Book Battle: Round 1 Winners (Part 3)

Time to announce more Round 1 winners. And there are three (that's right, three!) to announce today. So let's get started, shall we?

Bracket 6:
Ash by Malinda Lo VS. The Season by Sarah MacLean
Judged by Rachel from Jacob's Beloved and The Book Vixen.

This was an interesting match up with a unique retold fairytale in one corner, and a light historical romance in the other. While Ash showed a really strong lead in the beginning of our Goodreads group poll, at the close it was ahead by a much smaller margin, with 60% of the vote. So what did the judges have to say?

Judge Rachel made this comment:

While it's not likely I would have picked this particular book off the shelf if it were not for this competition, I have read similar works...for adults, and I have plans to read more of this genre in the future. I did enjoy this book...

And Judge Book Vixen adds:

"I have to admit, before reading either of these two books I seriously thought I would have picked [the other] as the winner. In fact, I wouldn't have picked up [the winner] to read had it not been for the Book Battle. That just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover or its blurb!"

So who eventually won out? The winner is... The Season by Sarah MacLean!

Ooh, we have a bit of an upset. Just goes to show you can't always trust those poll numbers. :) Make sure you check out both judging posts (Rachel tackles the discussion of Ash, while The Book Vixen tackles The Season) to see the breakdown of for each book. And so the slight underdog moves on to Round 2, where it will battle for it's next position as part of Bracket 15.


Bracket 7:
Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas VS. Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Judged by Katie from Read What You Know

If I had to pick a pair of underdogs in this battle, it would be these two. They were highly nominated enough to make the final cut, and yet hardly any of our judges had heard/read of them before. So we all went into this one a little blind. Still our Goodreads poll voters seemed to think it was an easy choice, with Because I Am Furniture coming out ahead with a whopping 73% of the vote. So were they right?

Judge Katie had this to say:

"I promise to talk more about each book when I review it later on the blog, but when it came time to decide between the two, I was struck at just how similar the books were to one another. Without spoiling either ending, I can safely say that these two books were about teens struggling to find their voices — to speak up for people around them who cannot or do speak up for themselves, for whatever reason."

So with that high recommendation, alas, only one can move on. And the winner of this bracket is... Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich!

Wow! Another poll prediction upset. Hmmm... what will our third result today bring? Make sure you check out Katie's full post for all the details. Meanwhile, Eighth-Grade Superzero will be moving on to compete in Bracket 16 of Round 2, while Because I Am Furniture gets added to the pile of hopeful books competing for the revived spot later in the competition.

But there's still one more announcement to make...


Bracket 12:
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev VS. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Judged by Diana Dang from Stop, Drop and Read and Andrea from The Little Bookworm

I must admit I looked at this bracket with much anticipation. I try not to play favorites, I really do, but Eyes Like Stars was easily one of my favorite reads from last year. But Demon's Lexicon also has had a lot of good press. Is there a clear winner between the two? Our Goodreads voters certainly thought so, with Eyes Like Stars pulling ahead with 67% of the vote.

Judge Andrea had this to say:

"While I loved the plot and the writing of The Demon's Lexicon and thought it was a great book...Eyes Like Stars [had] a very original concept and such distinct characters. It is a slower reading book then Lexicon, but it is a very absorbing book."

Judge Diana adds:

"I've read [one book] months ago and I loved it. The [other book] however wasn't really up to par in my standard. "

Sounds like this one was an easy choice. Well, the results are in, and the winner is...Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev!

As always, make sure you check out both Andrea's and Diana's blog posts to see the whole result. Eyes Like Stars meanwhile moves on to battle it out with Before I Fall in Bracket 18 of Round 2. This is going to get intense...

So, just to recap. Today's winners are The Season by Sarah MacLean, Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, and Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. Meanwhile, Ash by Malinda Lo, Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas, and The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan will drop back to compete for that revival spot coming later in the competition. Who will join the ranks of the books moving on next? Come back to find out!