Hey all, Dani here.
So today I have a non-Middle Grade March post, and that’s because I do this tag every year at this time. The rules are pretty simple. You have a list of categories, similar to those at the Academy Awards, and you choose the winner from the books you read the previous year. That being said, I always make it harder on myself by giving myself the extra rule that I can only pick a book for one award, not multiples.
Oh, and this tag was originated by BOOKadoodles on YouTube, so you can find her video here.
Let’s get started.
Best Actor: Best Male Protagonist
Levi Glaisyer from Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody is my choice for this one. He was an intriguing guy, and it was fascinating to watch him try to find a way to fix his problems so that all his friends/family wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of his actions. It was admirable that he was trying to do whatever it took in order to protect his people. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel very soon. (Thanks, NetGalley and Inkyard Press)
Best Actress: Best Female Protagonist
For this category, my winner is Tea from The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco. I absolutely adore this trilogy, and the third book should be arriving in the mail very soon, and I’m going to be so sad for it all to come to an end. The way this story is told is just so interesting, and I think Tea is a wonderful and complex young woman who has had to deal with a lot already in her young life, and she has handled it the best way that she can. Plus, these book covers are absolutely stunning.
Best Cinematography: Best Plot Twist
On this one, I think I’m going to go with Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen. There were quite a few happenings in this book that completely took me by surprise, some in a good way, and some in a not so good way. But nevertheless I devoured this book so quickly and was super impressed with it.
Best Costume Design: Best Book Cover
Okay, so for this one, it’s a book I want to highlight because it was a great read, but I also think the cover is striking. It does stand out on the shelf, and that is Furyborn by Claire Legrand.
Best Supporting Actor and Actress: Best Male and Female Sidekick
I loved all of the main characters in this one, and what really helped to shape leading lady Tallis into the badass woman she is was her friends. I guess you would call them sidekicks for the purposes of this category, but Donovan, Rosslyn, and Tomas were all awesome characters, so I’m definitely suggesting more people pick up The Monster of Selkirk Book I: The Duality of Nature by C.E. Clayton.
Best Original Screenplay: Most Unique Plot/World
Is it wrong to put a book that hasn’t been released yet onto this awards tag? Well, I did read Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan in 2018 so it technically counts, and I though the plot and the world were very well done. I am definitely counting down the days until I have a hardcover in my hands (April 2nd, everyone).
Best Adapted Screenplay: Best Book-to-Movie Adaptation
Yikes, I only read one book last year that had a movie adaptation that I also watched. So the default winner is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Though, I’ll be honest, the movie was good, but not in comparison with the book. I dearly loved the book though.
Best Animated Feature: A book that would work well in animated format
Hmm…for this category I’m going to pick Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S Dawson. I could see this being an animation like the classic Dungeons & Dragons animated series.
Best Director: A writer you discovered for the first time
This category goes to Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. I had been looking forward to reading this one from the time I first heard of it. And I am pleased to say that it lived up to the hype and the gorgeous cover. I absolutely cannot wait for the second book.
Best Visual Effects: Best action in a book
It was hard to decide which category some of these books would win, but I’m going to give this category to Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. I thought this was a fantastic book, and I loved how it felt like a typical epic fantasy travel/adventure story.
Best Short Film: Best novella or short book
For this one I am actually choosing a poetry collection, which is a short book, so it still counts. I never did a review on my blog for this one, so maybe I’ll have to re-read it and then write up something, but I loved the re-imaginings of so many fairy tale stories, so I definitely recommend Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill.
Best Picture: Best standalone
The winner for this one is Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy. This was such a fun, cute, slightly geeky, contemporary romance, and it swept me away. The reason why it ranks so highly on my list is that I was reading it during breaktime at work and I actually was late back to my job because I was too absorbed in the book, which I think is high praise indeed.
Best Documentary: Best Historical Fiction or Non-fiction
Okay, so my winner for this one is a reimagining of a historical figure/time, but it was nevertheless one of my favorite reads of the year, and I definitely feel like it needs to be on this awards list. My choice for Best Historical Fiction is And I Darken by Kiersten White.
Well all right, that is all from me today. Let me know if you decide to do this tag because I would love to check out your winners for each category. I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.
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