The 2012 Youth Media Awards at the ALA MidWinter Conference marked my first in-person attendance of the live announcement of Newbery Medal winners. Winning titles were revealed and book covers flashed simultaneously on the screen -- to the gasps and cheers of everyone in the large room. Breaking Stalin's Nose (Henry Holt, 2011) was the only one I had not read. The only one! To this librarian-in-waiting, it was a challenge waiting to be conquered.
I went straight to my public library and to my delight, found a copy waiting just for me.
Do you SEE why I love libraries so?
Right then and there, that night, I came to know Yelchin's work as an author. And instantly became a fan. Librarians remember this kind of stuff.
I realized later that I'd already known Yelchin's work as an illustrator.
Have you read this one?
If you love haikus, you probably have! And I do! So I had!
So now, as a school librarian, it's rather a special thing that I've been invited to participate in a blog tour for Yelchin's newest book Arcady's Goal (Holt Books for Young Readers, 2014). I'm honored to participate to say the least.
If you visit Yelchin's site here, you will see his rich and varied work. If you watch the video below, you will hear Yelchin talk about Breaking Stalin's Nose. I hope to be fortunate enough to hear him in person one day.
Now to Arcady's Goal:
In this work of historical fiction, we meet Arcady, a boy scraping to survive in an orphanage in Soviet Russia. He has a gift for soccer, and a passion for it. In the orphanage, he plays other boys for bread rations, and the sport is his only outlet. His life changes one day when inspectors visit the orphanage. Among the visitors is a man named Ivan Ivanych, mysterious and different from the others.
Ivan has his own story. Is he a soccer coach? Why is he interested in Arcady? What can they both teach other? I won't ruin anything here.
Sometimes your life changes when you meet one person, and when that person dares to take a brave, kind step.
This novel is a gripping, fast read, and Yelchin's illustrations guide you along and you won't be able to stop looking at them. But then you do because you want to read the story and see how everything turns out.
Arcady's narration walks us steadily through, and his honest voices places readers right in the middle of the time period as well as his struggles. Yelchin includes an author's note and photograph at the beginning of the book that instantly gives readers a reason to take in every word. As if we might need another.
Arcady's Goal is about how sports represent hope to some, yes, but it is also about freedom in the face of real fear. Characters whose actions are driven by fear are just as interesting as characters who take risks. In this story, characters of both types meet and have an influence on one another.
Birds are a symbol in the book, and their symbolism here is poignant, as Arcady likes to step outside and watch them.
And there is a part in the book where Arcady, who has come from living off daily bread rations and lack, (and only known a constant state of hunger) has a full, unhindered, abundant meal for the first time in a very long time. It is heartbreaking to read, written with the literary power that Newbery-winning authors have at their ready.
Arcady also gets his first reading lessons. Literacy brings more freedom. Yes.
Reading this book made me want to reread Breaking Stalin's Nose. If you've not read it, I highly recommend that one as well.
Arcady's Goal is set for release on October 14, 2014.
Please check out the rest of the stops on this blog tour:
Please check out the rest of the stops on this blog tour:
Oct. 6 – Kid Lit Frenzy
Oct. 7 – Eat the Book
Oct. 8 – Watch. Connect. Read
Oct. 9 – Read, Write, Reflect
Oct. 10 – Nerdy Book Club
Oct. 13 – Librarian in Cute Shoes (You're here!)