Professional book publications give starred reviews for their favorite books. Each year I pay attention to these starred reviews to help me attempt to figure out which books will win an award at the ALA Midwinter meeting which just concluded last week. Looking at just six of those publications: Book List, School Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, books with the most starred reviews should technically win. Right? Well, let's check out if that is true.
(Young Adult books are the only ones I am considering here.)
There were two books which earned a starred review from each of the six publications: Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson and On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. Neither of them won any awards last week. Hmm. Interesting. Seems to me that six starred reviews should equal winners.
1. Michael L. Printz Award (Best YA literature of the year)
- Dig by A.S. King- Award---4 starred reviews
- The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi- Honor---?
- Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki- Honor---5 starred reviews
- Ordinary Hazards: a Memoir by Nikki Grimes-Honor---4 starred reviews
- Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean- Honor-1 starred review
- Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein (Ages 13-18)-Award---0 starred reviews
- The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais- Honor ---0 starred reviews
3. Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature (LGBTQ+) :
- Black Flamingo by Dean Atta- YA Award---0 starred reviews
- Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - Honor---4 starred reviews
- Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian- Honor -1 starred review
4. William C. Morris Award (First YA novel by author)
- The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillippe- Award-0 starred reviews
5. YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
- Free Lunch by Rex Ogle- Award---2 starred reviews
6. Coretta Scott King Book Award (African American Author)
- New Kid by Jerry Craft-Award---4 starred reviews
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus---3 starred reviews
- Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds---5 starred reviews
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia---4 starred reviews
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams---3 starred reviews
- This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy-Honor---3 starred reviews
- Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki Grimes-Honor ---4 starred reviews
- New Kid by Jerry Craft-Award---4 starred reviews
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams---3 starred reviews
- Someday We Will Fly by Rachel deWosken - YA Award---2 starred reviews
- Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life and Work by Victoria Ortiz- Honor-1 starred review
- Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz ---3 starred reviews
11. American Indian Youth Literature award
- Hearts Unbroken, written by Cynthia Leitich Smith - YA Award ---1 starred review
- Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett - Honor ---1 starred review
- Reawakening Our Ancestors’ Lines: Revitalizing Inuit Traditional Tattooing by Angela Hovak Johnston - Honor---0 starred reviews
- An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza -Honor---3 starred reviews
- Apple in the Middle by Dawn Quigley - Honor ---1 starred review
12. Asian/Pacific American Literature Award
- They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott - YA Award---2 starred reviews
- Frankly in Love by David Yoon- Honor---5 starred reviews
So. Hmm. Notice that the winner got no starred reviews, while one of the finalists got five. Interesting. Just interesting.
-Anne
