Mock Printz 2012

For those of you who have been reading this blog for several years, you know that I collaborate with a local teacher-librarian to provide a Mock Printz workshop to local teens, library staff, and teachers. The Mock Printz Workshop is an event where we come together to discuss the ten preselected titles and decide which deserve to win the Michael L. Printz award. The 2012 Mock Printz reading list is ready, and I hope you'll read these books and share what you think about them.

Everybody Sees the Ants-- A.S. King
A Monster Calls-- Patrick Ness
Divergent-- Victoria Roth
Jasper Jones-- Craig Silvey
Anya’s Ghost-- Vera Brosgol
Okay For Now-- Gary D. Schmidt
Chime-- Franny Billingsly
Blink and Caution-- Tim Wynne- Jones
Karma-- Cathy Ostlere
Welcome to Bordertown-- Holly Black and Ellen Kushner, eds

The REAL Printz

On January 10th, the winners of the 2011 Michael L. Printz award were announced.

The winner is:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi












The honor books are:

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Nothing by Janne Teller

My co-sponsor of our Mock Printz event and I had a hunch that Ship Breaker would take a spot... we had a hard time leaving that book off our list, and there is kindof an inside story as to why we did. Still, it's nice that most of the winners this year were on our radar. It helps us know we were using the correct resources when selecting our Mock Printz list. Overall I am pretty excited about this year's winners!

Mock Printz Nominations!

After many agonizing meetings, my librarian cohort Paige and I have settled on an official Mock Printz list for this year. It's always so hard to choose, because inevitably something amazing will be published after we've already made our list...

And the nominees are (in no particular order):

Nothing-- Janne Teller
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend-- Emily Horner
The Water Seeker-- Kimberly Willis Holt
Black Hole Sun-- David Macinnis Gill
Revolver-- Marcus Sedgwick
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty-- G. Neri and Randy Duburke, Ill
They Called Themselves the KKK-- Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Wicked Girls-- Stephanie Hemphill
Finnikin of the Rock-- Melina Marchetta
Last Summer of the Death Warriors-- Francisco X. Stork

OK, you have your list! Now start reading and let me know what you think about our Mock Printz selections. And, if you want more information about the Mock Printz event, email teens@fvrl.org.

Top 100 YA Books of All Time?

Another YA book review blogger wants to know what your top 100 YA titles are...

Read her post to find out how to participate, and vote for your favorites!

Mock Printz Results!

I have to say, our Mock Printz event that occurred on January 9, 2010 was quite a success. We had a fairly diverse group that was half library and school employees and half teens. While we are patiently waiting until January 18th to hear who won the real Michael L. Printz award, I can at least share with you our Mock Printz winners.

The winning title: The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Honored titles: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Honestly, I am quite surprised by the outpouring of support for The Monstrumologist... it was one of those titles I thought many of our adult readers just wouldn't like. However, the blending of the historical fiction and horror genres, combined with good character development and fine tuned language won it a place in many peoples' hearts. Personally, I had to make Wintergirls my top choice, as I thought it was an extraordinary piece of fiction, but The Monstrumologist was my second choice... and it's time for a horror book to win the Printz, don't you think?

Mock Printz 2010!

A fabulous local school librarian and I collaborate on a Mock Printz event in January. This is our second year, and we are hoping it will be a success! We gather with teachers, teens, and librarians to discuss the ten titles on our list and choose which book we think should win the actual Printz Award.

I thought I would post our reading list here, just in case you wanted to read the books too. It is always a tricky process choosing the books... is it just me, or are all the good books published at the end of the year?? Inevitably, there will be something we missed, but we have to get the list to participants early enough for them to read all 10.

We create our list by frantically reading as much as we can, reading reviews, and gathering opinions of library staff through listserves, etc. I haven't blogged all these books yet, but I will go back and link them when I do. Let me know what you think!

Wintergirls-- Laurie Halse Anderson

If I Stay-- Gayle Foreman

Marcelo in the Real World-- Francisco X. Stork

Andromeda Klein-- Frank Portman

Punkzilla-- Adam Rapp

Distant Waves-- Suzanne Weyn

Tales from Outer Suburbia-- Shaun Tan

When You Reach Me-- Rebecca Stead

The Monstrumologist-- Rick Yancey

Liar-- Justine Larbalestier

A Blast of Books!

So the past two weeks have included several hours of flying to two different destinations... which means I had a lot of time to read! I thought I would try something new and write a brief blurb about each book, rather than an extended entry like I usually do... this way I can touch on all the things I read.

Willow-- Julia Hoban



One night Willow's parents, internationally famous anthropologists, drank too much wine at dinner. They asked their teenage daughter, Willow, to drive them home from dinner. Willow lost control of the vehicle and they both died. Willow survived, but is completely emotionally destroyed by the accident. The only way she feels alive and safe is through cutting, that is until an exceptional boy comes along. Perfect for fans of Cut.

My opinion: bleck on the knight in shining armor thing, also it's a bit awkwardly written. However, I know teen girls will eat this one up.

The Compound-- S.A. Bodeen



The Compound is a near-futuristic sci-fi tome that is told from the perspective of 15 year old Eli. He and his family have been living underground in an extraordinary bomb shelter after his billionaire computer genius dad (think Bill Gates) gets word of nuclear attack and rushes his family to the compound he had the foresight to build. Perfect for fans of Life as We Knew It, and even The Host.

My Opinion: Great for both boys and girls. It's definitely a page-turner, but at the end I was left wanting more (could be a good thing?). I could tell this is the authors first novel; she could work on her craft a bit, but it was an enjoyable first book.

Karma for Beginners-- Jessica Blank (no released cover yet)

Tessa's mom is one of those wandering types who bounces from town to town looking for meaning and inspiration-- mostly through men. When she moves them to an ashram in the Catskills and becomes deeply involved with the Guru, Tessa is left on her own. She meets a boy who introduces her to all forms of debaucherous escapism, and tries to find her own meaning for existence before she gets carried away by the desires of others. Fans of Patron Saint of Butterflies, and maybe Outside Beauty might like this book.

My Opinion: Meh. Not terrible, not great. I don't see this particular book being very popular with it's intended audience.

Secrets of Truth and Beauty-- Megan Frazer

This is Dara's story. She was once a child beauty pageant princess, but has grown into adolescence as a pretty but quite overweight teen. After a tragic (in that petty highschool way) incident, and a complete lack of compassion from her parents, Dara travels to find her long lost lesbian sister, who is shunned by the family and lives on a goat farm. This is a story of self-discovery, overcoming life's challenges, and beauty in all forms.

My Opinion: There are a lot of stories about the overweight teen girl finding her voice and confidence these days. See an older post with a list for more. Still, I did find this fairly original and I think girls will like it. Thankfully the ending wasn't toooo schmaltzy.

Girl in the Arena-- Lise Haines


Lyn is the daughter of seven gladiators... kindof. Lyn's family is a part of the Neo-Gladiator culture, and her mother has watched seven of her husbands, therefore seven of Lyn's fathers, be killed in the arena. After the seventh man dies, and Lyn's mother severely falls apart, it's up to Lyn to pull them through. Ceasar's inc, the corporation that runs the Neo-Glads, is corrupt and putting everything Lyn holds dear on the line for money and publicity. When it comes to fighting to the death to save her family, Lyn feels prepared to do so... unless her techie best friend can come up with a way to save her.

My Opinion: I liked this book. I won't rave and wax poetic about it ala Hunger Games, but it was good. Not perfectly written, but I predict this will be very popular with teens. It's a teeny bit sci-fi, but mostly realistic fiction. Although the main character is female, I think both boys and girls will enjoy it.

Mock Printz Results! (and real Printz too)

Well, the day we YA types have been waiting for has come and gone... we now know which title has captured the prestigious Printz Award for 2009, and who we thought would win at our Mock Printz Event.

First, our version:

My library district, in conjunction with the local schools, hosted our first Mock Printz event. We had a great turnout, and these are the titles we selected as winners:

Mock Printz Winner

• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Mock Printz Honor Books

• Madapple by Christina Meldrum
• Hunger Games by Susanne Collins

Now, their version

Official Printz Winner

• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Official Printz Honor Books

• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves by MT Anderson
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• Nation by Terri Pratchett
• Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

So you probably have read what I thought about Jellicoe Road, as I blogged about it last November. Honestly, I am a bit surprised it was chosen as the Printz winner, but I do agree it was well written and a good piece of literature. I have been left wondering, however, if it's actually a YA book. In a way, it feels more like an adult book with teen characters. What do you think?

If I, HydroJen, official BookEnvy author extraordinaire could pick the books for the Printz award, this is what I would have chosen: Madapple by Christina Meldrum for the overall winner, and honors would go to The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart, Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link, and The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. But that's neither here nor there, right?

Big Fat Manifesto-- Sarah Vaught

Is it just me, or does it seem like there is a rise in books about teens with alternative body types? Maybe I am just noticing them more... but it seems like the eating disorder fiction trend has swung a bit from the anorexia-bulimia bend to an overweight-chubby-obese focus. Honestly, I think teens will want to read both types of books, and "issues" fiction has always been popular with the teens I see.

Big Fat Manifesto is a well written book about a girl named Jamie who is fat. She prefers the term fat, and she isn't just a bit overweight... she is at least 300 pounds and comes from a family who is also dealing with weight issues. She is a journalist and starts a column in the school paper to speak honestly about what life is like when you are physically larger than most of the population. Jamie is popular, has a boyfriend, and is an actress (though only gets to play the villain or "character" roles). Jamie's open, honest, blunt, and slightly bitchy voice is really what makes this book enjoyable. Also, there are some heart-wrenching scenes where the reader can really understand how hard life can be when you don't fit into furniture (like the desks at the ACT testing center or airplane seats), clothes (everything in 4X is designed for old ladies), or your friend's car.

Vaught doesn't not glamorize obesity, but she does a great job of making someone who is not obese understand the emotional issues that might go along with being overweight. In our thin-fascinated American (world?) culture, it is easy to poke fun at overweight folks, all in the guise of concern (health! stress on resources! diabetes!). I would be interested in hearing what teens think about this book. As an aside, it is nice to read a book with a severely overweight character who is not 100% ostracized from all things normal... Jamie has friends and a boyfriend, which is not a common thing in other books like this.

Just because:

Here is a brief list of fiction about teens with body issues... overweight, underweight, eating disorders etc. Got some to add? Let me know!

Large and Small: a short booklist of eating disorder fiction

Over

Fat Kid Rules the World-- K.L. Going

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes-- Chris Crutcher

Big Fat Manifesto-- Sarah Vaught

Vibes-- Amy Kathleen Ryan

The Earth, My Butt, and other Big Round Things-- Carolyn Mackler

Under

Mercy, Unbound-- Kim Antieau

Skin-- Adreinne Maria Vrettos

Skinny-- Ibi Kaslik

Lovesick-- Jake Coburn

How I Live Now-- Meg Rossof

Perfect-- Natasha Friend