Cybilly hiatus

I'm in the middle of Cybils Round Two judging, and since we're not allowed to blog about the books until the winners are announced on February 14, I expect to be on a bit of a hiatus for a while. Could be a couple days, could be a couple weeks. Stay tuned.

Operation Yes: Review Haiku

Two parts DEAD POETS'
SOCIETY to one part

Air Force recruit film.

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes. Levine/Scholastic, 2009, 256 pages.

Liar: Review Haiku

I still can't figure
out what's true and what's a lie.
I just know I'm scared.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier. Bloomsbury, 2009, 376 pages.

Absolutely Maybe: Review Haiku

How to make good stuff
out of disappointment and
despair. Plus tacos.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. Scholastic, 2009, 288 pages.

So how I'd do?

Sometimes having front-runners is a great thing. Back in September I made some predictions about this year's ALA Awards, and my prognosticating skillz were not too shabby.

SWISH: Picked the Newbery winner and two of the honor books; Caldecott winner and one of the honor books; Sibert honor (w00t Day-Glo!); and the Printz winner (well, I thought it would be an honor).

BRICK: Expected Marcelo and Wintergirls to score some Printz love, too.

Congratulations to all the winners (and their fabulous editors and art directors!)

How to Say Goodbye in Robot: Review Haiku

Some plot twists hella
obvious, but still an affecting
un-romance.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford. Scholastic, 2009, 276 pages.

Match Day: Review Haiku

Great med-school porn -- but
is it weird to be interviewing
your girlfriend?

Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors by Brian Eule. St. Martin's, 2009, 261 pages.

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? Review Haiku

Alas, no more lurkers,
Astonishingly Dim Monica,
or HOOOOOORRRRRRRNNNN!

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? Final Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison. Harper, 2009, 309 pages.

Free-Range Kids: Review Haiku

At last! My slagass
parenting style is validated.
Go, free-range!

Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts from Worry by Lenore Skenazy. Jossey-Bass, 2009, 225 pages.

And Another Thing: Review Haiku

Utterly incomprehensible --
which, in this case,
is a good thing.

And Another Thing: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #6 by Eoin Colfer. Hyperion, 2009, 288 pages.

Candor: Review Haiku

It's a small world
after all -- and they're watching
everything you do, kids.

Candor by Pam Bachorz. Egmont USA, 2009, 249 pages.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: Review Haiku

Fun, forgettable
mystery offers proof that
poodles are evil.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: The Disappearance of Dave Warthog by Fiona Robinson. Amulet, 2009, 73 pages.

U is for Undertow: Review Haiku

Nothing like starting
the new year off right with the
great Kinsey Millhone.

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton. Putnam, 2009, 403 pages.