Book Battle: And the Winner Is...

For those of you who haven't seen the poll yet, the revived book for Round 4 is.... The Iron King!

Even with our few emailed votes, The Iron King was a strong winner, with Eyes Like Stars close behind. So now The Iron King stands to do battle with Before I Fall once again. Will the results be different this time? Stay tuned to find out!

Book Battle: Round 4 Mystery Book

Now that we've reached Round 4, you may have noticed we have 3 finalists and 4 spaces. So it's time to fill in that final space... by reviving an eliminated book! One of the titles that previously didn't make it will have a final chance to make it to the finals in Round 5.

While all our judges have been working hard reading their two assigned books, the team from Teens Read & Write have been working their way through the eliminated books to choose which one will move on. And it's been a daunting task. They've read every single book to make a decision, and they even did it ahead of schedule! So let's give Alyssa, Jake, and Gregory a huge, huge round of applause!

In the end, they were only able to narrow it down to six books, just because there are so many great titles in competition here. So now, you get to help them out!

Below you'll find a list of the six finalists for that mystery spot and the judges comments for why they chose each one to be on this list. YOUR task is to pick one and vote! I've created a new poll for our Goodreads group to pick the winner. Just visit this link, become a member of the group (if you aren't already) and pick your favorite.

If you don't do Goodreads, you can also email me your vote at shadyglade(AT)mail(DOT)com with the subject line "Revival Vote". The book with the most votes by June 26th will be the winner.

So if you have a favorite book from this group, vote for it. And then tell your friends to vote too. Because the more votes a book gets, the better chance it has!

The Revival Finalists:
(judges comments are in italics)
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Eliminated in Round 1
Great imagination, lots going on, humor, enjoyable characters and good romance

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Eliminated in Round 1
Great bad boy, fun romance, interesting premise

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Eliminated in Round 2
Another great premise, sweet romance, likable characters and enjoyed it from the male perspective

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Eliminated in Round 2
Original idea, hilarious characters, humor, fun love triangle, strong heroine, great twists on old stories

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey
Eliminated in Round 2
Fun romance, great family vampire drama, spunky heroine, sassy repartee, bursting with action and intrigue

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Eliminated in Round 3
Terrific fantasy, fun new world, good twists, vivid setting, lots of magic, capable heroine, sweet romance

And there you have it. Which one do YOU think deserves a second chance? Cast your vote and let your voice be heard!

Book Battle Round 3 Winners

Here it is, as promised, the latest results of the YA Bloggers Debut Book Battle! We ran into a few snags this round that delayed the results a bit, but we're now going to make up for it by not keeping you in suspense any longer! So here we go...

Bracket 19:
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler VS. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
Judged by Steph Su of Steph Su Reads

I must admit, I was kind of surprised the Prada and Prejudice had made it this far into the battle. That is a book I definitely need to read soon! But did it have what it took to stand up in another round of competition? Here's what Judge Steph had to say about this bracket:

"Of the two books, both had charming moments, but only one had the emotional resilience to make it memorable for me. The winning book breaks hearts, mends them, breaks them again, then mends them again, leaving you, ultimately, stronger and better than when you started reading. Even though it was a reread for me, I was still delightedly surprised by how absorbing the story was. It truly is a read for any age and season."

And which book is she talking about? The winner is... Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler!

And Twenty Boy Summer sails through again! It moves on to Bracket 22, where it will face the challenge of competing with the winner of our next bracket, which is:


Bracket 20:
The Season by Sarah MacLean VS. Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Judged by Mariah from A Reader's Adventure

Eighth Grade Superzero is another book that few expected to come this far. But will it survive another round? Let's see what Judge Mariah had to say about this match up:

"It was a really hard decision! Both of these books were very good and were so different. The Season was a great love story with mystery, had witty banter, and encouraged girls to use their intelligence whether it is deemed good or not. 8th Grade Superzero was also really good, the subjects it brought up were very important and it encouraged me to get out and help with my community."

Want to know what the winner is? The winner of this bracket is... The Season by Sarah MacLean!

And it's The Season that goes on to Round 4. It joins Bracket 22 where it will meet up with Twenty Boy Summer for a spot in the 5th and final round. And that leaves us with just one bracket left...


Bracket 21:
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken VS. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Judged by Alicia L.

First of all, I want to point out Alicia is our one resident non-blogger judge. She managed to keep up with all us blogging judges, so a round of applause to her!

And now let's turn our attention to the books. There were two really strong contenders here, both of which have gotten tons of praise throughout the battle. So which one came out on top? The winner for this bracket is...

Here's what Judge Alicia had to say about it:

"Although I enjoyed Brightly Woven I fell in love with Before I Fall so this was a really easy choice for me."

Short and sweet! Nothing else to say. :)

So the recap for Round 3 sees Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, The Season by Sarah MacLean, and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver moving on to battle it out in Round 4, while Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard, Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, and Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken all drop to the background.

Once again, here's the updated graphic for the battle. And if you look forward to Round 4, you'll notice a bit of a mystery. More on that later...

Date Change for Round 3

Due to some difficulty in getting a hold of books for our judges, Round 3 needs to be extended another week. Announcements for this round will now come out sometime after the 19th of June.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Books Read in May (and April)

So it's time for my monthly slide show of the books I read in the past month. I know I'm about a week late getting this up, but oh well. My work schedule has been insanely crazy. But better late than never! And speaking of never, I missed April's books completely. So I've combined the two months into one slide show. I also tried something a little different this time around and uploaded it to YouTube instead of Google Video. So those of you who had trouble viewing these before shouldn't have problems now.

Lots of rereads over the past two weeks. I've been slowly working my way through all of Tamora Pierce's books again, as well as reading new stuff. Since I take the bus to work now I've actually been doing a lot of reading there, so hopefully I'll have a nice long show next month too.

The music this month is a tribute to my new job. :)

Anyway, without further delays, here it is. Enjoy!



As always, let me know what you think. Until next month...

Round 3 Brackets

Just so everyone can keep up with the Battle, here's the list of brackets for the upcoming announcements for Round 3. And if you're keeping up with the bracket graphic instead, the updated version is at the bottom of the post. Make sure you check out the results page for links to all the winning posts.

Bracket 19:
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler VS. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Bracket 20:
The Season by Sarah MacLean VS. Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

Bracket 21:
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken VS. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

And for those of you who like to keep track graphically (click to make it bigger):

Looking for 8th Grade Superzero

Hey everyone!

One of our Round 3 Judges is having trouble getting a hold of a copy of 8th Grade Superzero for her bracket. If anyone has a copy they wouldn't mind letting her borrow, please send me an email and let me know. Thanks!

Book Battle: Round 2 Winners (Part 2)

As promised, it's time to announce the rest of the winners for Round 2. As we speak, our Round 3 judges are busy working on getting their books read, so before you know it, it will be time to announce those as well. Anyway, let's focus on the task at hand. Here's the results from the last three brackets of Round 2...

Bracket 13:
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey VS. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Judged by Jess from Lost in a Book

In this bracket we saw the winning paranormal romance go up against the winning summer romance for a head to head battle. So which book pulled out ahead? Here's what Judge Jess had to say about the winning book:

"Sometimes I had to put it down so I didn't drown in the sadness of the book. But there were a lot of surprises, a lot of comforting predictability. Very enjoyable, well-thought out, and well written. "

Can you guess which book she's talking about? Well, the winner of this round is... Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler!

And there are groans and cheers from both sides. Make sure you check out the full judging post for a breakdown of Jess' decision. Meanwhile, Twenty Boy Summer will be moving on to Bracket 19 in Round 3, where it will go up against the time travel romance of Prada and Prejudice. And next on our list is:


Bracket 16:
Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich VS. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Judged by Jodie from Book Gazing and Lydia from The Lost Entwife

We are still looking for a copy of 8th Gradesuperzero for one of our Round 3 judges. If you have one you'd be willing to let us borrow or would like to trade it for something new, please send me an email and let me know!

And now moving on to the results from this bracket, which contained a very interesting match up. I've said before that 8th Grade Superzero is kind of the underdog in this competition, but it managed to pass the first round with flying colors. But did it have what it takes to pass Round 2 against the extremely popular Hex Hall.

Here's what Judge Jodie had to say:

"I think if I’d read 'Hex Hall' first I’d have been thinking it was a pretty strong contender and the second book would have to be pretty special to win. It’s so much fun and so different from a large amount of the paranormal fiction currently published. It made me think of all the best things about the paranormal fiction I devoured when I was a teenager: the snark, the strong heroine, the funny-yet annoying-yet extremely attractive love interest. In short it was cool."

And Judge Lydia added this:

"I was excited over Hex Hall (I didn't think I'd have an excuse to read it) and kind of "meh" over 8th Grade Superzero. I mean.. the cover really didn't do it for me and I didn't think I'd enjoy the story at all."

So which book came out triumphant? The winner of this bracket is... Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich!

And the underdog comes out ahead once again! 8th Grade Superzero will move on to compete in Bracket 20 of Round 3 where it will come head to head with Regency historical fiction The Season. Meanwhile, Hex Hall goes on the list of hopefuls waiting to be revived in that coveted Round 4 position. Make sure you check out both Jodie's and Lydia's full posts for a complete breakdown of their decision.


Bracket 17:
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting VS. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Judged by Kate from I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read

In the final bracket of Round 2, we had two very popular 2010 releases going head to head for the coveted last spot in Round 3. So which book came out ahead? Here's what Judge Kate had to say:

"These books are totally different in terms of *type* of YA. The Body Finder is more of a chick-lit thriller, where Brightly Woven is an action-adventure story. But to properly compare these books to each other, I think they are similar in terms of supernatural quality and suspense."

So which book was the winner? I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The last spot in Round 3 goes to... Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken!

Brightly Woven was one of the most highly nominated book back when the battle was taking nominations. So does it have what it takes to make it all the way to the winning position? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, make sure you read all of Kate's post for the full scoop. Brightly Woven now goes on to Bracket 21 of Round 3, where it will come up against the highly praised Before I Fall.

And that concludes our announcements for Round 2! Just to recap this post, remember that Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, Eighth-Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, and Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken are moving on to compete in the next round. At the same time Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, and The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting will be perused by our panel of experts to decide which of our eliminated books will be revived in Round 4.

We're almost halfway done. Have you predicted a winner yet?

Book Battle: Round 2 Winners (Part 1)

See, I told you that you wouldn't have to wait long to find out the winners for Round 2. The first three results will be announced today, and then the rest will be on June 6th. Meanwhile, our Round 3 judges are busy working away at their brackets, so that they'll have a decision made soon as well.

But getting back on topic, here's what we have to announce today.

Bracket 14:
Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey VS. Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
Judged by Mel at Mel's Books and Info

This bracket was an interesting match up, with two very different books meeting head to head after both won their respective previous rounds. So which one made it ahead? Here's what Judge Mel had to say:

"While I felt that both books were extremely entertaining and ones that I was happy to read, I just felt that [the winner] had more polish to it than [the other book]. The story was so much fun that I dreaded the book coming to an end, and wanted more."

Which book is she talking about? The winner of Bracket 14 is... Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard

Wow! That's one I certainly didn't see coming, based on the praise I've heard about both books. But that's why this is so exciting! Meanwhile, Prada and Prejudice will move on to compete in Bracket 19 of the next round. And don't forget to check out Mel's full post for all the details of her decision.


Bracket 15:
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl VS. The Season by Sarah MacLean
Judged by Courtney of Stilleto Storytime

Another more unusual match up that came out of Round 1. But our judge gladly took on the challenge, and read both books very quickly. Here's what Judge Courtney had to say about her decision:

"...I tried to look deeper and be as objective as I could about the novels and which I truly felt was a better piece of work. I also had my knowledge of the South and Regency England to guide me, meaning it could prove not to be a point for the book if the book did not exemplify “what I know” well. In the end I tried to chose not which had the most sales, was most popular on Twitter or represented my own tastes in writing but which offered a fresh, well written new voice in young adult literature."

Can you guess which one she chose? Well, let's not keep you in suspense any longer. The winner of this bracket is... The Season by Sarah MacLean!

And I think we have a bit of an upset! Many of our Goodreads Group members had pegged Beautiful Creatures as being the ultimate winner, but now it's been knocked out of the race. Interesting development... Don't forget to check out the full judging post for even more information about the decision.


Bracket 18:
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver VS. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Judged by Sherry at Flipping Pages For All Ages and Cait from Escape Through The Pages

This is a bracket I was watching with much anticipation. As I've mentioned previously, Eyes Like Stars is one of my favorites in this battle. So I was eager to find out what the judges thought of this one. So let's hear what the judges said.

Judge Cait had this to say:

"We knew we would have our work cut out for us, both books have received immense praise across the blogosphere, and they are both quite different types of stories. We did it, though, and after much deliberation our decision for winner was unanimous!"

And Judge Sherry added this:

"I had a hard time reading [the other book]. I have heard great things about it, but knowing that I was comparing the two books, [the winning book] was a hard book to compete with. I think it may even win this whole battle."

And the final winner is... Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver!

I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed since I loved Eyes Like Stars so much. But I also haven't read Before I Fall yet, so perhaps it's time to see what all the buzz is about. So Before I Fall moves on to compete in Bracket 21 during Round 3, and I can sit here and hope that Eyes Like Stars makes it to that coveted revival position coming up in Round 4. Meanwhile, don't forget to read both Sherry's and Cait's full posts.

So that's it for today! Come back on the 6th (or thereabouts) to find out who else won for Round 2. Just to recap, Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard, The Season by Sarah MacLean, and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver are moving on to compete in Round 3, while Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev step back in the distinguished place of 4th runner up.