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Round 2 Match 2 Chains vs Tender MorselsApril 21, 2009
Judge Coe Booth's Statement: Well, I must say, I had a fierce battle on my hands. No knockout here. This was truly a fight to the finish. And I loved every minute of it! I hadn’t read either of these books before, but I’d heard great things about both of them. I mean, c’mon, a finalist for the National Book Award and a Printz Honor book. Talk about an even matchup. At first, I didn’t think these two books would have a lot in common — a slave girl in New York City during the Revolutionary War, and a teenager living in a forest with her two daughters — but there were similarities. Both books are about young girls in just the worst situations imaginable, captive girls who bravely endure their plights for a time before finding their own quiet strength. These are books about survivors. Both books earned big points for captivating beginnings. I immediately sympathized with the injustice Isabel suffered in Chains being cheated out of her freedom and sold to such horrible people. And in the opening chapters of Tender Morsels my heart broke for poor Liga and the ongoing abuse she was suffering at the hands of her disgusting father. Oh, my goodness! Chains was masterfully written, gripping from the beginning to the end. I knew about slavery in New York City, but I loved having it come to life this way with real characters I could relate to. Even the minor characters popped off the page. I didn’t know there would be a Book Two until I got to the end, so I was hoping for a slightly more satisfying conclusion, but I still found the ending exciting and hopeful. All in all, it was an extremely impressive reading experience. Tender Morsels was one of the most imaginative books I’ve ever read. Multiple characters and points of view. Witches, sorceresses, bears-for-a-day. Wow! The story was disturbing, especially with the juxtaposition between the beautiful fairy tale style of writing and the horrifying events depicted in the book — sexual abuse of a child and resulting pregnancies, forced abortions, and even gang rape — all told in the manner of the books we read as children. The ending was bittersweet and very, very satisfying. However, as transfixed as I was by the story and the multitude of characters, both human and animal, there was simply no way to emotionally connect to them all. As a reader. I want to go on a journey with a character. I want to care about him or her. While Tender Morsels is bold and original and thoroughly memorable, I cared about Isabel. And for that reason, my vote has to go to Chains.
 Oh, Coe! Really! Really? Okay, but just don’t let Meg and me catch you in a dark alley sometime. And bears. Stay away from bears, too. Both of these books would have presented very interesting match-ups for The Kingdom on the Waves. To my mind, Tender Morsels shares many of the same strengths and it would have been fascinating to see how Linda Sue would have awarded the advantage to one book over the other. But because Chains shares a similar treatment of a similar subject, it poses its own unique set of questions: Are sophisticated books for older readers inherently better than those written for younger readers? How much should accessibility factor into any of these decisions? Coe and Elizabeth both emphasized how much they identified with Isabel. What role will character play Linda Sue’s decision? We’ll see! Posted by Battle Commander on April 21, 2009 | Comments (3)
April 21, 2009
In response to: Round 2 Match 2 Chains vs Tender Morsels Lelah commented: I thought Chains was a perfect novel. I enjoyed it very much!!
April 22, 2009
In response to: Round 2 Match 2 Chains vs Tender Morsels elissa commented: LOL about telling Coe to stay away from bears, Jonathan! :)
April 24, 2009
In response to: Round 2 Match 2 Chains vs Tender Morsels Meg Rosoff commented: BOO HISS. STAY OUT OF DARK ALLEYS.
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