Okay, so I'm not sure who this book was written for. Adults? I think so, because I don't envision a lot of 10 and ups reading this--at least not a lot of 10, 11 & 12 year olds. It's not a bad book--it just isn't as smart as it thinks it is (kind of like Karlene). The book is marketed to ages 10 and up, yet it refers to groups and music from 1969, and the author focuses on the spelling champ's coming of age, her desire to win, and her pain and confusion about her father's drunkenness. Karlene, our heroine, is smart, and of course she's sassy & strong, but something about the book just falls flat. And yet PW and SLJ loved it. I sometimes wonder if the reviewers read the entire book, cover to cover. I do admit that I'm glad I read the entire book-the writing is strongest closer to the end, when Karlene competes in the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC. This is when I started paying more attention & rooting for her.
PW gave it a starred review and the reviewer wrote: "Readers will revel in the heroine's much heralded public victories, yet her private triumphs—among them a longed-for first kiss from a kind older boy and her reunion with her father at a treatment center—are even more moving and memorable. Peppering her narrative with copious references to '60s songs (Karlene observes that a sad teacher "probably keeps her face in a jar by the door like Eleanor Rigby"), Luddy has composed a resonant, applause-worthy work of fiction."
And the SLJ reviewer wrote: "Fans of Akeelah and the Bee will enjoy this literate and moving tale and its audacious and endearing protagonist. This book is a natural fit for those bright, verbal readers who frequent the library. With chapters introduced by story-related vocabulary words, it celebrates the music of the era, the flavor of the South, and the magic of words to empower young people."
My take on Spelldown is that it's my failing as a reader that I can't see the worth of this book. Whether it's Karlene's personality or the writing, I am not the intended reader of Spelldown, and that's okay. Spelldown will have other fans. It just didn't speak to me.
Last thought/pondering about this book--when publishers decide what ages to market a book to, do they include a broad range so that they will conceivably make more money on the book? Spelldown is very obviously a tween/teen book, with Karlene cursing, making references to songs about sex, Karlene's teacher talking about sex with Karlene, and Karlene's first sense of her sexual power.
So if a publisher says a book is for 10 & up, most of us children's librarians would put the book in our Juvenile Fiction sections. But if we read the book and realize that the mindset is more mature (see p.147--"I drop the needle on my favorite Zombies record, 'Time of the Season,' and stretch out on my bed to enjoy the deep throbbing feeling the song gives me. The drummer sounds like he's having sex with himself and playing all his percussion instruments at the same time." [That's funny--an adult will probably laugh out loud at that--but will a 10 year old? So who's she writing this for?] Many of us (including myself) would reclassify the book as Teen. And if a 10 year old is interested in books in the Teen section, she should be allowed to peruse and read the Teen books.
Would this be considered censorship? What do you think? If there are any children's librarians out there who have read this book, where would you put it in your collections? Would you market this to your 10 year olds? And I'd love to hear from someone in publishing--who decides the age range, and how is that decision made?
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