Review: FIREKEEPER'S DAUGHTER

Title: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Book Beginnings quote: 

Part 1. 

WAABANONG (East) 

In Ojibwe teachings, all journeys begin in the Eastern direction. 

Chapter 1 

I start my day before sunrise, throwing on running clothes and laying a pinch of semaa at the eastern base of a tree, where sunlight will touch the tobacco first.

Friday56 quote: 

Saturday morning arrives with the same excitement as my former game days. Because of today's powwow, the Supes have an early morning practice.

Summary: Daunis Fontaine always feels like a bit of a misfit both in her hometown of Sault St. Marie, Michigan where she lives with her mother, and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation where her father's people live. When she was in high school she played ice hockey on the boy's team and hoped to continue playing in college, but now she has transferred her dreams to her future -- one involving science and medicine and not hockey. When she witnesses a murder, life crashes down around her, and all her dreams and goals with them. But then the new, cute member of the Supes hockey team, Jamie, approaches her with a deal -- to work undercover for the FBI to help figure out who is making the meth that is killing so many of the Native youth. Reluctantly Daunis agrees to go undercover using both her knowledge of chemistry and her interest in traditional medicine to guide her. At the same time she wants to make sure that the FBI isn't just interested in punishing the offenders, but also protecting the victims and their strong native traditions.

Review: Firekeeper's Daughter won the 2022 Printz Award for best YA fiction of the year. It was a timely read with a much needed focus on BIPOC rights right now. Daunis is a strong Native female protagonist who was unwilling to fall into the old tropes found in many books about white people knowing what is best for people of color. As she works undercover, she reminds the other agents over and over that the Native culture is good and the people are worthy of respect. Just because a person uses drugs doesn't make them bad or evil. In fact, several times she talks about the Seven Grandfather Teachings which are the principles of character that each Anishinaabe should live by. Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility & Wisdom. Often Daunis would ask herself which grandfather did she need strength from on a given day.

The reading of the book about an Ojibwe tribe was also perfect timing for me personally. I had just finished reading the nonfiction book Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer. Treuer is also an Ojibwe tribal member and though his book is not specifically about Ojibwe traditions he does give any Ojibwe examples in the question/answer format of his book. As I read Firekeeper's Daughter I kept looking for confirmation of what I had just learned.  For example, the book beginnings quote has Daunis laying down a tobacco offering (semaa) on the eastern side of the tree before she goes for her run. According to Treuer, "[M]ost Indians believe any spiritual request made of the Creator or one's fellow human beings must be "paid" for. Tobacco is viewed as an item of not just economic but primarily of spiritual value." The powwow that is mentioned in the quote from page 56 is an important cultural event for Native people with dancing open to all unless there is a special honor song limited only to specific people or family members. An example of that is the Jingle Dance which "is a special dance for Anishinaabe kwewag and kwezanswag, Indiginous women and girls who were murdered or missing. For each one ... Mikewendaagozi. She is remembered." Sprinkled throughout the book are Ojibwe words or Anishinaabemowin 'speaking the native language.'.

Several times in Firekeeper's Daughter people mention their allotment, or money they get just for being an enrolled member of the tribe. Getting free money causes some people to make unwise decisions about how to spend it and so tribal elders are always debating the merits of it. In addition some tribal members do not get the allotment because they are not enrolled members. This is also an issue that each tribe has to grapple with. I found it interesting how this issue made it into the story line of the plot. 

Other tradition ceremonies were mentioned throughout the book in either passing references or in vivid details, such as the ceremony of the yellow pansy where women were able to release the pain that was suffered upon them at the hands of men. This was a very powerful and meaningful ceremony not only for the characters but for the readers. In her notes, the author, Angeline Boulley, says that she wrote this book because there are so few stories written about Native teens who are strong, positive protagonists. "The number of the women at the yellow pansy ceremony reflects the "all-too-real aspect of the story, the rampant violence against Native women. More than four in five (84%) have experienced violence in their lifetime..." But, Boulley goes on, "There is an important distinction  between writing about trauma and writing a tragedy. I sought to write about identity, loss and injustice...and also of love, joy, connection, friendship, hope, laughter, and the beauty of the Ojibwe community."

My reading experience: Helen @ Helen's Book Blog and I decided to do a read-along for Firekeeper's Daughter, dividing up the assignment into 150 page chunks. Since the book is nearly 500 pages long, it should have taken us three weeks to read and discuss in three parts. Well, that plan fell flat. As it happened the 150 page points seemed to coincide with a rise in the action every time, with the last 200 pages so thrilling and suspenseful it was impossible to stop reading and wait for the other to catch up. I was the slow poke but when I got to the break point I understood why Helen had to read on. Aside from it not working out to plan, our read-along was fun and kept me motivated to keep moving since I was reading several other books at the same time. Thanks, Helen! 

Firekeeper's Daughter is one of those special books that don't come along that often. Read it. I know you won't be disappointed.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from current book.
The Friday56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56 to share. 
Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.  

-Anne

Hunting for the next Printz book...three mini reviews

The Printz Award is the most prestigious book award for YA literature in the USA. Every year groups of readers try to ferret out the best YA books of the year on the hunt for the next winner. This year I am reading YA books which have earned at least three starred (mostly 4+) reviews from the likes of Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and Horn Book. The following three books have all earned at least three starred reviews, yet I don't think any of them will earn the coveted Printz Award. Let me tell you why.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Summary: "A young teenager, Xiomara Batista, discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother's religion and of her own world." As Xiomara grows into a woman, her mother becomes more and more strict about where she can go and who she can talk to. Her mother wants her to get confirmed at church but mother's religion isn't how Xiomara (X) sees the world. She pours out her thoughts and feelings in a journal, many in poetic style. When she is asked to join the slam poetry club at school, X can't figure out how to attend the meetings after school without alerting her mother that she is skipping confirmation class. Everything seems to fall apart when her mother finds her journal and then her twin brother starts to have problems of his own.

Review: Written in verse, the whole book is one long poem about Xiomata's life. Unfortunately these poems are not special. I am of the opinion if a book is written in verse then the poems need to be special, otherwise the story should just be written in prose. Oddly the slam poems that she performs for the class and for competition aren't included. With all the poems, the ones that count aren't included.  Bloggers who listened to the audiobook version raved about the poetry and think that the book is worthy of Printz consideration. But others who read the print version agree with me that the book's poetry should really sparkle if it is to win an award. Perhaps Poet X will be a contestant for the Odyssey Award for best audiobook for children/teens.

I liked the story line and several of the characters were well flushed out, while others seemed flatter and one dimensional. The conflict: changing body, parental expectations, religious inflexibility all seem to be aspects that teens might be able to relate to.

Source: Print version from public library
Starred Reviews: HB, KR, PW, SLJ
My rating: 4 out of  5.

The Place Between Breaths by An Na
Summary: Grace's mother disappeared several years earlier after she suffered from schizophrenia. Her father, a medical researcher has never given up hope that he can find the cure for the disease which took his wife and Grace's mother away from them. He works night and day at the lab trying to recruit the brightest and best to work on finding a cure. He is so consumed by his work, his mission, he is often distant and distracted at home. Grace, who is also whip-smart, works at the same lab after school as a teen intern. She also tries to navigate life without a mother at school with few friends and fewer support systems. She also worries that she may fall victim to schizophrenia and the reader begins to wonder if she is right as we see her life begin to unravel.

Review: An Na won a Printz Award in 2002 for her novel, A Step From Heaven. She is Korean-American and she often encourages middle school Asian-Americans to harness their creativity and become artists. Her writing is spectacular. The theme of this book of living with mental illness is an important topic that crosses all cultural and ethnic divides. However, this is possibly the most confusing book I've ever read. It is not chronological in its presentation and I had the hardest time keeping track of the "wheres and whens." Also, as Grace's life seems to unravel so does the plot. I was so confused I contemplated abandoning the book altogether but finished it to find out if it finished up well.

I found myself comparing this book to Neal Shusterman's Challenger Deep (2016), which is also about what it is like living with schizophrenia. In both books the reader is given a inward focused porthole to see what the disease is like from the inside. The confusion the reader feels in probably minor compared to what the victim feels like. That said, I still think this book will not be seriously considered by the Printz committee this year. It's confusing presentation is a disqualifier, in my mind.

Source: Print version from public library
Starred Reviews: B, KR, PW, SLJ
My rating: 3 out of  5.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Summary: "Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic...But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope." Now Zélie has a chance to change everything and to bring magic back. But it means taking her life into her own hands and also controlling the magic within herself that she doesn't really understand.

Review: Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer who drew her inspiration from West African mythology and from Black Lives Matter. She wanted to write a story which drew on beautiful images of black people, rather than the negative ones we often see. "Examples of police brutality, over-incarceration, and over-policing of minority groups are seen consistently in the fictional land of Orïsha, reflecting current American society. Children of Blood and Bone is not a story through the eyes of children, but one that shows the forced maturation of children of color in a country that makes them fear the government power structure that should be protecting them." This fantasy tale has everything I like in a story...beautiful/colorful descriptions and imagery, action, and gutsy characters. The setting is exotic and romantic but also a little familiar. And it redirects the debate on a topic and reframes it to give the reader a new prospective on a current problem.

So why shouldn't this book win the Printz? Maybe it will. Of the the three I've reviewed here this one has the best chance. But it is the first book in a trilogy and ends on a cliff hanger. It also is already in the works for a movie. Often the most popular books of the year, aren't the ones that win the book awards. I say that then have only to look to last year when Strange the Dreamer won a Printz Honor and it is also a fantasy book, the first in a series, so it is certainly not a hard and fast rule. Either way, I do recommend this book for any teens/adults who enjoy reading fantasy and want to learn more about African mythology.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it so much. I was thankful for the help the reader gave me with pronunciation of names and places.

Source: Audio version from Overdrive part of my public library system
Starred Reviews: B, KR, PW, SLJ
My rating: 5 out of  5.

Past Due Book Reviews

10 / 16 books. 62.25% done!

ALA announces youth media award titles today!

ALA announces youth media award winners, Feb. 2, 2015
(PRNEWSWIRE Report about the announcements)

(Only YA or books of interest for young adult readers are listed. Bolded books are available at GKHS.)

I.                   Printz Award (Best YA books of the year)

Award:

·         I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Honor:

·         This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

·         Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

·         Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

·         And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

II.                 Morris Award (Best YA by a debut author)

Award:

·         Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Finalists:

·         Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

·         The Story of Owen by E.K. Johnston

·         The Scar Boys by

·         The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

III.              YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Award:

·         Popular: Vintage Wisdom by Maya Van Wagenen

Finalists:

·         Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

·         The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

·         Ida M. Tarbell: the Woman Who Challenged Big Business and Won! by Emily Arnold McCully

·         The Port Chicago 50 by Steven Shienkin

IV.              Newbery Medal (Excellence in literature for children)

Award:

·         The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Honor:

·         Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

·         El Deafo by Cece Bell (Middle grades book)

V.                Coretta Scott King Award (African American Author/Illustrator)

Award:

·         Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Honor:

·         The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

·         How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

·         How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson

VI.              Schneider Family Book Award (Artistic expression of living with a disability.)

Teen level Award:

·         Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

VII.           Sibert Informational Book Award (Distinguished information book for children)

Award:

·         The Right Word by Jen Bryant (a children’s book)

Honor:

·         Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

·         The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

VIII.         Stonewall Award (Distinguished writing about the LGBT experience)

Award:

·         This Day in Time by Gayle Pitman (a children’s book)

Honor:

·         Beyond Magenta by Susan Conklin

·         I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

IX.              Edwards Award (Distinguished author of YA or children’s literature)

Award given to Sharon Draper

X.                 Of the other award categories, no books were awarded this year that would be categorized as YA: Pura Belpre (Latino authors), Odyssey Awards (Audiobooks), and The Batchelder Award (Translated into English this year.)

XI.              Alex Awards (Ten best adult books that have crossover appeal for teens)

·         All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

·         Bellwether Rhapsody by Kate Racculia

·         Bingo's Run by James A. Levine

·         Confessions  by Kanae Minato

·         Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

·         Lock In by John Scalzi

·         The Martian by Andy Weir

·         The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim

·         Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta

·         Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

My thoughts: 

As you can imagine I am over-the moon about I'll Give You the Sun winning the Printz Award. I honestly think it was the best book of the year and I called it!  

I am also happy to see The Crossover winning the Newbery. It's target audience is lower than high school but it is still a marvelous book, so well paced.

I'm shocked that The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender didn't win the Morris Award but glad to see that Gabi, A Girl in Pieces got the love instead. Speaking of Gabi, why didn't it get the Pura Belpre award or honor for books by Latino authors?

And finally...

The Printz committee took a bold step and did award Grasshopper Jungle a Printz Honor. If you have been reading my blog you know how conflicted I've been about this book but finally decided, just last night, it is one of my favorite YA books of the year, so I am very happy and surprised by this declaration.

Read the ALA Young Adult Award Winners Challenge...just announced today, January 27

Just announced today: the American Library Association Book Awards. Join me in reading all the YA winners this year. Several of the categories have winners that I would consider Middle Grade books. I will note those and you can decide if you want to skip them. Sign up to join me by adding your name and website or email in the comment section.

See the whole list at the ALA website here. Honor books for each category will be listed there. This challenge is to read just the winners.

YA Titles, ALA Awards

1. Michael L. Printz Award (Best YA literature of the year) 

• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

2. Schneider Family Book Award (Living with a disability)

• Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

3. Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences (Pick one of ten)

• Brewster by Slouka; Death of Bees by O'Donnell; Golden Boy: a novel by Tarttelin; Help for the Haunted by Searles; Lexicon by Barry; Life of Tao by Chu; Mother, Mother: a novel by Zailckus; Relish by Knisley; The Sea of Tranquility by Millay; The Universe Verse Alex Wood by Extence.

4. Margaret A. Edwards Award (Read one book by the winning author)

• Markus Zusak (Choose one: Book Thief; I Am the Messenger; Fighting Ruben Wolfe; Getting the Girl)

5. Mildred L. Batchelder Award (Translation)

• Mister Orange by Truus Matti, translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Book is aimed at the young end of YA or possibly middle grade readers)

6. Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature (LGBT)

• Fat Angie by E. Charlton-Trujillo

7. William C. Morris Award (First novel by author)

• Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

8. YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

• Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Capture the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb

9. Odyssey Award (audiobook)

• Scowler by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne

10.Pura Belpre Author Award

• Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

11. Coretta Scott King Author Award (African American Author)

• P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia (Aimed at middle grade or junior readers)

2011 Printz Awards announced today!

The 2011 Printz Award books (along with 15 other awards) were announced today. This is a list of the Printz Award and Honor books:

The 2011 Printz Award goes to:

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl. (Read my review here:)

 The 2011 Printz Honor books are:

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Fourteen-year-old Sig is stranded at a remote cabin in the Arctic wilderness with his father, who died just hours earlier after falling through the ice, when a terrifying man arrives, claiming Sig's father owes him a share of a horde of stolen gold and that he will kill Sig if he does not get his money.  (Read my review here:)





Nothing by Janne Teller
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
(Read my review here:)

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
When her best friend, whom she secretly loves, betrays her and then dies under mysterious circumstances, high school senior Vera Dietz struggles with secrets that could help clear his name.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Sixteen-year-old Gemma, a British city-dweller, is abducted while on vacation with her parents and taken to the Australian outback, where she soon realizes that escape attempts are futile, and in time she learns that her captor is not as despicable as she first believed. 

Congratulations to all the winners.  

I can genuinely recommend these books since the Printz selection committee always does such a good job selecting excellent books.

 See the whole list of ALA 2011 Youth Media Services Awards here.

Keesha's House by Helen Frost

"...Lately, I've been thinking about the hurdles
people face in their lives. It's like us kids are just touching
the starting line, with everybody watching
where we stand in sports and in our grades.
They measure us against each other, but no one knows what we
go through to get where we start from...
...He's good at sports. Good-looking. Most of the time, that's all we
watch. But how does someone face an unexpected hurdle?
that touches on what counts. And there's no grade for that." (p. 60-61)

This delightful short book written in poetic style was the 2004 Printz Honor book. Each chapter is assigned to a different teenager experiencing troubles with parents, school, the law, addiction, etc. They all eventually end up at Joe's house, but they call it Keesha's house, where they find peace and a respite from their worries and problems.

Unfortunately this book doesn't appeal to teenagers, even those who really like reading poetic prose. I wonder if it is because it is too concise, too wrapped up neatly, not quite angst-ridden enough. At any rate, it really is worth a look. It is short. I read it in a few hours. I am jealous of Frost's abilities to write poems that tell a story.

A few other books that are written in this poetic prose style: Crank by Ellen Hopkins (and all the other books she has recently written); Planet Pregnancy by Linda High; Sold by Patricia McCormick; A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Stone; Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas; the wonderful triology by Virginia Euwer Wolff that includes Make Lemonade and True Believer.

Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes

I was right when I said that I thought this book would be my kind of book. This coming-of-age story set during the first six days of the school year in 1973 in a blue-collar town in Ohio had everything I like in a YA novel: angst-ridden teens who are actually trying to better their lives; superb writing which is humorous and poignant in turns; historically accurate; characters who are multifaceted-- not just one-dimensional; and dialogue which seems real and well-timed.

Karl Shoemaker wants his senior year to be 'normal' rather than one dominated by the drama associated with the forced therapy group he has been a part of since 4th grade. As he tries to distance himself from the group he realizes that he can't and doesn't want to distance himself from the friends he has made in the group, The Madman Underground. This rag-tag group of kids who all have pretty hefty problems are truly his support network. Adults, like his hippie, cat-loving, alcoholic mother, may let him down but the members of the Madman Underground never do.

The subtitle of this book is: A Historical Romance, 1973. I was in high school in 1973 so I was on the lookout for authentic, accurate cultural references and the book was full of them. Here are a few that I found charming/funny: Karl sprayed his pits (he put on deodorant); the hoods came in the bathroom to smoke (the drug-users, hard-core kids--most schools at that time period had a smoking area but often the hoods would come inside and smoke in the bathroom when the weather was bad outside); Marti drove a Ford LTD (I think half of my friends' parents had LTDs when I was in high school); she was such a J.D. (juvenile delinquent); platform wedges (shoes that gals wore that made them about five inches taller); references to Kent State and Vietnam (The National Guard killed four students on the campus of Kent State who were protesting the Vietnam War.) Barnes did a great job placing the plot accurately in the early 1970s.

Common Sense Media, an organization which reviews books and films and gives them an age-rating for appropriateness (rather than ban or censor them), grades this book as 16+. I would agree that this is a book for a mature, older teenager. There is quite a bit of profanity and talk of sexual issues. But I think that readers of Marcus Zusak (I Am the Messenger); John Green (Looking for Alaska; Paper Towns); and Libba Bray (Going Bovine) will enjoy this book also.

Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book:

Karl talking about his dad's politics:
"Before then I just knew that good guys rooted for the Indians, voted Democratic, and went to United Methodist. I wasn't sure whether it was Republicans, Tigers Fans, or Catholics who were the real evil in the world." p. 195

Dick is Karl's AA sponsor:
"Dick came over to say hi; that was okay, talking to your sponsor was a good thing to do. 'Hey, are you feeling okay? Or is it a depressing book?'
'I'm a teenager. I live to read depressing stuff.'
'Yeah, I remember that. Wait'll you hit your mid-twenties and find out smiling is okay again. But you're okay?' " p.101

This book is 530 pages long but it felt like a short book. I didn't want it to end.
It's that good.

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins

I was at Borders Books a few months ago looking for this book. When I couldn't find it, I asked for help. The clerk told me that the store didn't carry that type of book. I have wondered ever since what kind of book she thought this book was. It certainly isn't whatever she thought. It makes me smile to think about how easily we can all find ourselves expressing inaccurate opinions out of ignorance.

Repossessed, a Printz Honor book for 2008, is actually a clever tale about a minor demon, Kiriel, who is in search of a short break from the fires of hell. He inhabits the body of Shaun, age 17, who is just about to meet his end by stepping into the path of an oncoming truck. Kiriel just wants to know what it is like to experience various aspects of humanness. Since Shaun was going to die early anyway, what was the harm of taking over his body for a while?

While reading the first half I found the book to be both funny and tedious, alternating. Shaun (now Kiriel) is experiencing his body and world anew. Many of the scenes are quiet humorous (and sometimes crass) while at other times I felt I was just reading through a checklist of experiences: wind on skin-check; taste of food-check; comforts of a warm bath-check; sneeze-check; aroused by girl-check. However the second half of the book becomes quite poignant as the demon comes to understand love and the connections between people. The ending poses the thought that perhaps we bind ourselves in our own personal "hells" by decisions that we continue to make on a daily basis.

A.M. Jenkins has created a very readable and enjoyable little book. I will definitely recommend it to my teen readers, especially boys. There are quite a few sexual references which I think boys in particular will appreciate.

Young Adult Lit.; 3.5 stars out of 5.

... and the 2010 Printz Award winners are....

The 2010 Printz Award Winner is:

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray

"Sixteen year old slacker, Cameron, sets off on a madcap road trip along with a punk angel, a dwarf sidekick, a yard gnome and a mad scientist, to save the world and perhaps his own life. This wildly imaginative modern day take on Don Quixote is complex, hilarious and stunning. The hero’s journey will never be the same after 'Going Bovine.'" -From ALA Website

One of my students told me that Going Bovine was going to be the winner and she was right. Unfortunately we didn't add it to our list of Mock Printz books until so late that few team members had a chance to read it. It is an incredible book. I heartily recommend this book, especially for those who enjoy quirky, off-beat tales. See my review of it here.

Printz Honor Books:

-Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith
by Deborah Heiligman

-The Monstrumologist
by Rick Yancey

- Punkzilla
by Adam Rapp

-Tales from the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973
by John Barnes

The Monstrumologist and Punkzilla were on our Mock Printz list. The Monstrumologist was wildly popular with my readers, even those who found it frightening, like me. Punkzilla, a stream-of-consciousness-style tale was not well liked by my readers, so, unfortunately, most students didn't finish reading it. I enjoyed both books eventually, even though they are not be the type of books I normally read.

Charles and Emma is a rare, non-fiction selection by the Printz committee. This book has been getting a lot of attention this year and I look forward to reading it soon.

I don't know much about Tales from the Madman Underground. I'll keep you posted as I have a chance to read it in the next few weeks.

Another happy note:

The Newbery Award Winner was When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I wanted that book to win that award. Yeah! Read what I had to say about this book here.