Newbery Roundup 1: Jawbreaker, When Sea Becomes Sky, Duel

Two weeks from now (January 22), the American Library Association will announce their Youth Media Award winners, including the Newbery and Caldecott. We’ve kept an eye on books that might be possible contenders, though it’s not uncommon when a title pops up on the winner’s list that totally escaped our radar. Here are three that keep appearing on “best of” lists and may well be under consideration.

Jawbreaker by Christina Wyman. Square Fish, 2023, 320 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: Ages 10-14

Max Plink’s life is greatly complicated by a condition right out in front of everyone. It’s called class II malocclusion, or severe overbite. To correct it means wearing an apparatus nicknamed “the jawbreaker,” which not only resembles architectural scaffolding but is extremely painful (and scary–note the cover image). To compound the misery, the bullies at school are relentless and her family is going through stuff. Why can’t Max’s family be more like her friend Shrynn’s? Why do the people closest to her always seem to be in survival mode?

The author also suffered through malocclusion, so she not only knows what it’s like but can also understand that the suffering was worth it. And that other lives are not as ideal as they may seem: Shrynn’s parents are getting a divorce, another friend’s mom is impossible. At home, Max’s sister Alex is so cruel to her it stretches belief at times, even blaming Max for their parents’ problems. Max mostly suffers in silence, slowly burrowing through the difficulties to see light at the end of the tunnel. Kids going through similar challenges will find her story instructive; I found it a bit overdone and predictable, but interesting. There’s some mild cursing from Dad.

Prediction: A strong possibility for the Schneider Family award, long odds for the Newbery.

Overall Rating: 3.75

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn. Bloomsbury, 2023, 224 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 10-12

Bex (Rebecca) and her little brother Davey are closer than the usual sibling relationship. Davey looks up to big sister, Bex values his thoughtfulness, unusual for a nine-year-old. They love hanging out on the salt marshes off Pelican Island, particularly a thrust of land called the Thumb.  But this year a record-breaking drought threatens to upend the rhythm of their lives. One day they make a startling discovery in the receding waters around the Thumb: a human hand carved in stone. The hand is attached to the figure of a woman with one arm outstretched. Who made it? and why was it buried in the sea? The mystery promises a summer of adventure for both.

Perceptive readers may pick up on another mystery building under the surface of the waters, the puzzle of life itself. “Nothing lasts forever,” as Bex is told. “Death and life are two sides of the same coin.” Is that true? Or does life consist in “that moment when what we see and touch become what we feel and remember. The moment when sea becomes sky”? The novel is rather slow but beautifully written and perhaps beyond the understanding of its intended audience. Thoughtful readers might enjoy it, but I would recommend it as a joint parent-child reading project to discuss later.

Prediction: Possible. Maybe 40-60?

Overall Rating: 4

Duel by Jessica Bagley, art by Aaron Bagley. Simon and Shuster, 2023, 320 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 12-15

The only thing GiGi and Lucy have in common these days is fencing, an enthusiasm caught from their dad. But dad is gone (cancer) and rather than unite in their grief the sisters are at each other’s throats. Now that Lucy is entering sixth grade she’s going to the same school where GiGi is a lordly eighth grader. Middle school isn’t big enough for the both of them: on the very first day GiGi humiliates Lucy in the cafeteria. Lucy snaps and challenges her sister to a duel—even though Lucy hasn’t practiced her rapier skills since Dad died, and realizes (too late) she’s overmatched. Too late to back out, though. As the appointed day draws closer, the whole school divides into Team Lucy and Team GiGi. Meanwhile the sisters’ animosity escalates from mean talk to means actions, driving their mom to distraction and making them far too familiar with the principal.

The sibling rivalry is very intense, making for an unpleasant read in the beginning. Mutual grief is made to explain a lot, and maybe too much. “When he died, suddenly there was this giant empty hole that I was staring down into,” their mom recalls at the climax. “Can we promise not to keep all this inside anymore?” That leads to a resolution that seems too easy given all that went before. It’s a welcome conclusion, and the graphic-novel format works well for the story, but I it wrapped up a bit too neatly. There are some OMG and my God references, particularly from the girls’ friends.

Prediction: Yes to a Coretta Scott King; thumbs-down for Newbery.

Overall Rating: 3.5

Buy from amazon

Buy from amazon

Buy from amazon