Poll

Girl Who Sang is lovely. Looking forward to reading Mr. Schu's book! I will see him at the Michigan Association for School Librarians conference.

Max in the House of Spies is fantastic! But I am still really clinging to Olivetti - I loved it so much.

I wasn't active in this group at all last year. I'm excited because I have started reading Max in the House of Spies so I really hope that's the pick!

Found Louder Than Hunger on our shelf so decided to read it even if it isn't the August pick. Wrote some quick thoughts and not voting for this one.

This one is a hard one. Eating disorders are often a hidden challenge. Jake, a young teen, is dealing with anorexia nervosa. Jake's voice seems authentic and it should as the book is somewhat autobiographical. Maybe someone living with an eating disorder would read this and know they are not alone in their challenges. But, not sure what audience this will find. Maybe adults, family members or friends of someone undergoing in-house treatment would find it worthwhile. But, the poetry isn't very good and it hasn't found an audience here in my library. From the reviews it sounds like another book adults admire more than the teen audience does.

And, being honest here, I often read titles that are in the running for the monthly read. It is one of the benefits of being a part of this group. Having said that, I read The Girl Who Sang yesterday.
Brief thoughts below, but not sure it will make the official short list for the Newbery.

Based on real events this graphic novel is the Holocaust survival story of Enia Feld, a young Polish girl. There are so many holocaust books but this one being a well done graphic novel, makes Enia's story accessible to a wide audience.