The Real Printz

The official Printz winners have been announced! As you will see, we weren't too off the mark with our Mock Printz nominations...

The 2010 Michael L. Printz Winner:
Going Bovine by Libba Bray

The Honor books:
Charles and Emma: the Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
Tales of a Madman Underground: a Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes

Oh, and you can read about the award and the books on YALSA's website.

I have to say, I am quite surprised that Going Bovine won the top honor. It was a fun, entertaining read but I honestly thought it could have been better edited. Still, I am pleased to have a Printz winner that I can easily give to teens.

Punkzilla-- Adam Rapp

Punkzilla is Jamie, a 14 year-old boy who lives the crustpunk, street kid life in Portland, OR. After his militant, homophobic father enrolls him in military school, small-for-his-age and androgynous looking Jamie runs away in hopes to find a better life for himself. He lives in abandoned warehouses in Portland with other kids, and writes letters to his gay and dying of cancer brother, Peter. Peter sends Jamie bus money, so he can come visit him in Tennessee before he dies. Most of this story is told through Jamie's unique letter writing style, as Jamie writes letters to Peter he never plans to send, describing his bus journey and what the life of a Punkzilla is like.

I have to say, this book was intriguing but a bit challenging to read. Adam Rapp really does a good job writing in Jamie's style. I truly felt like I was experiencing things through Jamie's perspective, and even though the lack of punctuation and made-up words were sometimes a stumbling block, they made the story richer. This isn't a feel-good story, and the content might be better suited for older teens, but its grittiness isn't over-the-top or inappropriate for the story Rapp was trying to tell. It's one of those books that will linger with you for a while, for better or worse.