Michael L. Printz Award 2011

The Printz Award, for excellence in literature written for young adults was awarded today to Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi. The book is published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Four Printz Honor Books also were named:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Nothing by Janne Teller

2010 Printz Award Winner for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

Going Bovine by Libba Bray is the 2010 Printz Award Winner.

Review from School Library Journal: Cameron, a 16-year-old slacker whose somewhat dysfunctional family has just about given up on him, as perhaps he himself has, when his diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jacob, "mad cow" disease, reunites them, if too late. The heart of the story, though, is a hallucinatory—or is it?—quest with many parallels to the hopeless but inspirational efforts of Don Quixote, about whom Cameron had been reading before his illness. Just like the crazy—or was he?—Spaniard, Cam is motivated to go on a journey by a sort of Dulcinea. His pink-haired, white-winged version goes by Dulcie and leads him to take up arms against the Dark Wizard and fire giants that attack him intermittently, and to find a missing Dr. X, who can both help save the world and cure him. Cameron's Sancho is a Mexican-American dwarf, game-master hypochondriac he met in the pot smokers' bathroom at school who later turns up as his hospital roommate. Bray blends in a hearty dose of satire on the road trip as Cameron leaves his Texas deathbed—or does he?—to battle evil forces with a legendary jazz horn player, to escape the evil clutches of a happiness cult, to experiment with cloistered scientists trying to solve the mysteries of the universe, and to save a yard gnome embodying a Viking god from the clutches of the materialistic, fame-obsessed MTV-culture clones who shun individual thought. It's a trip worth taking, though meandering and message-driven at times.—Suzanne Gordon, Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee, GA END

For a complete list of honor books and previous Printz winners click here.

2009 Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta
published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Haunted by the past, Taylor Markham reluctantly leads the students of the Jellicoe School in their secret territory wars against the Townies and the Cadets. Marchetta’s lyrical writing evokes the Australian landscape in a suspenseful tale of raw emotion, romance, humor and tragedy.

Melina Marchetta lives in Sydney, Australia, and is the award-winning author of two previous novels. A former high school teacher, she is recognized for the authenticity of her teen characters’ voices.

“This roller coaster ride of a novel grabs you from the first sentence and doesn’t let go. You may not be sure where the ride will take you, but every detail—from the complexities of the dual narrative to the pangs of first love—is pitch perfect,” said Printz Award Committee Chair Mary Arnold.

(taken from the ALA website)

Award Winners

This past January ALA announced the best books in Young Adult Literature.

The Michale L. Printz Award for excellence in YA literature was given to Geraldine McCaughrean for The White Darkness. Check out the other award winners and honors books at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz.cfm