Oregon Battle of the Books
Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is a voluntary statewide program for reading motivation and comprehension sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. The goals are to encourage reading for enjoyment, broaden reading interests, increase reading comprehension and promote cooperative learning. Statewide there are three divisions in OBOB, including 3rd-5th grade, 6th-8th grade, and 9th-12th grade. MHS hosts both 6-8 and 9-12 teams since 8th graders are on the campus. In 2019-2020, OBOB will also be introduced to 6th and 7th graders at Sunset and Millicoma in cooperation with MHS 8th graders and to provide more opportunities for students throughout the district.
MHS OBOB teams compete in local battles with schools from North Bend and Coquille from January through March each year and then travel to the Roseburg area in March to compete in the regional tournament. The top two teams in each region advance to the state competition in Salem in April. In 2016-2017 the 9th-12th grade high school team qualified for the state tournament and finished in the top eight teams in the state. In 2018-2019, the high school team finished in the top four in regional competition, missing the state tournament by just one match.
The teams will gear up for the 2019-2020 school year by beginning to read next year’s books, which include the following:
9th to 12th Grade Division
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Audacity by Melanie Crowder
Girl Code by Andrea Gonzales & Sophie Houser
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily by Laura Creedle
Mary’s Monster by Lita Judge
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (voted by students)
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada
6th to 8th Grade Division
The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands
Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
Frogkisser! by Garth Nix
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
The List by Patricia Forde
Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
The Novice by Taran Matharu
The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
The Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (voted by students)
The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck