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Rossland Reads down to final two

Rossland Reads is down to the final two books, after "This One Summer" was eliminated.

It won’t be long until the new champion of Rossland Reads is declared, after yet another book was eliminated on Thursday, Nov. 12.

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki was the second book to be voted out of the competition.

It was once again a very close vote, with panelist votes ultimately determining the final outcome. Moderator Jennifer Ellis revealed that one book the same book that was safe last week was definitely in the lead, but wouldn’t reveal which one.

Penny Johnson, who was defending Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden, voted against This One Summer, as did Jane Therriault, who was defending The Cellist of Sarajevo, and Lise Levesque, whose book The Birth House by Ami McKay was voted out in the previous debate.

Maddie Snelgrove, who was defending This One Summer, voted against Three Day Road, just because she thought it would be funny to hear Johnson talk about everyone else’s books without having to defend her own.

During the debate, Levesque used her more neutral position to share her honest opinion of the other books, praising what she felt were their strengths.

When Ellis asked defenders to use their two-minute intro to explain why their book was not just the best, but why specifically it was better than the others, Levesque used her time to champion Three Day Road.

“I think that Three Day Road, it’s more than the story. It’s the writing,” she said. Three Day Road is full of fantastic symbols, repetition, things that are pulled through the book.”

The Rossland Reads champion either Three Day Road or The Cellist of Sarajevo will emerge at the final debate on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at New Edition Café and Books. Podcasts of the first two debates are available on the Rossland Library’s website.