Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL by Jasmine Warga
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Lauren Tylor

If your Newbery reading didn’t include enough turtles, then you’re going to be very happy to have A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL on your reading lists! Jasmine Warga builds a great novel around an art heist, a turtle who saw it all and two kids who are determined to solve the mystery after they meet a strange apparition in Cherry Hall, a wing of the Penelope L. Brooks Museum.
While it’s hard to say exactly what the Newbery Committee is looking for in a book that vaults it from a great novel to one that “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children,” CHERRY HALL excels at great characters, a keep you guessing plot and felt very appropriately interpreted for its intended audience: middle grade readers. Rami and Veda are probably the most compelling characters in the book. Rami’s awkwardness around his peers and his misconceptions of his worth are tenderly rendered. He felt so real andu his inner monologue was so clear that I could easily pick him out of a crowd. Veda was a fun counterpart for him and I loved how she acted as a foil to show him the world as it is instead of how he perceives it.
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“Most people don’t notice me,” he said, and then immediately stared at the ground. He couldn’t believe he’d said that. Out loud.
“Dude, people notice you,” Veda said…
Rami shrugged. He kept looking at the ground.
“No, really,” Veda said. “People notice you. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. But in a good way.” (p.113-114)
I also want to shout out the characterization of Rami’s mom in this book too. We got a fair amount of books on this HMAC list that had very cardboard standee parents. Even though Rami’s mom didn’t spend a ton of time on the page (this book is much more about Rami, Veda and mystery solving), she feels real and rounded in ways that a lot of parent characters don’t.
The plot of CHERRY HALL is fun! I mean come on, we’re solving a mystery and a fairly low stakes one at that, so it felt like a really nice break from war and death and other heavy HMAC plots to focus on something fun and solvable: a painting theft. I kept trying to figure out who stole the painting and Warga had me fooled until the end. The twist of Theodore doing it to help out Hannah was wholesome and helped by the flashbacks. Everything wove together really well to keep me intrigued.
Mixing together the great characters with a quick and fun plot made this entire book feel like Warga really knew who she was writing for. There are some Newbery hopefuls and medal winners that as a public librarian, I’m never sure how to get them in the hands of kids, they either feel too literary or too sad, but I could pass CHERRY HALL out to all my mystery loving middle grade readers all day long. It still has depth with the inclusion of Rami’s mother being a suspect because of her race and job, Rami’s unresolved feelings about his absent father, the terrible awkwardness of growing up, and realizing who your true friends are. CHERRY HALL has some attributes that make it Newbery notable, what do you think?
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock

About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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I’m a bit of a downer yesterday and today, but this is another title on our list that just does not stand out to me as a true Newbery contender. I think this is a fine middle grade mystery with redeeming qualities, but was in my bottom group of titles as it just didn’t reach the depth and complexity that so many of the others did.
I agree, Kate. I had heard so many amazing recommendations for this book and when I read it, found severely lacking. There was nothing memorable about it for me and for as short as it was, was still a bit of a drag to read.
Kate, I agree – “a fine mystery with redeeming qualities” but not a standout, Newbery-quality title for me. And I loved, loved, loved some of Jasmine Warga’s other books, especially Other Words for Home and A Rover’s Story; for me, both of those were deserving of Newbery attention. That said, I’d absolutely hand this book to any kid looking for a mystery, and I liked the writing:
“People tend to be very interested in objects once they go missing, even if they never cared about them before.” (43)
“Art, she understood, was a wish that you made with your hands.” (51)
“It was like he no longer fit, but he didn’t know why.” (166)
I agree with Kate and Jenny! I tried to highlight the best things about this novel in the intro, but I was underwhelmed. It was cute and fun, but didn’t have the punch and depth that I love from some of our other Newbery reads.
My personal pet peeve was Blue! Like is she a ghost, a spirit, a soul trapped out of time? She’s Hannah but she’s not Hannah but Hannah’s also not dead. It just puzzled me as a plot point and honestly I felt like they could have solved the mystery without her.
Lauren–Blue was a struggle for me as well! As I said in my review, she reminded me of Moaning Myrtle. LOL
From My Goodreads Review: (But I feel sums up my feels with this one)
I’m on the fence about this book. I read as part of SLJs Mock Newbery and honestly, I’m struggling to see why this book was nominated and in our top 15.
Let me be clear there is nothing wrong with this book. Indeed I am excited by the fact that there is a younger middle grade mystery out there. One that also has a “moaning Myrtle” like character named Blue who flats around the halls of the museum. What’s the story there? Who did steal the untitled painting? And can a turtle really draw?
The ending was very sweet and made me like the book more than I did going into the last quarter of it. When I think about Newbery criteria, words like delineation of setting, character, and style all come to mind. I always felt that as the reader, I was more “flying high” over the whole plot and area as opposed to feeling immersed in it. I didn’t care as much as I wanted to. So that puts it lower down on my list of prospective mock winners.
I have loved other Jasmine Warga titles (like I LOVE A Rover’s Story). And I am not going to compare because we shouldn’t. We can’t! Still, while I like this for a younger reader who loves mysteries……not very sure from a Newbery perspective.
I love this book! It is such an accessible mystery for the younger middle grade set. The mystery itself isn’t too gory or detailed, there is a creepy “ghost”, some red herrings and not so villainous villains, and fun main characters.
Did you catch the foreshadowing on page 35? “I’m sure the painting will be recovered soon, though” Theodore said…
And the theme of making connections and being seen is woven so well in different places…the hidden bird paintings, the overlooked turtle with a mysterious gift, Rami’s feelings about not fitting in, Blue not knowing who she is and only being seen my a few people, and Hannah’s painting which depicted her loneliness and desire to be see. The theme is masterfully woven into this cute little story.
But therein lies the problem. This book is clearly intended for the younger end of middle grade and as such is doesn’t have the depth of some of the other choices. It is a good book for what it is but I don’t think a case can be made for it against a really strong field.
I felt the same way. If we’re going to classify CHERRY HALL as a mystery for younger middle grade readers, I would consider it to be more elevated and thought-provoking than the standard fare in that genre. BUT… it is up against some pretty heavy-hitters this year and I just don’t see how this book is the MOST distinguished from the fifteen we’re considering, let alone the hundreds that the Newbery committee has read.
(I will say though, that I loved Agatha the Turtle).
Julie notes that CHERRY HALL is “a good book for what it is.” Which, I’ll confess, is kind of the reason Emily and I decided to include it. We thought it would be worthwhile to include a title that’s a little simpler and more modest in its goals. Julie adds that “the theme is masterfully woven into this cute little story…” and I think that’s where the potential for Newbery contention could lie. It should be possible for a book to be “distinguished” even if it’s simpler than most books or doesn’t tackle weighty themes. But Julie and other commenters so far all stop short of calling this a strong contender, and I think that’s probably right, especially with so many other excellent titles under discussion.
A good comparison from this year could be MAGNOLIA WU, which is also a simpler story that other fiction on the list, but I thought it was more distinct in the writing style and characterizations.
Steven- I agree that simple books should still have Newbery merit. Not every book needs to tackle super heavy topics, but I think that CHERRY HALL was far less effective than MAGNOLIA WU in taking a simple plot, premise and prose to a level that felt elevated.
I agree! I could see MAGNOLIA getting Newbery recognition; I think it accomplished so much in a slim page count, and just because it isn’t as much of a heavy hitter in terms of tough topics (although there is the B plot of escaping domestic abuse), the Newbery is for 0-14 and it would be lovely to see a younger middle grade book recognized.
A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL is a fun mystery story I recommend for kids grade 3-6. Warga wrote a really cute story and the theme, concept, plot, characters, setting, and style were all distinctly hers. I see you Jasmine Warga. I SEE how you tied in the library, an immigrant story, the fun imagination of a patient turtle, a hard working mom, the pain of friendship changes in middle school, uplifted art, helped readers through the mystery of love lost and found. I SEE what you did Ms. Warga and I’m here for it!
The theme of seeing and being seen was really kind of magic in CHERRY HALL. Warga examined this through so many lenses:
Agatha (turtle): She looked at the drawing, the drawing of her. And as she looked, she was filled with an indescribable feeling, The feeling of being seen. She wanted to capture that feeling. She wasted to give it to another being. (p.86)
Hannah (the artist): He smiled slightly. ‘Untitled for now. I get it.’
‘I knew she would,’ she said. It is a singular feeling to be understood. Seen. Connected. It is the best feeling int he whole world. (p 88)
Ramis mom: “That wonderful feeling of having found something? That’s what art is about. Making that connection. You’re asking someone to see what you see, and also, in the best cases, to maybe find something new” (p. 130)
Veda (the friend): ” ‘You’re a good friend Veda…You talk alot.” Rami gave her a teasing smile. ‘Which is just the right amount for you.’ ” (p.168)
Blue: (ghost/spirit): “” ” Hannah,’ Theodore whispered. ‘It’s me. Theodore. Something flickered across Blue’s face. Recognition maybe. Perhaps relief. “Hannah,’ she repeated… and then she vanished (p.199)
Theodore (the guard) : In this painting the girl was not alone.. The boy was looking at the girl. And the girl was looking at the boy. It is not Untitled. It is called Look.” (p202)
Rami (the protagonist) : Rami had learned recently that sometimes it was hardest to see what was right in front of you. And sometimes it was hardest to say the things that were most obvious. But he was going to try. (p.210)
I enjoyed the art references and agree with Vera- ” ‘My tablet is for podcasts. I prefer to read actual books. Don’t you? I like how they fell in my hands.” (p.177) While there are other titles that reached new heights in the Newbery category, I think that CHERRY HALL was one of the best elementary school books of the year.
From my GoodReads review: There’s been Newbery buzz about this one so I wanted to read it, and while there were a lot of things I liked about it, other things didn’t quite work for me. I love the representation in Rami and Veda, and the fact that it’s not the focus of the book–the mystery is. I will say that an art-theft mystery is a pretty common trope for middle grade mysteries, since it might be preferable to murder in a book for younger kids, so that wasn’t particularly new. Characters in paintings that come to life also aren’t new–I thought it was best done in The Frame-Up. I guess that overall, this felt a bit young for my students, despite Rami being in 6th grade, and, sorry, I just didn’t get the turtle. It felt like something added on because it created a necessary clue. So, liked it, didn’t love it.