I have so many books in my TBR pile and I've been having trouble deciding on the next book to pick up and read during this busy holiday season. Last night I was online catching up on my blog reading and came across the 2016 Morris Challenge on YALSA's The Hub. According to YALSA, "The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults."
All of the challenge guidelines can be found here. To complete the challenge I must read all five 2016 Morris finalists before Monday, January 11, 2016. The books are:
Because You'll Never Meet Me written by Leah Thomas
Conviction written by Kelly Loy Gilbert
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly written by Stephanie Oakes
The Weight of Feathers written by Anna-Marie McLemore
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda written Becky Albertalli
I started the book this morning and I'm enjoying it so far. I like the protagonist's voice. Simon is a sixteen-year-old guy who happens to be gay. He hasn't come out yet to his family and friends but he doesn't think that it will be a big deal to them when he does. Simon explains that he isn't ready yet because there have been a lot of changes in his life over the last few years and he's tired of redefining himself and having others redefine him. Simon states, "All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. I get a girlfriend. I have a beer. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again." This sounds like something most teens, gay or straight, can relate to.
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