"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, May 26, 2013

To complete the Printz Challenge or not, that is the question?

Eight years ago as a rookie teen librarian I decided to attempt to read all the Printz Award and Honor books. Looking for Alaska by John Green, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Fat Kid Rules the World by KL Going were all award recipients and some of my favorite YA books. By the time I decided to read ALL the Printz books I had about 30 back books to read to catch up. Then all I would have to do was read the year's winners to stay current. It seemed very doable. After working on the it for about five years I've whittled down the past books to about 15. I've also read all the winning titles for the past four years.

But now I am questioning if I really want to continue the Printz Challenge or wonder if it is time to give up on reading the past books.  Why would I consider abandoning the project now?

Well, the reason relates to my recent reading selection. Today I finished reading Freewill by Chris Lynch. It was an honor book in 2002. The book was so confusing and difficult to read I will never, ever recommend it to any student. I wish this Publishers Weekly review had come to my attention before I struggled through it: "...this airless novel does not reward the effort to penetrate it." Hmm, guess I wasn't the only one that didn't like it.

The book is about a boy who was having a mental breakdown related to his unresolved grief over the death/suicide of his father. In addition to not liking the storyline, I started to question the relevance of the book published in 2001. Of the 15 books left to catch up with the challenge, most were published before 2005. Even if I like these novels they will be tough sells to my students just based on the publishing dates.  Why should I spend time reading YA books that won't bring benefit to my readership?

I want to stay up with current winners but I'm not sure if my heart is in it anymore to go back and read past winners. What do you think?  Should I abandon or stick with my Printz Challenge?
I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

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