Dead End in Norvelt

I have read all of the Newberys, and I liked some more than others. This is one I did not like so much. I started reading this when I was doing Mock Newberys, but I absolutely hated it and stopped reading. When it won, I decided that it would be better to be able to say I read all of the Newbery winners instead of I read all but one. When I picked this book back up, I hoped I would like it more. No such luck. I kinda liked Miss Volker, but didn't think that she was that great, and her character did not make up for the fact that their was too much blood and gore in this book. I don't mind gore if the story needs it to be great, I don't think this book needed as much as it has.  Over all I really hated the story, although there were some points that I enjoyed. This book wasn't quite as bad as The Dark Frigate, but it came close. I wouldn't recommend this book, but boys might enjoy it more than I did.  I think this is evidence that a kid (ME) should be on the committee, to at least get to argue what  is notable or not.

Rating: *** (because The Dark Frigate got two and this book is just a little bit better than that)