Les Incorruptibles Award: 2020 shortlist (Cat. Readers aged 12-14)
Hi Nerds! I'm back, after a somewhat chaotic month at work, where I felt like I worked more as a professional mover than a librarian! The entire school moved into prefabs, and it's been quite an adventure!
This year, I’ll be doing two projects involving the Les Incorruptibles organization, one of them around their shortlist for readers aged 12-14 (7-8th grade).
I like Les Incorruptibles, because they make it easier for librarians to create projects with students (I'm not paid to say that, haha, I'm just a busy librarian!)
You sign up and they
1) mail you the books,
2) mail you posters for the library and bookmarks for the students,
3) give you access to ready-to-use teaching materials and games related to the novels, as well as voter’s cards, a reader’s booklet, etc.
They can also help you set up an author’s visit to you school/library.
What’s not to like?
Librarians can also join reading committees, whose job it is to basically shorten the longlist to 5 or 6 titles, to be chosen for the following year’s festivities.
Now, without further ado, this year’s shortlist:
Le mot d’Abel
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Véronique Petit. Rageot, 2018. 192 p.
I liked this. It’s unique.
The world-building is subtle and well-done, and takes us to a slightly dystopian world, very much like our own, but in which people are bestowed a personal, almost secret word when reaching puberty which will define them for the rest of their lives.
The novel opens as the narrator, Abel, worries because his word is late being “revealed” to him, and on that same day, someone at school “reveals” someone else’s word, which is almost equivalent to a rape in that universe. Who could have done such a thing, and why?
Without being too ambitious, this novel provides an interesting reflection on social determinism, and on how words that we hear in our childhood can define us, and how we can reclaim them.
I particularly appreciated the mention of the fictional political movement campaigning for an automatic registration and display of people’s words, under the guide of safety, arguing that honest citizens don’t have anything to hide.
Le chant noir des baleines
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Nicolas Michel. Talents Hauts, 2018. 279 p.
Talents Hauts strikes again, with another Book with A Message!
It’s like they’re saying DO YOU HEAR US? RACISM IS BAAD TOLERANCE IS GOOOD.
We get it, Talents Hauts, y’all woke.
But would it kill you to take the subtle route once in a while?
As with most of their other titles, the topic is fascinating: a forgotten shipwreck, that of the Afrique, bringing home tirailleurs sénégalais (Senegalese soldiers who fought alongside French troops during WWI). One of these tirailleurs is rescued by a young boy and his mother, who choose to defy the social etiquette of the time and take him in. In return, he helps them come to terms with the loss of the boy’s father in the war.
On paper, it’s great. A tear-jerker, really. But in reality, it’s too long, too detailed, and the plot is contrived. I felt like it was oscillating between a History and a Morals lesson.
Uppercut
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Ahled Kalouaz. Le Rouergue, 2017. 128 p.
To me, this is the winner.
It echoed Why I’m no longer talking to White People about race, which I was reading around the same time, and can be used as a prompt for debates in class.
This novel is short and to the point. I
t doesn’t give us too much context, but we understand that Erwan is biracial, angry, sometimes violent, and not seeing the point in attending school. As the story begins, he is enrolled at a boarding school for “difficult kids” in the middle of nowhere, and is faced with a dilemma: get expelled or accept an internship at ranch, which he deigns to do.
Small events occur (a robbery, a crush, a fight…), which prompt his reflection on how to deal with racism and discrimination in general, and he gets some peace of mind in the process.
The message is sometimes heavy-handed, but never moralizing, and the teen narrator’s voice (and slang!) is credible, which is essential in YA. This is a Novel with A Message done right!
Le petit prince de Harlem
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Mikaël Thévenot. Didier Jeunesse, 2018. 156 p.
The story of Sonny, a young resident of Harlem, who decides to follow in his (deceased) father’s footsteps and become a jazz musician, in 1920s’ NYC.
To me, this novel is more informative than entertaining (I did enjoy it, though).
I would recommend it to students looking to learn more about the History of the United States, especially if they are interested in the History and culture of African Americans. This book does not shy away from issues of poverty and racism.
It would be interesting to pair up with Sweet Sixteen, by Anne-Lise Heurtier, about the desegregation of Southern schools.
Les quatre gars
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Claire Renaud. Sarbacane, 2018. 229 p.
I don’t really see why this is on the shortlist.
The narrator’s voice (a young boy, 9 years old) is not very credible and too young for 14 yo readers to identify with.
The story is divided between:
1) The protagonist describing his and his sibling’s life in Noirmoutier off the coast of Vendée (which is OK, but nothing original here).
The “young speek” was definitely NOT on fleek, I had the impression that I was reading a grown-up playing at sounding like a kid.
2) The protagonist playing matchmaker, trying to get his irascible father to hook up with his teacher (maid-in-Manhattan-style, which I don’t see happening, EVER), after his mother abandoned them.
Apart from this, the rest of the text is basically jab after jab at Parisian tourists (which I’m normally all for), except it feels petty here, and I was uncomfortable with the idea of YA fiction preaching any kind of intolerance, even under the guise of humor. I know it was meant to be “good fun”, but it didn't find it funny.
Now, it's in the hands of our teenage readers,
the winner will be announced in June!
That's is for now, happy readin'!