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readallthenewberys2013-06-13 02:31 am
justice_turtle) wrote in readallthenewberys2013-06-13 02:31 am
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Coulda Been a Contender: The 1922 Newberys Summary Post
Hi! I'm sort of back. I don't actually have any new books in the pipeline yet, but I'm working on getting the rest of the 1929 Honor Books through interlibrary loan.
Now that we're past the years which had no Newbery Honor Books, I've decided to make a summary post as I finish each year (and some retrospective posts, of which this is the first), commenting on each book in brief and noting which one would have received the Newbery Medal if I'd had the final say. ;-)
This is largely to keep me motivated, but I'm hoping it will also make the comm more navigable and possibly more interesting. XD
1922
* First, my Mock Newbery Award for 1922: The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (read it free at the link) received my first five-star review (of five possible stars). It's an extremely well-written retelling of the ancient Greek story "Jason and the Argonauts", with many other Greek myths and legends cleverly interspersed. I was most struck by its extremely feminist-friendly and gay-friendly tone, which astounded me in a book whose extremely light touch on violence, sex, and death clearly aims it at pre-teen readers. Highly recommended.
* Cedric the Forester by Bernard Gay Marshall (read it free at the link) received four of five stars. It's a historical adventure aimed at teen boys, set in Merrie Englande of the early 1200s. I was most struck by its well-set-up, action-packed, unpredictable but highly credible plot, which I'd rank above anything written by either G.A. Henty or Sir Walter Scott -- and I have a fair amount of respect for those acclaimed masters of the genre.
It lost one star due to the ending, which changed historical events in a way I didn't like. (highlight to read spoiler: You do not replace Archbishop Stephen Langton with your invented character and expect full marks from me. *scowl* Langton didn't even appear, which left all the religious characters evil and corrupt. :P) Still highly recommended.
* The Story ofWhite People Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon received three of five stars. It attempts to be a complete history of the world for young people, but only succeeds in being a violently distorted history of European people, their descendants and their ancestors, with a light sprinkling of nauseating racism against Africans. I was most struck by the way a large helping of absurdly unfounded assertion was seamlessly blended with true and interesting facts.
It got three stars because it did have so many facts and because the writing was so compelling -- which is to say, I'm looking at that third star and wondering if the book hypnotized me or something. O_O My recommendation is to read the prologue, a stunning panegyric to the importance of teaching kids history, and ignore the rest. Unless you want to look up the Marx Brothers movie. ;-)
* The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs received one of five stars. It's a frame story about teenagers caught up in a multi-generational situation they don't understand, with interspersed short stories about the same situation leading to a conclusion -- a format Meigs used other times with more success than here. I was most struck by the unfortunately clumsy contrast between the modern-day (1920s) setting of the frame story and the feudal ideals the author vocally espoused.
It got one star because the highly uneven writing included some good work, and because I was trying to go easy on the ratings so early in the project... if I have to be honest. ;P Not recommended. The review post (linked above) has a list of other books by the same author which I do recommend wholeheartedly.
* The Great Quest by Charles Boardman Hawes received one of five stars. It's a deeply weird pastiche of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, minus all the Scottishness. I was most struck by the way none of the characters' actions made any sense or illuminated anything resembling personality in any of them; they were simply thin cardboard walking around and performing actions because the author thought "hey, that would be cool".
It got one star because I have to give a little respect to a pastiche that baldfaced and thorough, especially since the author captured David Balfour's narrative voice really, really well and kept it throughout. (Except for the part where he overdid the homoeroticism about the Davie/Alan relationship by at least three times, while throwing in half a dozen cumbersome travelling companions and a female love interest for the narrator by way of making things Less Gay. o_O) Not recommended unless all of the above sounds hilarious to you. In that case, just be warned for racism and brief gore.
* Heeeeere we go. The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure by William Bowen received my first ZERO STARS rating. It's... it's creepy, inexplicable, ableist, racist, creepy, incomprehensible, and did I mention creepy? *sigh* If you want an actual summary, the best I can do is "Alice in Wonderland times At the Back of the North Wind, without the higher maths and with kidnapping-child-molester overtones". I was most struck by the way that not even SUDDENLY, PIRATES could improve it.
Do I have to explain why it got no stars? ;P Really strongly anti-recommended. Spare your brain cells the trauma. Picture me here yelling "It's got me! Run, save yourselves!" ;P
Now that we're past the years which had no Newbery Honor Books, I've decided to make a summary post as I finish each year (and some retrospective posts, of which this is the first), commenting on each book in brief and noting which one would have received the Newbery Medal if I'd had the final say. ;-)
This is largely to keep me motivated, but I'm hoping it will also make the comm more navigable and possibly more interesting. XD
1922
* First, my Mock Newbery Award for 1922: The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum (read it free at the link) received my first five-star review (of five possible stars). It's an extremely well-written retelling of the ancient Greek story "Jason and the Argonauts", with many other Greek myths and legends cleverly interspersed. I was most struck by its extremely feminist-friendly and gay-friendly tone, which astounded me in a book whose extremely light touch on violence, sex, and death clearly aims it at pre-teen readers. Highly recommended.
* Cedric the Forester by Bernard Gay Marshall (read it free at the link) received four of five stars. It's a historical adventure aimed at teen boys, set in Merrie Englande of the early 1200s. I was most struck by its well-set-up, action-packed, unpredictable but highly credible plot, which I'd rank above anything written by either G.A. Henty or Sir Walter Scott -- and I have a fair amount of respect for those acclaimed masters of the genre.
It lost one star due to the ending, which changed historical events in a way I didn't like. (highlight to read spoiler: You do not replace Archbishop Stephen Langton with your invented character and expect full marks from me. *scowl* Langton didn't even appear, which left all the religious characters evil and corrupt. :P) Still highly recommended.
* The Story of
It got three stars because it did have so many facts and because the writing was so compelling -- which is to say, I'm looking at that third star and wondering if the book hypnotized me or something. O_O My recommendation is to read the prologue, a stunning panegyric to the importance of teaching kids history, and ignore the rest. Unless you want to look up the Marx Brothers movie. ;-)
* The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs received one of five stars. It's a frame story about teenagers caught up in a multi-generational situation they don't understand, with interspersed short stories about the same situation leading to a conclusion -- a format Meigs used other times with more success than here. I was most struck by the unfortunately clumsy contrast between the modern-day (1920s) setting of the frame story and the feudal ideals the author vocally espoused.
It got one star because the highly uneven writing included some good work, and because I was trying to go easy on the ratings so early in the project... if I have to be honest. ;P Not recommended. The review post (linked above) has a list of other books by the same author which I do recommend wholeheartedly.
* The Great Quest by Charles Boardman Hawes received one of five stars. It's a deeply weird pastiche of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, minus all the Scottishness. I was most struck by the way none of the characters' actions made any sense or illuminated anything resembling personality in any of them; they were simply thin cardboard walking around and performing actions because the author thought "hey, that would be cool".
It got one star because I have to give a little respect to a pastiche that baldfaced and thorough, especially since the author captured David Balfour's narrative voice really, really well and kept it throughout. (Except for the part where he overdid the homoeroticism about the Davie/Alan relationship by at least three times, while throwing in half a dozen cumbersome travelling companions and a female love interest for the narrator by way of making things Less Gay. o_O) Not recommended unless all of the above sounds hilarious to you. In that case, just be warned for racism and brief gore.
* Heeeeere we go. The Old Tobacco Shop: A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure by William Bowen received my first ZERO STARS rating. It's... it's creepy, inexplicable, ableist, racist, creepy, incomprehensible, and did I mention creepy? *sigh* If you want an actual summary, the best I can do is "Alice in Wonderland times At the Back of the North Wind, without the higher maths and with kidnapping-child-molester overtones". I was most struck by the way that not even SUDDENLY, PIRATES could improve it.
Do I have to explain why it got no stars? ;P Really strongly anti-recommended. Spare your brain cells the trauma. Picture me here yelling "It's got me! Run, save yourselves!" ;P