Bildungsroman

Guess what? There's a scholarly word for what we always called the "Newberry Award" books--you know, the young person who has some destiny but has to fight though obstacles both external and internal to get through to the end. It's called bildungsroman. Pretty cool, huh? But I think I'll stick to the "Newberry" book--it's easier to say.

And here is an awesome review of the new Harry Potter book. WARNING DO NOT CLICK THROUGH UNLESS YOU'VE FINISHED THE BOOK. He discusses it pretty darn throughly. I thought LaDale especially would enjoy it, because he spends a fair amount of time comparing it to other examples of the genre.