Merry Wanderer of the Night:
challenge

I've been meaning to get this post up for a while now, but as I've mentioned before, I've been insanely busy lately and my real life doesn't seem to want to allow my blogging life to be a *thing*. Ahem...

Anyway — This is going to become a regular feature here each Saturday. (Yes, I am well aware that today is Monday, but bear with me...)

Each Saturday I'm going to put up a linky where ANYONE can link ANY post dealing with Contemporary YA. It can be a review, author interview/guest post, a giveaway, opinion post, anything, as long as it is related to Contemporary YA.

You do NOT have to be a participant in the Just Contemporary Reading Challenge to use this linky. I want everyone to link up their posts! So tell your friends, tweet about it & get linking. I would love to have a huge linky each week with all the awesome Contemporary happenings online.

Feel free to link retroactively too! Please only add each post to one linky, but the post does not have to be written this week to be added.:)

AND — I will guarantee a read and a comment from me to every single person who links up using this linky system. And, I'll tweet about it and do all that I can to spread the word.

Contemporary is a genre that I wish got more love and attention, so let's get linking!!:)

It's Back! The Second Incarnation of the Award Winning Reads Challenge is here! Who else is totally excited for this?! I know it can't just be me!!:)
Last year, Jacinda and I hosted this reading challenge from May through September. And it rocked. I have personally been meaning to read all the Newbery and Printz books for years. And I've found some absolutely phenomenal books because of it. (Umm hello and thank you — Jellicoe Road, my absolute most favorite book ever.) And last years challenge gave me the motivation I needed to pick my list back up and get reading. (I think I read 16).
Because it was so awesome last year, Jacinda and I decided that this year, it would be a year long challenge of awesome (with extra awesome during the months of the original challenge).
My goal for this year is even bigger. I am so close to finishing both award lists. (Just the winners, not the honors). I only have 4 Printz winners and 13 Newbery winners left to read (including the 2012 winners to-be-announced). I would love to finish these lists next year.
So that is my goal. But I would like to read more than only 17 of the books on the list, so my official goal is going to be 24. That's only 2 a month, totally do-able.:)
To see the books on either list that I've already reviewed on the blog, you can click the corresponding tags below
Newbery Award
Newbery Honor
Printz Award
Printz Honor

And now — Onto the rules!:)

Today's Topic post is about what I'd like to see more of in Contemporary YA. And, to be perfectly honest, my answer to that question is simply — More. I'd like to see more of all of it. But even if Contemporary doesn't get as much publicity as some of the other genres right now, there is still a lot of it being written, and a lot of it being published. So rather than talking about what I'd like to see writers do that they aren't doing (because they are) or what publishers should be doing (because they try) I'm going to talk a little about what I want to see readers doing. But more than that — I'm going to put my metaphorical money where my mouth is and do something about it. But, I am only one person, so I need your help!

What I really want to see more of in regards to Contemporary YA is readers well, reading it. I've been amazed and gladdened and thrilled by the response to Just Contemporary month. It's blown my mind. So many bloggers and authors and readers have gotten behind this event and participated and it's fabulous. But there are still people that I see saying, I don't think Contemporary is for me, or I've tried reading a Contemporary and couldn't get into it, or (I see this a lot) I read to escape, why would I want to read about real life?! But to be honest, I think there is something within the Contemporary genre for everyone.

SO — I am hosting a reading challenge to encourage and promote Contemporary/Realistic YA!

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Rules/Guidelines/Important Info:

This is a challenge to get people reading more Contemporary/Realistic Fiction.

There are two possible ways to participate:

The first is simple — Read Contemporary YA. Every single Contemporary counts. Challenge yourself to read more Contemporary YA than normal. If you never read it, add a few next year. If you are new to it, try for one a month. Or two a month. Or even more!

The second is the same basic idea (read more) but it adds variety to what you pick. Instead of reading any Contemporary, this gets you to mix-it up. There are so many sub-genres within Contemporary that I want to encourage people to try more of them. This is a good place for those who already read a lot of Contemporary.

If you want to participate in option 2, you can make it as strict or as flexible as you'd like. If you only read YA Romantic Comedies, reading one book about grief or even a romantic drama can qualify you for the second group. Reading to me is very personal, and Contemporary more so, IMO, than any other genre, so I'm letting that carry over into how you set your goals for this challenge.

There will be monthly updates and mini-challenges and giveaways going up around the first of each month. Each month will be something different and (hopefully) fun. Participation in mini-challenges is optional. Some of the monthly challenges and 'games' will be the same between challenge group 1 & 2 and other months they will be different.

Books must be read between January 1, 2012 and December 31st 2012.

Any Contemporary YA book will count toward this challenge regardless of publication date.

There will be a weekly link up for reviews. Reviews are not mandatory, but are strongly encouraged (spread the word!!) and extra entries into all relevant giveaways will be given for each review.
Reviews can be posted to a blog, goodreads or, for those who don't use either, guest review options will be available as well.

Extra entries for giveaways during any future Contemporary Event will also be awarded to participants of the challenge.

You do not need to be a blogger to participate. International participants are completely welcome and although every giveaway will not be available to you, I will make sure that there are some open to you too.

To sign up use the Linky below and tell me which of the two options you are signing up for and how many Contemporary books you would like to read next year. (So I would sign up as — Basically Amazing Ashley — 2; 52)

And please share in more detail! I would absolutely love to see sign up posts where you declare your goals for the Challenge and let others know why you are participating, or leave me a comment with what you think of the challenge and what you hope to see from it! And, as always, if you need or want any Contemporary YA recommendations in any category or sub-category, let me know! If I can't find the perfect book for you, odds are pretty good I know someone else who might!

Hey all! Today is the official end of the Award Winning Reads Challenge. I've had a lot of fun hosting the challenge and I'm so glad that Jacinda from The Reading Housewives agreed to co-host!

I do want to encourage people to continue reading from the lists, whether it's a goal to read every book on the lists, just one list, only winners, or even just to pay especial attention to winners for possible reading choices. Honestly, there have been some books I picked up only because they were on the list and I didn't enjoy them. But, there have also been some that I wouldn't have picked up without the list that I have absolutely loved. And you know what, Jellicoe Road, which is one of my all time absolute favorite books is a book I picked up because of it's Printz Award. I might have read it anyway, but it was on my radar because of the Printz and it is such an amazing book. I can list so many others that are like that for me, and I love these two lists.

I strongly encourage participants of the challenge to keep going, and non-participants to maybe pick up some of the list books (I'm more than happy to recommend good starting places, if you'd like!:) ) and let's keep giving these two lists some love!:)

Anyway, at the last check in, I mentioned that I had read 16 award winners, and was hoping to finish off the Printz list. But... alas. I didn't get any new reading done, but I'm still very satisfied with the progress that I've made! I think I'll have to reform my goal for the end of the year, and we'll see where that gets me.:)

So now — We have the final check-in/accounting and giveaways! If you'd like to write up a finish line blog post, we'd love to see it! Love to hop over and check out your progress. If you don't have a blog, or don't want to write a post, just go ahead and fill out the form below. Jacinda and I will be contacting the winners of the giveaways this Saturday, the 10th, which gives you a week to fill out the form.

If you completed your challenge level, you are entered to win a giveaway for your level. If you signed up for the challenge, but didn't complete it, you are still entered to win a randomly drawn prize.

AND, if you read any of the award winners from the list I posted in the initial sign up post, you are entered to win a special giveaway, just from me! So make sure you list all the books read in the form or your completion post and show us links to your reviews, no matter where they got posted so we can tally it all up!:)

Also, please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you all for participating! Let me know if this is something you'd like to see happen again next year!:)

Make sure you don't forget to link up! Link your finish line posts, and/or any reviews!!:)

Hey everyone! It's now August, which means month two of the AWR Challenge has just ended. I hope you all are doing well and on track to meet your goals!:)

I would love to hear about how well everyone is doing with their challenges! Feel free to link any reviews after this post, and link up your July check-in as well! I want to know how everyone is doing!

Since the beginning of the challenge, I have read 16 award winners. 8 of those have been from the Printz list, 8 have been from the Newbery list and 3 have been rereads. I know that I have met my goal of 12 books in three months, but I'd like to do even more. I'm only three books away from having read each of the Printz Award winners (although I've still got about 25 of the honors to read) and I'd love to finish the list by the end of the challenge. I own two of the winning books that I've yet to read, and my library has a copy of the third.

As for the Newbery list, it's significantly larger, but I've also been working on it longer. But, I'm really close. At least, I feel close. I only need to read 13 books to finish that list (and I haven't even counted the Honors I'm missing). I'd like to get closer to finishing this list as well by the end of the challenge and think I'll set my goal for this list to 2, maybe 3 additional books my Labor Day.

Wish me luck!: P

Don't forget to write your own post, link up and let me know if you have any questions! I'm always good for a recommendation or a book push!:)

So, I'm sorry guys — I know Wednesday is supposed to be my review day for the Award Winning Reads Challenge and I've got a lot on my plate right now.

So, instead, I'm just going to tell you to go forth and read!! And, since you are going to be reading, why don't you pick up a copy of Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta? It's the 2009 Printz Award winner and I tell you, it will blow your mind. It is one of the strongest, most amazing books I've ever read. In my entire life. (And I read a lot... So that's kind of a big deal.) Melina Marchetta is a writing Goddess and I find her abilities as a writer simply astounding. So do yourself a favor and read this book. Don't believe me? I come with references. (available on request) I've got people lined up who will tell you that I coerced convinced them to read Melina Marchetta and they've decided she is simply brilliant.

Not sure you are in the mood for tough stuff? Then try The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. This has got to be one of the most wittiest, entertaining, hysterical and brilliant books of all time. I tell you what. You are going to love Frankie. She is a phenomenal character, one I would love to know in real life! She's smart and is not afraid of that. She knows she's smart and she wants to use her brain to it's full potential. I had my best friend borrow this. The one who really only reads non-fiction? Ya. She read it in one sitting. It really is most excellent. And I'd be totally gruntled if you'd give it a shot!

(Oh ya, and both of these books are on my 'special' list, which means if you read it, you are entered for a special prize!)

Don't forget to link up to your reviews!! I'd LOVE to see what you've been reading!:)

Hey everyone! This is an update post for everyone participating in the Award Winning Reads Challenge hosted by me and Jacinda at The Reading Housewives. If you are not yet participating, we are still taking sign ups! You can sign up as late and anything that you've read since May 30 counts toward the challenge!

Personally, I've been very productive. I've read a lot that fits with this challenge, because it's been a personal goal for years and when I get motivated to do something, I get motivated.: P

Personally — I've read 10 books for the challenge, some of which I have reviewed, some I have not and some of these will be future Award Winning Wednesday reviews. I've linked the ones I've already reviewed on the blog-

1 — Fat Kid Rules the World — K.L. Going (Printz Honor)
2 — Stolen — Lucy Christopher (Printz Honor)
3 — King of the Wind — Marguerite Henry (Newbery Award)
4 — Shadow of a Bull — Maia Wojciechowska (Newbery Award)
5 — Daniel Boone — James Daugherty (Newbery Award)
6 — Please Ignore Vera Dietz — A.S. King (Printz Honor)
7 — Rules — Cynthia Lord (Newbery Honor, reread)
8 — Fog Magic — Julia L. Sauer (Newbery Honor)
9 — Monster — Walter Dean Meyers (Printz Award, reread)
10 — Repossessed — A.M. Jenkins (Printz Honor)

I had originally planned to read 12 books for the challenge, but since I'm so close and this is the time in the challenge we are opening it up to everyone to adjust their goals, I'm now aiming for 24. I know it's not an actual level, but I'm the host, so I'm running with it.: P

I would like to encourage all the participants to offer a check-in post of their own! I really want to see how everyone is doing! I want to see what you have gotten read, what you plan to read, whether you think you are going to be able to meet your goal, etc. Use your check-in post to link up your reviews and then come link it up to us!

If you do not have a blog, but would still like to post an update, email me at basicallyamazingbooks [at] gmail [dot] com (or Jacinda at readinghousewivesofindiana(at)gmail(dot)com) and we would be more than happy to post something for you so that you have a place to share your updates as well.

As mentioned above, this is also your chance to update your challenge level. If you don't have as much time as you'd hoped and think that a lower level would be less stressful/more attainable, or if you are reading at a faster pace than you thought you would and would like a chance at a slightly larger prize pack, this is the month to make that happen! Just fill out the form below (that is also the giveaway form) and select your new level. If you don't remember which level you signed up for, contact me or Jacinda and we can get that information to you. To refresh, the levels are:

Level 1 — Underachiever: Read 3 books Level 2 — Nerd: Read 6 books Level 3 — Brainiac: Read 9 books Level 4 — Teacher's Pet: Read 12 books
For the giveaway, one participant will have a chance to win the book of their choice from the prize pool. To win this, you MUST be a participant of the challenge, and you MUST have completed at least one book that fits in with the challenge.
The prize pool is below. I promise I will update this soon with a picture, but things were a little crazy today, so I don't have it right now. The books I have available are
Jellicoe Road- Melina Marchetta Fat Kid Rules the World — K.L. Going The Summer of the Swans — Betsy Byers (used, very good condition) Adam of the Road — Elizabeth Janet Gray (used, good/okay condition) Postcards from No Man's Land — Aidan Chambers
Hope was Here — Joan Bauer When You Reach Me — Rebecca Stead The Watson's Go to Burmingham — Christopher Paul Curtis Dear Mr. Henshaw — Beverly Cleary
This giveaway will end in one week, last day to enter is July 5th! So, don't put this one off! You also only have a week to change your reading level! There will also be an email sent out to all participants, just in case you somehow missed this post.
in my blog TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND/OR CHANGE YOUR LEVEL!!
Best of luck to you all!

Don't forget to link you reviewsposts!!

Welcome to another Award Winning Wednesday! This is the third Wednesday of the challenge, and as I was deciding which book to talk about today, I realized that both previous Wednesday's spotlighted books on the Printz list. So, today's book is a Newbery, one that I think more people need to read.

Don't forget to use the linky below to link up your Award Winning Reviews!! Can't wait to see what everyone has been reading!

Rules by Cynthia Lord was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2007. It's the story of Catherine, a 12 year old girl trying to understand her place in the world alongside her younger brother David, who has autism. She loves her brother, but sometimes, she wishes that things were easier, that somehow, David would wake up one day normal.

I don't even know how to begin talking about this book. It's the type of book that defies description, needing instead to simply be placed in as many hands as possible, to be read by everyone within reach. I've been struggling with what to say here, so bear with me.

Life with autism is incredibly hard. It is a challenge every single day, both for those with autism and for those around them, especially those who love and want to help them. Catherine faces this every day. She loves her brother. You can feel it in the way she talks to him, feel it in every interaction. But she is also only 12 years old. Her parents give her a lot of responsibility, ask her to babysit her brother, keep an eye on him, and to offer him any help he needs. But sometimes, Catherine just wants to feel normal. She wants to be able to go places without worrying about what David will do or say. It's hard for her. Her parents pay more attention to David, because he needs them more, and while she understands this, knows that this is true, she often feels left behind, as if her parents have forgotten that she still needs them too.

Life with David is challenging, and Catherine is quite inventive in how she communicates with him. David deals best in absolutes. Words like maybe or I don't know stress him out and make him uncomfortable. To help him (and herself) Catherine creates rules for David to follow. Each chapter begins with a rule, and more are given throughout chapters. The rules vary from basic and easy to understand, like 'Chew with your mouth closed' and 'No toys in the fish tank', to others that are more ambiguous like, 'Late doesn't mean not coming', or 'Sometimes people laugh when they like you, but sometimes people laugh to hurt you'.

One of the things Catherine struggles with is the idea that everyone is watching her and David, focusing on the awkward things David does. She's 12, which is an age where you are now becoming more socially aware, more aware of what people think and how they view you. While she isn't ashamed of her brother, she is often embarrassed by him and she can't help wishing that he could be different, that he could be normal. But she tries. She genuinely loves David and she does all she can to make things easier for him. Sometimes, it's hard for her to know what's right, but she does love him.

That is one of the biggest lessons that Catherine needs to learn in this book. That it doesn't matter what other people think, how other people see you. She meets a new boy when she goes with her mom to take David to Occupational Therapy (OT). Jason is in a wheelchair. He cannot speak, so he uses a communication book to talk for him. He points to words he wants and hopes the words he has are enough. Catherine is an artist and she offers to make new cards for him, and in so doing she widens his vocabulary considerably, adding words a mom would never add, like Stinks a big one!! and Whatever, but she also learns a lot about herself. Some of the things she learns make her feel good, but others, make her feel guilty and ashamed of her behavior. And she learns from it. She desperately wants to be a good person, be a good sister and friend and she's slowly learning how to do that and what is really important in life and in friendship.

This book is fairly short, only 200 pages, and it's a fast read. But don't let that fool you. This book is one that is deceptive in its simplicity. You will learn so much about yourself while reading this book. It makes you think about how you treat people, how you would react in a similar situation. One of the things Catherine talks about hating more than anything else are the people who make a point to ignore those with disabilities. Worse than those who stare are the people who make you invisible. Or, like Jason's speech therapist. She talks VERY LOUDLY every time she speaks to him. It frustrates him, and as he tells Catherine, I can't talk, but I can hear just fine.

Watching Catherine learn to be herself, and learn to not care so much what other people see is amazing. There are so many changes happening all the time for kids at this age, and Catherine has more on her plate than a lot of kids. But she handles it well most of the time, and she learns from her mistakes when she doesn't.

This book is honest in it's portrayal of Autism and in how different people respond to it. It's a book that I think more people need to read, a book that, if read with a mind open to new ideas and change, will improve the reader, just as it improved Catherine.

Don't forget to link up! Leave me a comment, let me know how your challenge is going! And I'd love to hear from anyone who has read Rules! Tell me what you think!!

I know that neither of the reading challenges I'm participating in this weekend have officially finished, and I could easily squeeze more reading time in if I wanted to stay up all night. But, the last three hours of my evening have been spent reading the hashtag on Twitter — #YASaves. The hashtag ended up trending last night for quite a while, and it's in response to an article published by the Wall Street Journal. I've linked it here, but it's likely to make you angry... It's an article talking about how horrible the current YA market is, because so many of the books deal with dark topics like cutting, suicide, abuse, eating disorders and more.

Wait, what?! Seriously?! Somedays, I really hate people.

I could seriously rant about this for a long time. But, I won't. I'm going to rein in my tongue and accept that the many YASaves tweets last night from myself and so, so many others is enough to express my anger and disappointment on the issue. So, I will simply say that I am, once again, incredibly disappointed that they are letting someone who doesn't read YA lit, or understand the importance of YA lit to millions of people, speak as if they are the authority and the voice of the people. Really? Sigh. If you want people to take you seriously, you should probably read the books you are dismissing, demeaning and condemning.

I know I said I wouldn't really rant. But I had to let just a little out. Maybe later I'll have more to say, but right now, all I want to do is spew venom at the people who are so small minded they can't understand that not talking about a problem doesn't make it magically disappear, so I'm going to move on.

I spent hours on Twitter tweeting my own thoughts and reading about the experiences and thoughts of others. Which means, I wasn't reading my books.: P Because I spent to much time doing things not reading, I'm choosing to stop my readathons now, so that I can get some sleep tonight, and be awake and alert when I have to help keep 8 different 5 years old attentive and sitting still for 2 hours.

I did keep a fairly detailed accounting of my time spent on the challenge, but because I'm stopping so early, I don't actually think that time really makes a difference at this point, so I'll just tell you what I read.:)

Even with all the time I spent doing other things, I did manage to get 5 different books read, 6 if you count the book I read Friday morning, before I 'officially' started my challenge. I read:

What Daddy Did by Neal Shusterman (Friday, before the challenge began)
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
The Mermaid Summer by Mollie Hunter
The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols
Endless Summer — Jennifer Echols
King of the Wind — Marguerite Henry

Even though I spent a lot of time doing other things, I'm pretty proud of my reading progress this weekend. I *might* get a little more done tomorrow, but who knows. For now, I'm just glad I was able to participate and managed to read a little more than normal.:)

Hello all and welcome to the first Award Winning Wednesday. Jacinda and I decided that throughout the duration of the challenge, each Wednesday we will both post a review of a book that fits the criteria of the challenge. Also, at the bottom of this post is a linky (the same one that can be found on Jacinda's blog!) Feel free to link up any reviews you write throughout the month for the challenge! And remember, each review you write, on any site, provides you will an extra entry in the giveaways!:)

I spent a while trying to decide which book to review for my first Award Winning Wednesday, but finally settled on Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going. Why did I pick this one? Because I read it on Monday. It's my first completed challenge book! A copy of this will also be one of the prizes given away at the end!:)

This book is about Troy. As you might have guessed from the title, Troy is fat. He knows it, he knows the world knows it, he knows the world sees nothing but it, but he doesn't know what to do about it. He spends so much of his time and attention being terrified that everyone is staring at him and his bulk, that every comment, every laugh, smirk or snicker, every look is directed at him that he is paralyzed much of the time in public. His kid brother doesn't help the situation either. After the death of their mother, Troy ate and ate and ate, burying his emotions and pain in food. But Dayle focused his attentions on working out, eating well, and becoming amazingly good at sports. He's embarrassed by Troy and he doesn't even try to hide it. In fact, the story starts with Troy standing on the Subway platform, trying to decide if he really should just jump in front of the F train. Dayle told him to Please, go for it, and at this point, all that's stopping Troy is the fear that people are going to laugh again. He should at least be given some dignity in his suicide.

But, his almost attempted suicide is stopped by an incredibly skinny, incredibly dirty and smelly kid sleeping in the station. Turns out this homeless kid is really Curt MacCrae, a musical legend in his school. And for some reason, Curt not only wants to talk to Troy, but he also wants Troy to be his new drummer. Starstruck and dumbstruck, Troy agrees. Only problem? Troy can't play the drums. That doesn't stop Curt though, and he just barrels through, doing this as he does everything. He wants Troy as his drummer, so he is determined to make it happed. For Curt, the music is the most important thing, possibly the only important thing. Music remains an important element throughout the story. It's through music that Troy finally begins to feel like he is, and could remain, a part of something. But his revelations and experiences are not those of the standard music-themed YA novels.

Watching the developing friendship between these two boys was such an interesting experience for me. Both were such unusual characters. Curt is always starving, always dirty, not totally reliable and completely unpredictable. Troy is such a sad character. He cannot get over his insecurities about his weight, and it consumes his thoughts. Always. But, as he starts spending more time with Curt, he starts to view himself in a new light. Curt helps him realize that everyone isn't staring at him all the time. That his weight might him additional strength and leverage that he could use to defend. That he has worth. That there there are pieces to his personality, to what makes him who he is that are incredible strengths.

I hurt for Troy every time he mentally degraded himself. I was angry every time his brother blew him off, mocked him, or made him feel small. I was frustrated with his dad, who couldn't find the time or the words to reach out to his son, or look and realize that he was hurting. I felt my heart start to life as his dad did start to make more of an effort. I smiled as Curt upended their small, orderly (and miserable) world and started to force the family to view things and themselves in a new light.

This is not a perfect story with a perfectly happy ending. Troy doesn't magically lose 150 pounds, or end up with a stunningly hot girl who sees him for who he is on the inside and starts to prepare for their 3 bedroom house, white picket fence and 2.5 children. His brother doesn't suddenly turn around and say just kidding, you are beyond the coolest person I know. His dad doesn't turn into Wonder-Dad over night, and Curt, who has his own serious set of problems doesn't suddenly end up with the perfect sitcom family, enough to eat and no drug habit. This isn't a story that wraps up the story and ties it up with a pretty little bow. This is a story that is too honest for that, too real. It's a story that contains elements of the happy ending, without cheapening the struggle the characters took to get there. You cheer for the characters at the end, but you do it with the understanding that there is more out there for them to learn. After all, there is always more to learn.

Review Link Up here! Review you Printz and Newbery reviews for extra entries in the giveaways and some extra comment love! Link to your blog, goodreads, or any where else you post reviews!

It's here!! Today marks the official start of the Award Winning Reads Challenge hosted by myself along with Jacinda from The Reading Housewives! Thank you for joining us!:)

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I think this challenge is going to be a lot of fun, and I cannot wait to see what everyone ends up reading and how they feel about the books they select!

For a recap of the rules, see this post here: Award Winning Reads Challenge

For additional information about the giveaways, (that also includes the list of my personal favorites you can read for a special giveaway) go here: Award Winning Reads Challenge Giveaway/Prize Information

I am going to try and get as many books from the two lists read as possible this summer. My personal owned TBR is getting completely out of control, and many of those books come from these two lists. So, while not all of the books I'm aiming to read are books I own, a great many of them are.

This is also a very tentative list for me. I can already guarantee that I will not read every book on this list and I will read some books that didn't make it onto this list. That's just how I seem to do things. But, it's nice to have a little guideline to give me an idea of where I'm going. I'll update as I go as well, either here, in additional posts, or on the Challenge page (that will soon be created).

Newbery:

After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (reread)
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (reread)
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska
Dobry by Monica Shannon
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

Printz:

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (reread)
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (reread)
Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Postcards from No Man's Land by Aiden Chambers
Monster by Walter Dean Meyers (reread)
Stolen by Lucy Christopher

So, leave us a comment with a link to your starting line post (if you have one) or just let us know in the comments some of the books you are hoping to get read this summer!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, or just need some great book recommendations, let me know! I'm always happy to help!:)

I'm warning you right now — this is going to be a bit of a long post. But I promise it will be well worth it!

For all of those participating in the Award Winning Reads Challenge hosted by myself and Jacinda at The Reading Housewives, or any of you thinking you might want to participate but haven't decided yet, this post is for you.

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In our intro post to the Challenge, both Jacinda and I made promises for lots of great prizes and giveaways for participants. This post is just to offer a little more detail and explanation for how each giveaway will work.

To start — The most basic:

For each level of participation, there will be a specific giveaway. So those who sign up to read three books will have a drawing independent of those who sign up to read nine. Each of the four levels will have one winner.

Jacinda and I both have a selection of books that we are going to donate, with titles from both the Newbery and the Printz list. Some are brand new, some look brand new, and some are gently used. This forms our prize pool. A full list will be provided at a later date.

To be chosen as the winner from your reading level, you must complete your goal. You can read more than your challenge level, but you must at least reach it. This will earn you one entry.

For every book you read past your reading goal, you will gain an additional entry.

For every review you post a Newbery or Printz honor or award, you will gain an additional entry.

To encourage people to sign up for the reading level they think they are capable of, and not just sign up for level one and then read 100 books, the number of books you can win increases with each level increase.

The winner from Level one will receive 2 books from the prize pack.
Level two will receive 3.
Level three will receive 4.
And Level four will receive 5.

We are also going to have a giveaway for one random participant, whether you complete your level or not. Everyone who signs up and agrees to participate will be eligible for this prize, although if you win the prize pack for your reading level, you will not be able to win this one.

The final giveaway that is for sure going to happen is a special giveaway, just from me. Jacinda and I are on the same page with the whole challenge, and are working very well together, but I wanted to include this giveaway, because I am a book pusher. I like the idea that other people are reading my favorite books, and that authors I find especially gifted are getting extra love.

So, I decided to offer the participants of this challenge a special incentive for reading my favorite books. Below, I have compiled a list of 10 (ish) books each from both the Newbery and the Printz award lists. I've included a Goodreads and Amazon link to each title for your convenience. If you want more information about a book, or if you want to know why I seriously think you should read it, just ask! Comment, email, tweet, whatever!:) I love talking up my favorite books!

Anyone who reads any of these books will be entered in to win a special drawing. Reviewing the book will gain you an additional entry as well. (Note — if you don't have a blog, that's totally okay! Posting a review anywhere will count! Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books A Million etc etc etc. As long as it's a review, it's online and you can link me, it counts!)

The number of winners and the prizes to be won for this giveaway are yet to be determined. Part of this is going to depend on the number of participants, some will depend on how my pocket book is feeling come September, and some will depend on how excited I am that (hopefully) so many people are reading my favorites. At this point, it's likely to include at the very least a book of your choice from the complete awards lists, but I might also include some of my own personal favorites in there as well. Suggestions and preferences are welcomed. And now:

THE LIST: Printz: * Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (amazon; goodreads) (2009 Award) * The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (amazon; goodreads) (2009 Honor) * The Book Thief (amazon; goodreads) / I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak (amazon; goodreads) (2007 Honor/ 2006 honor, respectively) * Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (amazon; goodreads) (2000 Honor) * Monster by Walter Dean Meyers (amazon; goodreads) (2000 Award) * The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (amazon; goodreads) (2003 Honor) * Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger (amazon; goodreads) (2000 Honor) * Going Boving by Libba Bray (amazon; goodreads) (2010 Award)
* how i live now by Meg Rosoff (amazon; goodreads) (2005 Award)
* The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (amazon; goodreads) (2001 Honor)

Newbery: * When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (amazon; goodreads) (2010 Award) * Rules by Cynthia Lord (amazon; goodreads) (2007 Honor) * The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spear (amazon; goodreads) (1959 Award) * Dicey's Song (amazon; goodreads) / A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt (amazon; goodreads) (Books 2 and 3 of the Tillerman Saga) (1983 Award/ 1984 Honor, respectively) * Walk Two Moons (amazon; goodreads) / The Wanderer by Sharon Creech (amazon; goodreads) (1995 Award/ 2001 Honor, respectively) * Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (amazon; goodreads) (2003 Honor) *Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl (amazon; goodreads) (1971 Honor) * The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (amazon; goodreads) (2008 Honor) * The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (amazon; goodreads) (1991 Honor) * The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (amazon; goodreads) (2009 Award)
I can't wait to see what everyone plans to read! Stop by here or over at The Reading Housewives tomorrow for our kick off posts. I'll be including links to previous Newbery/Printz reviews here on the blog and giving you a peek at my tentative reading pile. I believe we will also have a linky with the post, so feel free to link up your starting post!
Tomorrows the day! Happy reading!
*Ashley and Jacinda reserve the right to change the number of prizes for each level. We will keep you informed of any and all decisions regarding prizes. Three months is a long time. I can't guarantee that everything in this post is going to remain exactly the same. But take heart. This also means we can give you more books!:)

A few years ago, I made the goal to read every book that has been, or will be, awarded the Newbery Award and as many of the honors as possible. Every year, beginning in 1922, the Medal is awarded to the book considered to be the most distinguished contribution to children's literature of that year. A year or so after I decided to read all of the books on the Newbery list, I decided to add the winners of the Printz Award as well, which is the YA equivalent of the Newbery.

I've never been quite about this goal, and it's actually been, for the most part, an amazing and rewarding experience for me. Although I've read some winners that I feel less than favorable towards, for the most part I've loved the experience, and I've discovered some very, very favorite books through these two lists. I mentioned something about these lists on Twitter and Jacinda from The Reading Housewives mentioned that it would make a great challenge idea. And so, here we are.

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For a long time, this has been an individual and personal goal for me. My sister mocks me regularly for being stuck to a list, citing The Story of Mankind, Gay-Neck and Hitty for reasons I should stop, overlooking the absolute love I now have for The House of the Scorpion, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and Jellicoe Road, all books I would have either overlooked, ignored or never heard of without these lists.
So now, along with The Reading Housewives, I am extending an invitation to all of you to join me in my quest to read these two amazing book lists. I want to share the love I have for these lists, and I've gotten Jacinda all excited about it too!
So — onto the *Rules *Details *Guidelines *General Information
The challenge will run from Memorial Day to Labor Day — May 30th until September 5th.
There will be 4 levels of participation-
Level 1 — Underachiever: Read 3 books
Level 2 — Nerd: Read 6 books
Level 3 — Brainiac: Read 9 books
Level 4 — Teacher's Pet: Read 12 books

No matter which level you chose to participate in, you must read at least one book from each of the award lists. You can focus primarily on one or the other, but there must be at least one Printz honor/award and one Newbery honor/award.
There will be giveaways throughout the challenge as well. There are a lot of giveaway details, so there will be separate post specifically for the giveaway information. But, I will tell you now, that there is a guaranteed winner from each of the 4 levels, as well as a few other winners, including a super special giveaway that you can enter only by reading some of my very favorite titles from the list.:) Ya, I'm a book pimp. So what?!
Anyway — We would LOVE to have a lot of participants in this challenge. We have decided to keep it pretty low key — You can sign up for whatever level you think you can make (everyone should be able to handle one book a month!) and reviews are completely optional — although they will gain you an extra entry into the giveaways!
So what are you waiting for?! I'm staring a lovely pile that constitutes less than half of the books I'm going to be giving away, my lovely friends at The Reading Housewives have books to offer as well, and if no one enters, we are just going to have to keep all these lovelies for ourselves! Each of the following links will take you to a Goodreads page listing each of the winners of both the award and honor for the Newbery and Printz. Makes it really easy to just pop over and add it to your tbr!
Newbery Winners Newbery Honors Printz Winners Printz Honors
Come on and fill out the form, grab a button and start prepping those lists!