The Early 6: The First Sure Things for Our Mock Newbery Book List

Every year on Heavy Medal we announce a list of 15 (or so) Mock Newbery finalists: the Heavy Medal Book List (HBML). We’ll discuss those books in exhausting detail in late December and early to mid-January, then Heavy Medal readers and our Heavy Medal Award Committee will vote for winners. 

But we’re a month or so away from all of that. In preparation, we always identify six titles that will be on that list of 15 (or so) for sure. This allows readers (and future voters) to get a head start on books that will be in the discussion for sure. The list is created when Emily and I argue discuss possible titles in a heated cordial and respectful phone conversation. We consider a few things with the Early 6:

• Quality: we don’t want to include books that might not make the final 15
• Length: it can be nice to get the longest books read early, rather than waiting for the December release of the big list
• Variety:  we try to represent some different styles and genres
• Release Date: consider including a fall release or two that most people might not have had a chance to read yet

In the end, though, it’s less science and more what-feels-right-to-Emily-and-Steven. Here’s how our discussion went, with the results at the end: 

EMILY: Last year we decided to leave off the books that it seems like a lot of people have read. 

STEVEN: So that means no HANK HOOPERMAN, right?

EMILY:  Yes, sorry Hank. And maybe LOUDER THAN HUNGER and FERRIS. Those will still have a good chance to be on our final list though. So there, we’ve already eliminated a few. But our list is still at zero.

STEVEN: It’s tricky because there are a lot of books on our nomination list (just updated with November adds) with kind of broad support. We’ve got 11 titles with at least six nominations and 16 with four or more.

EMILY: So you’re saying that in December we might have to expand our final list to 20…or 25?

STEVEN: Or: we can keep it at 15 or so like we always do.

EMILY: Okay, okay. 15 it will be. Maybe 16 or 17. But we have to start with six.

STEVEN:  I have one sure thing:  ENIGMA GIRLS. It’s long, it gives us a nonfiction, and it also got several new nominations this month.

EMILY:  Agreed. ENIGMA GIRLS is in. It’s been out for a while, though. What about some more recent publications? You seem pretty high on QUAGMIRE TIARELLO COULDN’T BE BETTER.

STEVEN:  That would be great to have QUAGMIRE on our early 6.  If it wasn’t, I would likely try very hard to make sure it made the top 15. I have a feeling not too many people have read it yet.

EMILY:  And it ensures that at least one of this year’s “bad moms” books will be in.

STEVEN:  I’m also wondering about another fall release: A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL.

EMILY:  That could work. Nice to have mystery on the list.  

STEVEN:  And it’s more plot-driven than some of our choices. Which makes me think of THE WRONG WAY HOME.

EMILY:  That did have a surge in nominations in October. But it’s been out longer than CHERRY HALL and maybe will get enough support through nominations.

STEVEN: Okay, so yet to CHERRY HALL and WRONG WAY HOME will have to hope to make the final 15.

EMILY:  We’re halfway there. We don’t usually include graphic novels in the Early 6 because they’re pretty quick to read. But what about PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID?  It seems like the graphic novel choice of Heavy Medal readers so far.

STEVEN:  Maybe we should go with it. It’s not a bad thing for readers of the Early 6 to have to compare diverse styles and genres.

EMILY: That gives us four: ENIGMA GIRLS, QUAG, CHERRY HALL, and PLAIN JANE. Is there room for another WW2 spy book? We’ve got MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES and THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE to choose from.

STEVEN:  MAX was an early favorite for me. I liked BLETCHLEY fine, but thought MAX was stronger fiction overall. Maybe my expectations were too high for the Sepetys/Sheinkin combo?

EMILY: Can we blame Quade for that? He was hyping that book six months before it came out! I agree that MAX is a better choice, and BLETCHLEY didn’t get a wave of nominations in November…maybe that will change in December, but let’s go with MAX. So now we’re at five.

STEVEN:  DEER RUN HOME is next up on my reading list, but I haven’t read it yet. Have you?

EMILY: Not yet, but I will soon. It might be deserving, but we can’t give one of our precious Early 6 spots to a book that we haven’t read ourselves. Sorry DEER.

STEVEN: Okay, so we’ll both read it (and any other nominated books we’ve missed) and consider for the final 15. For the last Early 6: How about a borderline YA book that’s also poetry?:  BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS?

EMILY:  Done. We both liked that one a lot. And it will challenge Early 6 readers to think about age levels and poetry. So that gives us our Early 6:

• BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS by Renée Watson
• ENIGMA GIRLS by Candace Fleming
• MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES by Adam Gidwitz
• PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAIDS by Vera Brosgol
• QUAGMIRE TIARELLO COULDN’T BE BETTER by Mylisa Larsen
• A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL by Jasmine Warga

STEVEN: If we left any of your favorites off, remember there are still nine (or so) more titles that will round out our final list. You can advocate for them in comments here, with your final nominations in December, and in comments to previous and future posts as we continue discussing the top Newbery prospects for 2025. 

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