The Author: M.T. Anderson http://mt-anderson.com/ M.T. (short for Matthew Tobin) Anderson has written several picture books, middle grades books, and novels for teens and adults, including Feed. Both volumes of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation were named honor books for the Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. The Pox Party won the 2006 National Book Award.
What It's About: Octavian lives with his mother, an African princess, in Boston as the Revolutionary War approaches. They live with a collection of scientists, philosophers and artists who call themselves the Novanglian College of Lucidity and raise Octavian with a classical education while also studying him like a specimen.
Why I Picked It: I am totally embarrassed to admit that I hadn't read this when it came out in 2006 and everyone was talking and raving about it. So I figured this would be a great time to read it and get to share it with all of you, too.
What I Thought: WOW! This is an amazing book. I love that the author respects his readers' intelligence and at no point tries to make this story anything less than it is because it's for teen readers.
The Question I Leave You With: After reading Volume 1, is Octavian a traitor to the nation?
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