Statistics Fun

 So the announcements last night were rather hit-and-run, were they not? I apologize for that. But now you get to read a very long ramble to make up for it! I think some of you may get a grin out of at least ONE of our fill-in responses.

Overall, the Verve Lit 2012 poll ended with 48 votes. I am very blessed with this, because I had been praying for about 50. Thanks to all those people!

First I'll start with the Series category. Most people skipped the other categories and voted in Independent. Only 17 people voted in Series, two votes each for Benjamin Pratt and The Red Blazer Girls. The other thirteen were filled in, and is where we got our winner!

Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet - Goodreads describes this as a series about monsters and witches. One of the obviously-not-Christian reviewers couldn't get over how glad she was it had no inclination to Christian values.

Dragons in Our Midst by Bryan Davis - ... a series about a boy who finds out he was a dragon in a past life, and learns how to have faith. Whatever that means. Take what you wish from that synopsis.

Swipe by Evan Angler - A person must receive the mark in their wrist or they-don't-get-that-job-at-McDonalds. Yep. It got a lot of good reviews on Goodreads.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Peter's Angel by Aubrey Hansen - This book releases next month from the winner of the Independent category. It's historical fiction.

Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan - Self explanatory. I think everyone has heard about this book, which is probably why someone voted for it. It's about wizards and menacing cloaks, apparently.

Pirates and Faith by Molly Evangeline (received 3 votes) - Winner of Series. I plan on reading the first book soon.

Provost's Dog by Tamora Pierce - Not really sure what this book is about. Wikipedia says it's a fantasy.

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis - ...

The Destiny Trilogy (by Sarah Holman) - The independents took over ever category, didn't they?

Firmament by J. Grace Pennington

Then there was the Realism category. I was sad because the only book that didn't receive a vote was in the line up: The Running Dream. This is such a great book!
The Penderwicks - 4 votes ; Okay For Now - 3 votes ; Wonder Struck - 1 vote ; fill-in 8 votes...

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Swipe by Evan Angler
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
1984 by Geore Orwell (could some one explain to me how this is a children's book...? Anyways, in 1984 they spelled George without the second G.)
The Pirate Daughter's Promise by Molly Evangeline (2 votes)
Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell
The Destiny Of a Galaxy

Independent - only 7 skips.

Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen - 29 votes
The Destiny Trilogy by Sarah Holman - 8 votes
Fill-in: Johnny Vic by Ann Rich Duncan (Historical Fantasy) ; The Pirate Daughter's Promise by Molly Evangeline (3 votes)

Reader's Choice - 7 skips as well. I think people are sending me a message that they prefer Indie novels.

Firmament: Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington  - 26 votes
The Pirate Daughter's Promise by Molly Evangeline - 14 votes
The Charity's Diary Series by Elisabeth Allen - 1 vote -- Aw, come on! I feel rather bad that she only got one vote, her series looked utterly delightful. :-)

I plan on reading all three Reader's Choice books in this next year.



 And there are your stats! I don't know about anyone else, but I got a giggle out of George Orwell being voted for... I mean his work sounds very interesting... but I'm not sure how he fits our niche. Haha.

Updates Aug 2nd

 Hello, readers!

It's August (most obvious statement ever), and the voting period for the Verve Lit Award has crossed the halfway mark. You can vote HERE, on this website, or on Facebook.

And if you haven't seen it yet, here is some news I posted on Facebook about a book/series that became eligible in two categories because of YOU GUYS! :

Big news! I was checking the fill-in responses on the poll, and Molly Evangeline's books have qualified in two new categories: The Pirate Daughter's Series [edited; this is not a trilogy] in SERIES, and The Pirate Daughter's Promise in INDEPENDENT (a book must receive three votes as a fill-in to qualify in a new category).

Also, the only books in the whole lot that have not received one vote are The Running Dream and Wonder Struck. I guess my fellow Indie-published/Small Publisher fans are sending a message! ;-D

If you haven't voted yet, you still have until August 15th. Don't wait too long, go out there and support your favorites (even if it is a fill-in :-) ).

(source)

VOTE HERE VOTE NOW.

Tada! Voting is HERE. Nothing fancy, and you don't need to put any personal info in. I'll update this post with the options as soon as I can fix a few coding problems...

You may only vote once on the poll. Authors may vote for their own books. ;-D

 It has come to my attention that some people were voting for the same book in each category through the fill-in option. These extra votes will only count in the category one placed them in, and will only be valid if over three people add that book in the fill-in option.





By Category, your options are:

Series

• Benjamin Pratt & The Keepers of the School by Andrew Clements
• The Red Blazer Girls by Michael D. Beil

Realism

• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
• The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
• Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
• Wonder Struck by Brian Selznick

Independant (Self-Published)

• Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen
• The Destiny Trilogy by Sarah Holman

Reader's Choice Wild Card

• The Charity's Diary Series by Elisabeth Allen
• The Pirate Daughter's Promise by Molly Evangeline
• Firmament: Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington

Benjamin Pratt & The Keepers of the School [Series; Nomination]

  The Keepers of the School series is the latest from Andrew Clements. Aside from the Things Trilogy, he usually doesn't delve into series books, or mysteries for that matter (though his book Room One was a Edgar Allen Poe winner). But this is by far some of his best middle grade fic work.
 Benjamin Pratt goes to Oakes School, at least for the next month. Once school lets out for summer vacation, the historic location is being torn down so that an investment company can build a sea-side amusement park. Ben is fine about this, glad even. Until the janitor bestows upon him the great and mysterious honor of Keeper of the School. Now it's his responsibility to save Captain Duncan Oakes School from being condemned, but can he do it in one short month?

   Each book in this series takes place in a few days or a week, which would seem to be very rushed. However, I thought that We the Children and Fear Itself (the first two books) were interesting and very well paced. At first I was a little confused by the plot, and thought it was completely unbelievable. Kids are in charge of school? But it's a little more complicated than you would think. As a late teen, I was thoroughly impressed by the deep characters, plot, and suspense, even though it's geared towards ten year olds. Can I see the events in this series happening? Yes. Do I have any clue how the series is going to end? Nope. Is the main villain totally creepy and worthy of a mystery movie? YOU BET!

  One thing that I truly appreciate about this series is the high involvement of adults. They aren't the main characters, but they certainly aren't stupid or put in as an afterthought. Many authors stay away from adult characters in children's novels because they 'meddle' too much, but I think it is unrealistic to say that a kid can go about something monumental without the help (and hindrance) of their elders.

  What mystery lovers can enjoy while reading this series is the classic elements of a treasure hunting that takes place in each book as well as the good-old sleuthing adventures that we all loved as a kid. Nautical elements are also woven through, with sailboat races and compass roses and bells. I learned more boating terms from these books than any other I've read before!

   Above all, Keepers has everything you could want in a middle grade fiction series. The right level of suspense, good characters, and secret compartments. Don't forget the sailboats!

Have you read these books? Post your thoughts and discuss the books by making a comment.



NOMINATED BY: Jessie V.

BENJAMIN PRATT & THE KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL series by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Adam Stower
Antheneum Books, April 2011-Present, Length Approx 175-200 pages, age range 7-10 [recommended to older readers as well]
 Mystery (YA)

#1 We the Children
#2 Fear Itself
#3 Whites of Their Eyes

The Red Blazer Girls [Series; Nomination]

The Red Blazer Girls is a mystery series following four best friends that go to Catholic school together (hence the red blazer uniforms) in New York City. The each is always narrated by Sophie St. Pierre, the ring leader of the group that is funny, funky, engaging, and pretty believable.

 Mysteries in this series include the occasional interactive puzzle (and a math lesson) that the reader must solve before Sophie  will ‘let’ you read the next chapter. If you’re 12+ and give it a bit of thought and scribbling, you can figure out a puzzle without pulling all of your hair out, unless the puzzle is one of the reoccurring  ‘Literature Riddles’ and you are not acquainted with some of the Classics and their main characters.

This series may sound like it’s about a bunch of goody-goody Manhattan girls that run around solving mysteries for the heck of it, but many of the plots have a tie-in to one of the MCs, and they each have a fair amount of ‘Nancy Drewisms’– they do less than legal things; however, they have to suffer the consequences that the old sleuth legend wouldn’t have.

 There are some complaints that there is a lot of swearing in these books... in my personal opinion, I was slightly annoyed at how overused 'ohmygod' was when I read through the second book, but after that I didn't notice it. There are a few other non-desirables, but not enough to keep me from hating it or feeling like I was compromising my morals to read it. This is why I put a 12+ rating, because aside from personal preference it is totally safe and a twelve year old is going to be mature enough to read it and deal with it.

Above all, if you’re a well-read stick in the mud adult, you would wave this series off as too random and easy. However, even an 18 year old can enjoy this as an intriguing and well thought out series by a new mystery genius: Micheal D. Beil.

Have you read these books? Post your thoughts and discuss the books by making a comment.

NOMINATED BY: Jessie V.

THE RED BLAZER GIRLS series by Micheal D. Beil
Yearling, 2009-Present, Length Approx 298-330 pages, Age Range: 12+ [for minor language]
Mystery (YA)

#1 The Red Blazer Girls (and The Ring of Rocamadour)
#2 The Vanishing Violin
#3 The Mistaken Masterpiece
#4 The Secret Cellar [December 2012]