Kathleen Duey - Lara and the Gray Mare

[Tess]

I just finished reading _Lara and the Gray Mare_ by Kathleen Duey. I figured "Book One" would keep me from liking it, but I read it and enjoyed it all the way through until the obvious "end."

I don't mean the ending was obvious, I mean we are leading up to "Book Two." I knew it would happen that way. I'm sure you are expecting it to happen that way, but is it too much to ask that a book be expected to stand on its own? That a story be complete in one book?

Thanks for letting me vent. Feel free to contradict.

[Mary]

I was not as bothered by the obvious lead-in to the next book, but perhaps that was because I knew from the title that this was the first in a series. I don’t believe there are any listed criteria for this award that prohibit a book in a series from consideration, however, I agree that titles we are considering for the Mock Newbery should still be able to be viewed as complete entities in and of themselves. Even with the cliffhanger ending, I think this book CAN be read as a stand-alone title.

Other opinions?

[Tess]

I am certain that being a part of a series doesn't disqualify a book. The cliffhanger, to me, isn't a literary device for a novel as much as it is a marketing device. The Spiderwick Chronicles does the same thing.

It can be argued that The Series of Unfortunate Events does it; yet each book is about one bad event and guardian. Harry Potter books stand alone to me because they are divided into his school years even while He Who Should Not Be Named is still at large.

I did like _Lara and the Gray Mare_ and do want to know what happens next. I feel I can't say much more or I'll give away too much of the book to those who want to read it and join in this discussion. My next paragraph may give away too much, although it is pretty much told in the library catalog's description/review.

Through typing this, I have discovered what bothers me about this series' book one: the Gray Mare's portion of the story was underdeveloped and too much of the Silver Filly's (or Moon-Colored according to the Book Two title) story started. The last part of this book was the first part of the next.