If you’ve been following this page for a while, you’ll recall that I’ve been judging the Booktube Prize. In May, I shared a post about the quarterfinals round which you can read here and in July I posted about judging the semifinal round, which you can read here. Now that the Booktube Prize winner has been announced, I can finally share how I chose my winner from the six finalists.
When I initially got involved in the quarterfinals round, I came up with a list of six criteria that I would use to measure each of the novels. While I enjoy books for lots of different reasons, I believe that the book that wins a literary prize should meet certain standards and not just be a “good read”. Answering these questions about each of the candidates, I felt, would give me a better estimate of how worthy the book was to be considered prize-worthy.
Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 4
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 4
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 3
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 4
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything?- 3
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? – 3
Silence of the Girls Tally 21 / 30
A Ladder To The Sky by John Boyne
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 4
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 3
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 3
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 4
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything? – 4
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? –
4
Ladder Tally – 22/30
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 3
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 4
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 2
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 4
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything? – 2
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? -3
Fruit Tally – 18/30
Happiness by Aminatta Forna
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 4
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 4
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 4
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 2
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything? – 2
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? – 3
Happiness Tally 19 /30
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 4
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 3
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 3
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 4
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything?- 3
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? – 3
Place For Us Tally 20 / 30
There There by Tommy Orange
- Literary – are there references to other works (fiction or non fiction) – 3
- Social commentary – are there political or historical references – 5
- Allegorical – did the characters represent something bigger than themselves – 4
- Readability – was it a page turner? – 3
- Pacing – did it move along to share info but not dwell on anything? – 4
- Would I recommend this book to other people as a drop-everything-and-read? – 4
There There Tally 23 /30
Ranking
- There There Tally 23 /30
- Ladder Tally – 22/30
- Silence of the Girls Tally 21 / 30
- Place For Us Tally 20 / 30
- Happiness Tally 19 /30
- Fruit Tally – 18/30
Click to watch my video where I share what it’s like judging a bookish prize