Home Stretch

About Going Bovine: I honestly wasn't sure about this one until the end. I went back and forth between being charmed and engaged by the zany and far-fetched plot, and being annoyed by its ever-increasing outrageousness. I occasionally found the way the characters talked to be distracting, the language seemed a bit forced, too clever at times. But then I decided to just let go and ride it out, and by the closing of the book I was satisfied. I"m not sure if it would have been my Printz pick, I didn't read enough contemporary titles to make a fair assessment this year, but it's definitely a solid book, funny and poignant, wholly original yet at the same time there's a universal feel about it. That can not have been easy to pull off. Congratulations to Libba Bray on her accomplishment (this was my first book of hers so I think have some catching up to do).

Speaking of catching up, I've got eight weeks--maybe a little more, maybe a little less--to meet my goal of finishing this draft of my novel which is not a lot of time. I'm in a zone with a lot of things right now (particularly making lists), but I have to say that when it comes to creativity I am not at my most fertile. Time to call in all my resources and see if I can rise to the challenge. I'll keep you posted.

Currently reading: Lowboy by John Wray; NurtureShock: a New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman; Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar; a sprinkling of Dickens.

Written material copyright 2010 Dawn A. Emerman

Comments

[meredith]

Eric Carle! that's the name I was trying to remember the other day