Michael L. Printz Award Winners Announced

Looking for a good book? Look no further -- the 2011 Michael L. Printz Award Winners have been announced! This award was first given in 2000 and recognizes "literary excellence in young adult literature." It is named to honor Michael L. Printz, a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

This year's winner is Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Near a drowned New Orleans ravaged by hurricanes and global warming, Nailer and his young crew eke out a meager existence by scavenging materials on the ship-littered coast.

“This taut, suspenseful novel is a relentless adventure story featuring nuanced characters in thought-provoking conflicts. Bacigalupi artfully intertwines themes of loyalty, family, friendship, trust and love.” -- Printz Award Committee Chair Erin Downey Howerton.


Four Printz Honor Books were also named:

Stolen by Lucy Christopher 

The rugged Australian outback becomes Gemma’s prison after she is drugged and abducted by a handsome, obsessed stranger in a first novel filled with searing imagery and archetypal characters.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Vera Dietz wants to be ignored, but the ghost of her ex-best friend won’t leave her alone in this dark comedy that examines relationships, identity, grief and flowcharts.

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

In Sedgwick’s grim, chilling story set in the Arctic Circle, Sig finds his father’s frozen corpse as human predator Wolff arrives seeking retribution and a hidden Gold Rush treasure.

Nothing by Janne Teller

Pierre Anthon’s nihilism causes his classmates to begin a search for life’s meaning in this bold, unsettling parable translated from Danish. 

Learn more at: www.ala.org/yalsa/printz

You can order the books here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=pe_125220_18258030_pe_004/?docId=1000467281