Spring 2007 - YALSA - American Library Association

Benedetti and DobrezThe committee also named fourPrintz Honor Books:●●●The Astonishing Life of OctavianNothing, Traitor to the Nation,Volume 1: The Pox Party by M. T.Anderson (Candlewick, 2006; ISBN-13: 978-0763624016; $17.99), whichemploys eighteenth-century languageto tell the story of Octavian, thesubject of a horrifying Enlightenmentexperiment, who escapes the bondsof slavery and fights in the AmericanRevolution. Octavian was the winnerof the 2006 National Book Award(NBA) for Young People’s Literature.Anderson is a past-NBA finalist forFeed (2002), a thought-provokingsatire of consumer culture.An Abundance of Katherines by JohnGreen (Dutton, 2006; ISBN-13:978-0525476887; $16.99), in whicha road trip to the town of Gutshot,Tennessee, offers Colin Singleton,a child prodigy and compulsiveboyfriend of girls named Katherine,the opportunity to face his past andfind his future. The committee laudedGreen’s second novel for its compellingcharacters and intelligent humor.Green’s first novel, Looking for Alaska,won the 2006 Printz Award.Surrender by Sonya Hartnett(Candlewick, 2006; ISBN-13:978-0763627683; $16.99) isa psychological thriller about atroubled young man who relives thehorrifying events that landed himon his deathbed. The book’s denseatmosphere and shifting narrativekeep the reader on edge in what manycommittee members described as the●scariest book they hadread in some time.The Book Thief byMarkus Zusak (Knopf,2006; ISBN-13: 978-0375831003; $16.95).Death recounts thejourney of LieselMeminger in Zusak’sstory of a young girlwho witnesses thedestruction of herGerman village in theSecond World War. TheBook Thief celebratesthe power of wordsand books to save lives,even in the midst ofgreat human suffering.Zusak was also a PrintzHonor winner in 2006for I Am the Messenger.YALSFour of the nine PrintzAward Committee membersare elected by the members ofYALSA. Five are appointedby the YALSA president-elect,including the chair. In addition,a consultant from the staff of Booklistattends committee meetings but does notvote. Members of the 2007 Printz AwardCommittee are chair Cindy Dobrez, WestOttawa Public Schools, Holland, Mich.;Eunice Anderson, Enoch Pratt Free Library,Baltimore; Angelina Benedetti, King County(Wash.) Library System; Teresa Brantley,Salem Middle School, Apex, N.C.; VickiEmery, Lake Braddock Secondary School,Burke, Va.; Jana Fine, Tuscaloosa (Ala.)Public Library; Michele Gorman, PublicLibrary of Charlotte and MecklenburgCounty, N.C.; Jessica Mize, Newark (Ohio)Public Library; Sarajo Wentling, CarverCounty (Minn.) Library; and GillianEngberg, Booklist consultant, Chicago.Reference1. Bob Thompson, “Lucky Winner: Newbery,Caldecott Awards Announced,” The WashingtonPost, Jan. 23, 2007.Spring 2007 | Young Adult Library Services | YALS 23