know if this description will make sense to anyone or not...but this is a thunderstorm of a book. You know how some people love the sound of rain, wind, and thunder...and others not so much. It's just a very symbolically-stormy kind of book.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Today is the absolute last day you may nominate your favorite 2008 titles for Cybils Awards!

Don't forget to voice your opinion. There are currently about 126 titles that are eligible for the YA award, so go take a look at what's been nominated in the comments, and rack your brain for that book you know has been overlooked!

Or try one of the categories I'm NOT in charge of...

Fiction Picture Books
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Easy Readers
Poetry
Middle Grade Fiction
Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Graphic Novels

Have fun!

Tomorrow is the last day to nominate titles for the Cybils award. I am one of the lucky judges for the graphic novels committee, and I would love to have lots of titles to argue over...a-hem...discuss! Head on over to the Cybils to nominate!

Tomorrow is the last day to nominate titles for the Cybils award. I am one of the lucky judges for the graphic novels committee, and I would love to have lots of titles to argue over...a-hem...discuss! Head on over to the Cybils to nominate!

The Cybils nominations end in 3 days. The Cbyils are book awards given to the best children’s and teen books–books that are high in both literary quality and kid appeal. The books go through two different judging panels, and the panels are made up of children’s and YA book bloggers.

ANYONE can nominate a book. Yes, that means you! You just need to leave the book title you want to nominate in the comments of the book category (fiction picture books, teen fiction, etc) on the Cybils blog–by Wednesday!

I’ve gone through the lists of nominated books (which was a long task, let me tell you) and there are some really stellar books that haven’t been mentioned. Really, really good books that deserve a mention. Because each person can only nominate one book per category, I can’t nominate them. But you can! If you like the books I mention, please consider it. (And if you haven’t read them, pick them up!)

Here are the great 2008 books I think are missing:

Picture Books

• Chicken, Pig, Cow by Ruth Ohi

Go here to nominate a fiction picture book.

Middle Grade Books:

YA books:

• Breakfast at Sadie’s by Lee Weatherly

Go here to nominate a YA book.

With the arrival of autumn a few weeks ago, the air started to cool here in Florida.On my pre-dawn walks each morning, I can feel a fresh sea breeze clearing out the hot, humid air of summer, replacing it with the promise of cooler days to come.With autumn, too, came the start of the book award season.The Cybils--a fresh, new award combining literary quality with kid appeal and bringing together