How we choose the books has evolved since the first battle in 2005. In the beginning, battle sponsors would get together, discuss potential books, and choose the best ones for students. More recently, due to the growth of the program (and the number of high schools!), books have been recommended, discussed, reviewed by at least two readers, and voted on through a combination of face to face discussion and technology (usually Google Forms).

In the 2018-2019 school year, students were officially invited to participate in this process for the first time. Students, teachers, and librarians were able to nominate books through a Google Form hosted on this blog. Then, teachers signed up to read the recommended books to vet them for content and suitability for Battle, and a ballot was created for anyone within the LCPS system to vote! It was a success, and we hope to improve upon this system in the future.

What do we look for in a Battle Book?

• Compelling stories that grip the imagination.
• Strong protagonists who are diverse, complex, and relatable.
• Themes (or messages) that are worth thinking about and discussing.
• A  variety of genres – it’s boring if we all read the kind of book all the time. We try to mainly promote interest in Young Adult books, but we’ve had all sorts in the past. You may want to review the list of all battle books here.
• Different reading levels and interests.
• Recent books. Most of our books have been published in the last 2-5 years, but occasionally we choose books that are more than that.

What is a “second reader”?

• Sometimes, we don’t see the downsides of a book we love. Often, people have different ideas of what is “age-appropriate” material, while still others have concerns about a book’s accessibility. So, once a book is recommended, at least one battle sponsor will sign up to give the book a second look. If no one signs up to read a book, that book is dropped from consideration.

What disqualifies a book (not all GOOD books are BATTLE books). 

• Every year, amazing books are recommended that we have to take out of the running because they don’t “lend themselves” to trivia questions. For example, poetry is so emotional and so full of figurative speech that it’s hard to nail down concrete facts from them to include in a competition setting.
• A book can be too old. There is nothing wrong with the classics, or books that are over ten years old, but we prefer to promote books that haven’t been out long so that we keep our titles “fresh.”
• Length. We have long books all the time in Battle, but we try not to have more than one or two tomes in the bunch.
• Overly adult themes. Since our readers are teenagers, we know that they are mature enough to handle controversial material, but as teachers, we have a responsibility to endorse books that don’t provoke. It’s a difficult balance to strike.
• Other factors not outlined above. Some things can’t be easily categorized, but we promise to be as transparent as possible when we eliminate a book.

Can anyone recommend a book? 

• You must be a student or a teacher at Loudoun County Public Schools to make a recommendation, or to vote on the books.
• While anyone can recommend, we want to emphasize the voices of our student readers.