Oh who am I kidding, OF COURSE I would want to be on the Newbery committee- any year!
And honestly, the clear standout for me is The Madman of Piney Woods. Brown Girl Dreaming is a close, close, close second. But the thing with Brown Girl Dreaming, is that it is INCREDIBLE, but not as INCREDIBLE as After Tupac and D Foster, the neo1954 situation.
There's also The Nightingale's Nest, Bird and Where I Belong, OH! And West of the Moon.
But What the Moon Said? I am not sure that this one should even get an honor. Man, I just didn't see Newbery in it at all. It was fine. I mean, it was very American Girlish and I see that the author, Gayle Rosengren, was a copy editor of AG, so maybe that is why. This is not a bad book. It's just a fine book. Maybe if it wasn't played up to Newbery material, I would be easier on it. It certainly didn't put me to sleep, like Moon Over Manifest did in book form and in audio. I am going to give Moon Over Manifest another try someday, I really am. Everyone seems to have loved it but me and so that tells me something.
Anyway...What the Moon Said just didn't do it for me as far as Newbery goes, but it was a decent book.
Although I really liked What the Moon Said, I am like you with Moon Over Manifest. The book put me to sleep. I, too, kept reading the raves for the book so I kept plunging through it. However, I finally gave up midway through the book. With so many great books out there and a long to-read list, I doubt I'll ever try reading it again.
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