Match 1, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing , The Kingdom on the Waves vs. Trouble at 8. Winner: The Kingdom on the Waves. As judge Wynne-Jones said, “The Kingdom on the Waves is dense, grand, epic in terms of its scope and virtue. And yes, it’s a marathon to read, by today’s standards, but that’s why it’s a book, rather than, let’s say a video game or a tweet. Books are what we turn to for the heavy lifting!” So… does that mean we’re looking at the eventual winner here? Very possibly.

Match 2, Chains vs. Tender Morsels. Winner: Chains. I was rooting for this one, and it came through. I possibly will read Tender Morsels, eventually, but I really, really loved Chains. So glad it made it through to the next round, though I have no idea how it will stack up against the heavyweight Kingdom of the Waves…

Match 3, The Hunger Games vs. We Are the Ship. Winner: Hunger Games. The judge was John Green. I would have been more surprised if We Are the Ship had won. But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy with the result…

Match 4, Graceling vs. The Lincolns. Winner: The Lincolns. What? No grrrl matchup? So sad. Though on the plus side, after Nancy Werlin’s thoughts on The Lincolns made me want to search it out…

This does mean that one non-fiction has made it through to the semi-finals… granted, I think it’s pretty predictable at this point that the ending matchup will be Kingdom on the Waves versus the Hunger Games. (Oh, dear: I’m predicting. It probably won’t happen then…) Then again, anything could happen….