Dearly DeBloggers,
The moment you’ve been waiting for….no, not the announcement of the ABNA winner for 2011 (that won’t happen until 6/13) – but the announcement of my prediction on who may win – after having read each excerpt.
And the finalists are:
Spookygirl – by Jill Baguchinsky – Teen girl – dark name (Violet), lives in a funeral home (nice setting) – sees dead people (appropriate), draws dead people (interesting). The author’s got an inviting story telling voice – the reader is immediately drawn into story.
Devolution – by Richard Larson – Wow. The author has the post-apocalyptic world/language down – and only having read a tiny excerpt, I can tell this is going to be something special – The novel starts with “the newest quarantine zone had only been flagged for 4.8 minutes” immediately propelling the reader into a meticulously crafted world.
Lost in Thought – by Cara Bertrand – Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of the prologue – never have been- they leave me more confused and they are almost always a let down once the real story begins. Very few prologues have ever caught my eye – and this is definitely one of them. Great job. Written in first person, this prologue sets the reader up with the mystery (a murder happening during Victorian times) a mysterious candlestick (the weapon used), an introduction to the main character (a girl with the gift of sight), and finally, a last sentence that will leave you wanting to read the first chapter as quickly as possible: “The truth was far stranger.”
I think Devolution will win – being that young adult science fiction novels are on the rise – but my personal pic is Lost in Thought. But the reality is that all three are winners. All three authors will have their writing career propelled through this contest – congratulations to all three authors – you are an inspiration to us all!
