2012 Newbery Hopefuls

This is the place to post about books you think might be in the running for this year's Newbery. If you've read a book that you feel is exceptionally well-written, post about it here!

Remember to check the publication date -- to be eligible for this year's award, a book must be published in 2012!

I'll go ahead and mention a contender that has already gotten a lot of buzz: Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Have any of you read it? What did you think?

I hadn't heard of Wonder; will look for it.

I did love The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, which Amazon shows as being published in January 2012. I like that he can take such a serious topic and not get too bogged down in sentimentality.

#3 -- Oh, I agree that The Fault in Our Stars is excellent; I imagine it will be in the running for the Printz (teen) award, though it's a bit mature for the Newbery.

I'd forgotten that distinction -- Newbery and Printz. Oops!

I wasn't too thrilled with TFiOS, but I know many people were.

How does the committee distinguish "children" from "YA"? Is it the recommended age range listed in the book? Or some je ne sais quoi?

#6 -- I'd imagine it's more group consensus than anything. Publishers often put a suggested age or grade range, and many review journals do the same, but I don't know if the committee takes those into account. Right now, the stated age range for the Newbery is 0-14, which leaves it pretty much wide open. (This is partially because the Printz has only been around for 13 years; when the Newbery was established, YA wasn't a category that people were even thinking about. A few years ago, there was some attempt to change the age range, but for complex political reasons, it failed.) While I'm sure some 14-year-olds read TFiOS, I'm also pretty confident that it won't be in contention for the Newbery. Then again, they could surprise me. . . .

Just started Wonder while I was eating lunch just now. I quite like it so far!

I've been looking around a few different places, and here are some books that might be good to keep an eye on:

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

What Came From the Stars by Gary D. Schmidt

I've read the first two, and will be looking at the others soon. Have any of you heard about others that might be worth a look? Have you read, or heard anything about, the ones I've mentioned? All four are by authors that have gotten a Newbery medal or honor in the past -- and while that has nothing to do with whether they will get another one, it does have something to do with the amount of buzz generated by their new books.

#8 -- What did you think of Wonder once you finished it?

Wonder was terrific. My only quibble was that it might well be even harder than that in real life. But I was touched nonetheless.

Now reading Starters by Lissa Price.

Since my last post, I've read a few books that might catch the committee's eye: Splendors & Glooms, which I mentioned above, and which proves to be very well-written, though not fast-paced at all; See You at Harry's, which is a real tear-jerker but does a good job dealing honestly with emotions and portraying relationships between siblings; and Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire, which is delightfully quirky.

Has anybody else read anything that might be worth a look?