Hooray, the 1990s! This is totally my favorite decade which makes a lot of sense because I was a kid during this decade - these books were geared towards me like none other, the next decade also holds a lot of appeal but none of the nostalgia.
Books that I read longer ago I may wish to give a different number of stars to because in the early days I had a tendency to give books 5 stars no matter if I liked them or adored them.
Number the Stars (1990) - 5 Stars - I love this book just as much as I did in fourth grade. No matter how often I read it or how old I am, my heart gets racing whenever Annemarie faces off against the soldiers.
Maniac Magee (1991) - 5 Stars - I read this one for school in fifth grade and really enjoyed it. I maintain that it fails to deliver on the race aspect. But as a story about home and family I'm absolutely in love.
Out of the Dust (1998) - 5 Stars - The best of the verse winners. This is my favorite of the 'darker' Newbery winners. Sad and depressing - but in the right amounts and with the best realism.
Holes (1999) - 5 Stars - I read this one within just a couple years of it being published. It weaves together mystery and coming of age in such an engaging way!
The Giver (1994) - 5 Stars - This seems to be a love-it or hate-it book. I fall squarely into love-it. I think this is both the best and most realistic dystopian fiction I've read. In fact, I don't really care for the dystopian genre as a whole.
The View from Saturday (1997) - 4 Stars - Easily the most realistic of the books on from this decade - a decade that skews more towards contemporary realistic fiction than the others. I liked the concept of looking at a trivia team and how they can to learn some of their various trivia.
The Midwife's Apprentice (1996) - 4 Stars - Medieval England is back! I remember feeling that this book was very short and deserved to be fleshed out a bit. The research in this book is probably tops in this very specific sub-genre.
Shiloh (1992) - 4 Stars - One of the Newbery dog books - but incredibly the dog lives! A classic boy and his dog story that brings up great moral debate for its young readers.
Missing May (1993) - 4 Stars - A great book for examining loss and the emotions that follow. I remember being so touched by the grief that teared up a little reading this book.
Walk Two Moons (1995) - 3 Stars - I love the way the two parts of the story weave together. I really love the idea of a road trip examination of conscience - but I really cringed a few times while reading, hence the lower score.
Recommendation of the Decade
Once again I'm spoilt for choice! In the end I returned to a book that I read in my youth without being told to. Even though I read a few of these when I was younger Holes was a book I picked up because I wanted to read it. This book sets out with the goal of telling a great story and setting up a small mystery. Louis Sachar adds in his odd sense of humor but scales it way back to the realms of realistic fiction.
In parting let me post this bit that is probably one of the ten funniest moments in TV history. (Subjective)
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