Alyssa from The Shady Glade has spent a ton of time this year hosting the 2011 YA Bloggers Book Battle. The Theme for the Battle was Best Overlooked Book. I was very lucky to be paired with Emily from What Book is That to determine the overall winner of the Book Battle! So many really amazing books were chosen by bloggers to be read and judged and after months of work the other judges narrowed the finalist down to StarCrossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce and Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. Each book had its own unique moments and drastically different styles.In StarCrossed, Elizabeth C. Bunce created a whole world around the suppression of magic, sneak thieves and mayhem. Bunce created a world where silver jewelry can help hide magical powers from those who want to squash magic. She created a character named Digger who had to stop trying to hide and not take sides in the war against magic and determine where she stood.
While in Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper urged us to look beyond what we see to the person inside others. We met a girl named Melody who has Cerebral Palsy and is seemingly locked inside her own mind. With the help of an amazing aide, a neighbor and her parents, Melody receives the tools she needs to show everyone she is brighter than anyone gave her credit for.
While people will enjoy both books, Emily and I realized that the winning book was one that made people think. It was a book that would taught us to look past what we can see and to not underestimate others.
With that said, I am pleased to announce that the winner of the 2011 YA Bloggers Best Overlooked Book Battle is . . .
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper!
