More and More Abe Readers

Forty-six PR students voted for this year's Abraham Lincoln Book Award. In order to vote, students must read at least four books from the list of 22 nominees. During the last year, PR students read over 330 nominated titles to decide on their favorites.

Kelly Dano, Kayla Fowler, and Lydia Ceglarski earned Double Deuce certificates for reading all 22 titles!

Among PR readers, these were the top three books: The Maze Runner by James Dashner, World War Z by Max Brooks, and The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. Although these titles had the most votes, 18 different titles received at least one vote, indicating the wide appeal of the 2012 nominees.

The library hosted voting parties last week to celebrate the students' reading success with ice cream and pizza. Students enjoyed the treats, discussed their favorites, answered book trivia, and earned small prizes for their efforts.

Here are students' comments about how they voted:
"I really liked how it changed an older tale into a modern story" -  Beastly
"Beastly showed that you need to love someone for who they are not for how pretty they are."
"James Dashner did an incredible job of drawing his readers in and keeping them throughout the book." -  The Maze Runner
"It was hard for me to put it down" -  Before I Die
"I was always wondering what was going to happen next" -  Flash Burnout
"It's really funny and it's a decent-sized book" -  Going Bovine
"I relate to it in a lot of ways" -  How to Build a House
"It was more awesome than the others." -  Carter Finally Gets It
"Exciting, interesting, scary, cool, very intriguing" -  Wish You Were Dead
"The book was all suspense, not one moment where it was boring or dull" -  The Maze Runner
"It was not too cheesy while being romantic and heartfelt" -  How to Build a House
"The imagery was fantastic" -  The Maze Runner
"I liked the writing style and how easy it was to understand his point of view" - Ghosts of War
"It is probably one of the best written books I have read so far" - Columbine
"I like the depth and complexity of the characters. It was really cool to be able to get inside their heads the way I could while I was reading the story." - The Looking Glass Wars
"Gayle Forman perfectly captures the hopeless and desperate emotions of Maggie" - If I Stay
"The lesson gained from the story is very important especially for this generation who bases judgment on looks not who the person really is." - Beastly
"It was well written and provided a good insight to a possible zombie apocalypse" - World War Z
"brilliant idea - amazingly executed - dedicated to detail" - World War Z
"It had a lot of suspense. I couldn't put it down. I remember it." - Wish You Were Dead
"It really throws your mind for a loop." - The Maze Runner


ISLMA will announce the winner of the  2012 Abe Award on March 20.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Have you ever thought of the fact that “You are going to die”?  Well in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, this rarely thought about but becomes a main theme throughout this book as Death narrates through the life of a young girl, Liesel Meminger, as she tries to survive Nazi Germany.   After being brought to a foster home by her mother Liesel must learn how to endure the changes she must face in order to make it out alive.  She finds a comfort in books after her beloved foster father teaches her to read and she becomes the book thief in order to keep herself from going crazy.  Zusak eloquently illustrates the difficulties of being a young person at that time and the stress of fitting into strict regime.  This is a book that captures a slightly more advanced reader but makes you want to read it over and over again. - Kayleen G., class of 2012