January 2019 – Page 2

Archives for January 2019

January 28, 2019 by Steven Engelfried

Live from the YMAs: Merci Gets the Gold

MERCI SUAREZ CHANGES GEARS won the 2019 Newbery Medal! Heavy Medal readers share reactions to the Newbery results, as well as the announcements of other award winners.

January 26, 2019 by Roxanne Hsu Feldman

Final Call for Heavy Medal Readers Poll

287 Heavy Medal readers voted. 127 of you are new Heavy Medal Readers and 160 are returning readers. Here are the results: The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge: 22 (7.7%) The Book of Boy: 24 (8.4%) The Faithful Spy: 5 (1.7%) Front Desk: 37 (12.9%) The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: 4 (1.4%) Hey, Kiddo!: 26 (9.1%) The […]

January 25, 2019 by Roxanne Hsu Feldman

2019 Heavy Medal Award Winner Announcement

After two more rounds (via email and ballot forms) of voting, the 2019 Heavy Medal Award Committee finally came to consensus and picked the winning title published for children in 2018. We are excited and thrilled to announce that the 2019 Heavy Medal Award goes to Jonathan Auxier for his moving historical fantasy Sweep: The Story of a Girl […]

2019 Heavy Medal Award — Reader Poll

January 25, 2019 by Roxanne Hsu Feldman

Readers, stay tuned. We are still in the process of our Third (and might not be the Last) Round of Balloting. As evident from yesterday’s whirlwind of comments (more than two hundred before we closed the comments for the two posts,) our 17 Heavy Medal Award Committee members are taking this task of picking a […]

2019 Heavy Medal Award – Second Ballot Results

January 24, 2019 by Roxanne Hsu Feldman

This are the results of our second round of voting. A few more books are OFF the table: Front Desk, Just Like Jackie, The Night Diary, Poet X (This one kills me!), and Small Spaces. So, we are left with the following titles to further examine: [The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge] First x 3 Second x 1 […]

And the Heavy Medal Award Winner Is…. (not yet)

January 24, 2019 by Roxanne Hsu Feldman

Last night, all 17 members of the Heavy Medal Award Committee cast our votes for the first time. And we have not yet selected a winner. Here are the guidelines to determine a winning title. A. Each member must cast three separate votes. One each for First Place, Second Place, and Third Place. B. A First Place […]

Heavy Medal Finalist: SWEEP by Jonathan Auxier

January 23, 2019 by Steven Engelfried

Jonathan Auxier's SWEEP is the final book in our Heavy Medal Finalists discussion. Heavy Medal Committee member DaNae notes that the author "deftly builds instant empathy. He exposes just enough vulnerability to open an itch of dread, yet overlies it with a wisp of hope, assuring us that our hearts are in good hands."

Heavy Medal Finalist: SNOW LANE by Josie Angelini

January 22, 2019 by Steven Engelfried

SNOW LANE by Josie Angelini is up for Mock-Newbery discussion today as one of the Heavy Medal Finalists. The title is introduced by Heavy Medal Committee member Kari, who notes that "though the story was inspired by Angelini’s life, it has not been reduced to a problem novel, and Annie and her voice and her story are not easy to forget. This is a small book but it is powerful and deserves strong consideration."

Heavy Medal Finalist: SMALL SPACES by Katherine Arden

January 21, 2019 by Steven Engelfried

SMALL SPACES by Catherine Arden is the featured Heavy Medal Finalist today. In her introduction, Heavy Medal Committee member Katrina points out that "SMALL SPACES is intricately crafted. In just the first chapter, so much groundwork is laid, in ways that are completely necessary to the story..."

Newbery Home Stretch: Pre-Announcement Predictions!

January 20, 2019 by Steven Engelfried

The Newbery Award will be announced on January 28th. Heavy Medal Readers are invited to share their predictions of what books are most likely to earn a gold or silver Newbery seal.

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