Mock Printz 2012

Nigel Tufnel would find nothing wrong with the fact that this year's Mock Printz book list goes to 11. It's not the usual 10 title list, is it? It's one more. When @JenHydro and I were struggling to compose this year's book list, we needed that little push that Nigel is so cognizant of - when the stakes are high and the rock-n-roll needs to be a little bit louder.

Grab a shark sandwich and feast on this scrumptious serving of 11 from '11:

Welcome to Bordertown - edited by Holly Black and Ellen Kushner

Somehow I missed the original Borderland series during my misspent youth. The only bordertown experience I had was in FloraBama. Thanks to the lovely Miss M, I recently was apprised of all the urban fantasy fiction I missed out on in the late 80s. This new anthology collects short stories (one is in graphic format) and poems from the space that exists between the human world and the elfin realm - a place that welcomes runaways and rebels. I am most eager to read "The Sages of Elsewhere" by Will Shetterly (who I will forever love for introducing me to the magical Florida roadside attraction of Dogland).

Chime - Franny Billingsley

When ReadingRants tells you that "if Tender Morsels had a love child with Madapple and My Sweet Audrina was the midwife," you start doing mental calculations on the quickest method for getting your hands on this otherworldly creation. Alas, by the end of the novel, I was echoing Sara Teasdale's lament in "The Kiss." What was the source for my discontent? Was it the hard-to-place setting and time period or the cover photo that kept reminding me of Kelly Taylor? Either way, I really struggled to finish this book. For my part, I lobbied for Imaginary Girls to fill the "ghost/not a ghost?, being your sister's keeper, what did I just read" title on this year's list. In the spirit of emulating the task undertaken by members of the real Printz committee, I promise to reread this supernatural novel before attending the workshop. I have a feeling I will have to defend my indifference to some impassioned readers.

Anya's Ghost - Vera Brosgol

My daughter's godfather works for Laika as does the author of this graphic novel. He tipped me off to this delightful slice of teenage angst. With a heroine who reaches epiphanies (in both researching a crime and realizing what really matters in life) through research in the library, what's not to love? She used a microfilm machine, people!

Blink and Caution - Tim Wynne-Jones

You are strolling through the ever-shifting YA section at Powell's one day when you spy a new title. "Pick me off the shelf and read me," the book demands. You read the first chapter: street punk scrounging free food from leftovers on hotel room service trays, fake kidnapping, second-person narrative - all in the first 10 pages. You immediately buy the book for your high school library. Because the book has been continuously checked out, you have had to go back and buy your own copy so you can find out how this noirish love story ends. Knowing that the author has won the Boston Globe-Horn Book award for this novel makes you feel this story has earned a spot on this year's list.

Everybody Sees the Ants - A. S. King

What Faustian bargain did the author strike to get such incredible cover art to grace her fabulous fiction forays? I have been a fan of this author since reading The Dust of 100 Dogs and am still kicking myself for not putting Please Ignore Vera Dietz on last year's list. With her latest release, the author once again treats the reader to some heartbreak tempered with a dose of magical realism and enough humor to make it all bearable.

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness, from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd

A few years back, I read Dowd's writing for the first time. A Swift Pure Cry showed up on the 2007 Mock Printz list. I dutifully read the novel, was completed transported to the setting and time period of the story, and felt such heartache for the main character Shell. Before Dowd passed away from breast cancer in August 2007, she had the beginnings of a new story - complete with a list of characters and an overall premise for the plot. Sadly, she was not able to write an entire draft of A Monster Calls. Patrick Ness, author of the Chaos Walking trilogy, was commissioned to finish the story. Accompanied by illustrations from Jim Kay, Ness tells the story of a boy devastated by his mother's terminal illness. This one is hard to put down; and, much like the yew tree, comes calling into your thoughts long after you have finished reading the last page.

Karma: a Novel in Verse - Cathy Ostlere

Yes, this book is close to being 600 pages; however, the length is manageable given that the captivating story is told in verse and covers an historical event that many readers might not know about or remember - the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Fifteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father have traveled from Canada to India so they can provide a traditional Hindu burial for Maya's mother, who has committed suicide. Arriving in New Dehli as the riots erupt, Maya becomes separated from her father and must rely on strangers to keep her safe and help in her quest to be reunited with her father.

Divergent - Veronica Roth

About all I can say to make you read this book is - throwing down the gauntlet - I loved reading it even more than I loved reading The Hunger Games trilogy. Fightin' words for sure, but I am prepared to verbally defend myself at the MPW.

Okay for Now - Gary D. Schmidt

I was a little reluctant to include this "somewhat-of-a-sequel"/companion novel to The Wednesday Wars (only because I think it will be a strong contender for the Newbery). But, we've had Newbery winners on past years' lists (When You Reach Me took the medal in 2010 and After Tupac and D Foster was an honor book in 2009) and having a title that skews toward the younger end of the Printz age-range always makes the middle school librarians who attend the MPW happy. Covering family dysfunction, the healing power of art, and having a caring adult in your life, this story will require having a tissue handy to wipe away the tears but will also provide laughs and feelings of hope at the end.

Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey

Holy polkolbin and sweet maczola cheese, I love this book! Yes, my opinion has been swayed by the fact that the author claims to have been influenced by Southern Gothic writers. Although the setting for this book is a small western Australian town, I could feel the heat, humidity and stifling prejudice of a town in the deep South. Charlie Bucktin's personal library includes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird - all novels with elements that mirror events Charlie is grappling with in his own life.

I don't want to spoil the joy of a reader getting to know Charlie's best friend, Jeffrey Lu. I'll just say that Jeffrey has earned a spot on my Top 5 favorite YA characters list.

My five-month-ahead-of-schedule vote for this year's Printz.

And then we come to the end . . . perhaps.

*bonus points for naming this bridge!

The Bridge of Clay - Markus Zusak

I heard about this book when the author visited Portland almost three years ago. I have been eagerly awaiting a new Zusak novel since finishing The Book Thief and feeling outraged that it did not win the 2006 Printz. From all the intelligence I can gather, this book most likely will not be published until 2012. On the off chance that something miraculous occurs in the next 5 months, Jen and I are holding a spot for Mr. Zusak - much like Nigel holds his gum on his finger in case he might need it later.

Mock Printz 2011 winner = Group Dynamics

Yesterday afternoon a very committed group of YA literature lovers attended the 3rd Annual Mock Printz Workshop at Fort Vancouver Regional Library's Cascade Park branch. Typically, this workshop takes place in January on a Saturday prior to the Monday announcement of the real Printz award winner at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting. Perhaps the San Diego Convention Center had limited booking or maybe the very first weekend of the new year had the most affordable rates - whatever the reason, the ALA chose a very early date for their yearly business meeting (January 7-11) in California this year.

Because my co-host Jennifer Studebaker and I have to travel to San Diego the first weekend in January for different library conferences, the only day that would have worked was January 1st - obviously, out of the question. As much as I love debating the literary merits of young adult novels, the only things I will be doing on the first day of the new year are writing up my annual list of New Year's resolutions, visiting with my friends Gary and Allan, watching Joe Paterno school Urban Meyer and later willing Wisconsin to beat the Horned Frogs (enough, already with your undefeated season - y'all never could have beaten Oregon or Auburn!).

Jennifer and I thanked our awesome attendees for supporting our event. We acknowledged the hardships of not having Winter Break to finish a 10 title book list and the taking up of one of the few remaining weekend holiday shopping days. We begged to be forgiven. I offered the olive branch of research I had done the week before (in the form of an Excel spreadsheet) that showed a January workshop date would be guaranteed for the next six years even if the co-hosts needed to attend Midwinter (you know, say, if someone had selection committee meetings to attend and major book awards to help announce ;)

The workshop participants (school librarians, public librarians, and teens) broke into small groups and spent two hours discussing and then voting on the book that they felt was the best young adult title for the 2010 publishing year.

The ten pre-selected titles were:

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group -

Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Black Hole Sun - David Macinnis Gill

Wicked Girls: a Novel of the Salem Witch Trials - Stephanie Hemphill

The Water Seeker - Kimberly Willis Holt

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend - Emily Horner

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty - G. Neri ; illustrated by Randy DuBurk

Revolver - Marcus Sedgwick

Last Summer of the Death Warriors - Francisco X. Stork

Nothing - Janne Teller

Amazingly, each small group had a different #1. Once every group had detailed the reasons why they selected a particular title as their top winner, the floor was opened up for individual advocating on a book's behalf. During the discussion of the novels, I was really struck by how many of the titles dealt with the power of group dynamics:

Bartoletti's book exposed the group dynamics involved in the spread of klan groups across the south during Reconstruction.

Gill's book featured a band of mercenary soldiers who are governed by a code of ethics.

Hemphill's historical novel in verse contemplated the power of girl groups.

Holt's book dealt with disparate groups of people coming together to make new families.

Horner's contemporary love story included a group of kids struggling to stage a musical and all the inherent drama (both literal and theatrical) that involves.

Neri's graphic novel showed the terrible price paid by an 11-year-old wanting to belong a group and willing to become a gang member to fit in somewhere.

And, of course, the unsettling actions a group of 13-year-olds undertake in Teller's book.

There was passionate debate about the fact that Teller's book is a translation (Does the translator deserve any credit for how powerful a read this book is? Once a book is translated, can the book still be considered solely the author's work?).

Several people lobbied for Revolver - pointing out how brilliantly the author matched the spare setting of the book with equally sparse language. I'll have to say, the lobbying moved the book up several positions on my list of ten but failed to change my vote for #1 which ending up being our winner.

The 2011 Mock Printz Award goes to:

Nothing by Janne Teller

Honor Books:

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Even though I prefer to have Mock Printz in January, the upside to hosting the event in December is that I will be able to spend this Winter Break reading all the finalist titles for the William C. Morris YA Debut Novel Award and the Excellence in Nonfiction Award.

I am headed to ALA's Midwinter Meeting to help host YALSA's Midwinter Institute: "Teen Services and the Whole Library Experience." Seeing Neil Gaiman interviewed by Nancy Pearl and attending the Youth Media Awards in person will definitely be the high points of my trip.

Here's hoping I don't have to rush the stage if some undeserving title ends up the winner!

Mock Printz 2011 Book List by way of the Beastie Boys

Well, as Mike D would rap, I'm tired of driving it's due time I walk about.

After spending hours over the past week toggling back and forth between Booklist Online, Amazon, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Good Reads, Powell's Books (online and in the stacks), I sent my Mock Printz workshop partner (the fabulous Jennifer Studebaker from FVRL) my top ten suggestions for our reading list. Two rambling voicemails (on my part) and one telephone conference later, we came to an agreement on what to include for this year's list.

Drum beat please . . .

They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group -

Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Every year we like to include at least one nonfiction title. This year we consideredThe War to End All Wars by Russell Freedman (a worthy book on the often glossed-over-in-history-class topic of World War I) and Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by the dearly departed Sid Fleischman (a biography on an actor I have always adored and - just like Pam from The Office - dressed up as for Hallowe'en one October). The decision to go with Bartoletti's book was based on her excellent research, approachable writing style and fearlessness in tackling a subject that will make the high school students I work with think of how people have dealt with injustice and still face prejudice beyond their local slice of reality.

Black Hole Sun - David Macinnis Gill

Every time I think of this book, my mental music player starts blasting Soundgarden followed by R.E.M. Call this my "I have a hunch book"/my Monstrumologist for 2011. So, that means I haven't read it yet, but I've heard good things and I am always in need of a new go-to sci-fi title for my students that love the genre I despise the most. Listen, if a reviewer tells me to buckle my seatbelt because I'm in for a literary wild ride, I say step on the gas. We're off to Mars, readers.

Wicked Girls: a Novel of the Salem Witch Trials – Stephanie Hemphill

At the 2008 Mock Printz workshop I attended, Hemphill’s Sylvia Plath book was on the reading list. I was the only person in attendance who chose the book as my “winner” – passionately proselytizing to the participants that this novel was the most well-written young adult offering for that publishing year. I was denounced, derided, accused in veiled terms of basically being off my rocker – much like the treatment a few girls from Puritan New England received in 1692. I am planning to read this novel at the most apropos time – which, of course, will be the bewitching holiday my Scottish forebears brought with them to America – All Hallow’s Eve. Cue witch’s cackle.

The Water Seeker – Kimberly Willis Holt

Every year, we like to include a title written for the younger end of the Printz age spectrum. This year we chose a story with local resonance as Holt’s historical fiction follows the life of Amos, who as a young boy is left by his father to live with in-laws and as a young adult reunites with his father to join a wagon train following the Oregon Trail.

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend - Emily Horner

Two contemporary YA novels I read and LOVED this summer were The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Horner's story included elements I appreciated so much in these two books (the staging of an original musical/being committed to helping a friend see their artistic endeavors come to fruition and the examination of how we deal with the vacuum that is created when someone we love leaves us behind.)

Finnikin of the Rock - Melina Marchetta

Can she do it? Can the Aussie author snag another Printz? With the book cover published Down Under, perhaps (I'm not too keen on the Excalibur-esque Candlewick cover art). You know how I feel about endpapers that contain maps. You also know that I'm not too fond of prologues - which is how far I have gotten into this book. Miss M swears the story gets better and I have students that start twirling around and working themselves into a dither asking when I am going to read this already?! Sorry, Hugh Jackman, but when deciding between this novel or Catherine Fisher's Incarceron, we decided to show the love to your countrywoman.

Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty - G. Neri ; illustrated by Randy DuBurke

While there were many graphic novels we considered (Red Moon by David McAdoo, Mercury by Hope Larson and Trickster: Native American Tales), the book that demanded to be represented was G. Neri's Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty. Knowing that the author decided to tell this story in a graphic novel format that middle school students would have access to versus writing a screenplay that most likely would have garnered a rating that would restrict most teenagers from seeing the final product made me want to get the word out on a title that will have strong appeal to those students who think there is nothing in the library that they would be interested in reading. This story feels Punkzilla-esque to me - very gritty and more depressing, though, considering it is based on the real life story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, who, at the age of 11, was gunned down by members of his own gang for accidentally killing a neighborhood girl.

Revolver - Marcus Sedgwick

This one seems to have all the doorways covered in a Nancy Pearl reader's advisory workshop: Arctic Circle setting, compelling and mysterious characters, a story grappling with the question of whether violence can ever be justified, and written in such a taut manner that no detail should be taken for granted.

Last Summer of the Death Warriors - Francisco X. Stork

I love that Dan McCarthy, the cover artist for Marcelo in the Real World, has created the artwork for Stork's latest YA offering. When I heard about this novel at PLA in March, I knew I would enjoy reading it. How can you resist a story written in the third person with teenagers named after characters in Don Quixote? You can not.

Nothing - Janne Teller

As the 2009-2010 school year came to a close, one of my students told me she planned to read this book over the summer. I checked out a copy from my local library and added the book to the bulging backpack I lugged across country for my family reunion summer vacation aboard a Disney cruise. What disparity! "The Happiest Place on Earth's" floating flagship mashed up with a novel that has thirteen-year-olds questioning if there is really any meaning whatsoever to life and going to gruesome lengths to desperately prove to themselves that there is. Blæste mit sind!

And with that our list of 10 is done. If you follow my Twitter feed, you'll know that my powers of prognostication are poor in comparison to Paul, the oracle octopus. Paul is from Germany, though; so, I'm betting my euros that he picks his neighbor to the north to win the coveted Printz. Time will tell if I have chosen the right box of mussels.

Mock Printz 2010 - pt. 2

On January 16th, I attended my second Mock Printz workshop. Sponsored by the Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) and hosted at the Central branch of Multnomah County Library, this workshop was the inspiration and model for the FVRL Mock Printz I started with Jen Studebaker two years ago in Washington.

This year's book list included the following titles:

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
Crazy Beautiful - Lauren Baratz-Logsted
tales of the MADMAN Underground: (An Historical Romance 1973) - John Barnes
All the Broken Pieces - Ann Burg
if I stay - Gayle Forman
North of Beautiful - Justina Chen Headley
The Miles Between - Mary E. Pearson
Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork
Heroes of the Valley - Jonathan Stroud
The Eternal Smile: Three Stories - Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

I managed to read all but two of the books on this list. Back in October, I started Crazy Beautiful but got distracted by preparing a presentation for the WLMA Fall Conference and then just never got back to finishing this YA romance. With Heroes of the Valley, distraction was not the problem. Whenever I flip past the title page of a book and see a list of characters, my mental umpire (who resembles John McSherry) yells, "Strike One." If the list of characters is followed by a map of the literary world the reader is about to enter, McSherry lets loose with a "Strike Two." With an 0-2 count, I flipped past the map and started in on a "tale of yore" only to find myself walking back to the dugout with no desire to have another turn at bat.

So, as the workshop began and I faced the group I had been chosen to lead, I confessed to my literary sins of omission. My group members (two teens, one public librarian, and one library school student) were quick to offer their absolution. Newly pardoned, I launched into our small group discussion of the book list. What I found amazing about the group I was with this year was that, for the most part, we all had the same three titles as our Top 3. All five of us chose tales of the MADMAN Underground: (An Historical Romance 1973) as our winner.



We loved that the novel had such a strong story, setting, and voice, as well as, extremely developed characters that resonated with the reader. Wintergirls was our second place finisher. This novel of the horror caused and experienced by two teenage girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia generated a lot of debate over whether the novel provided too much detail on the symptoms of the eating disorders and would be viewed by some as a guidebook on ways to become thin. Ultimately, we felt the book would serve as a reminder for the incredible pressure teenage girls face and the lengths some girls will go to find a way to cope with the despair they feel.

After the final voting took place, Marcelo in the Real World was chosen as the winner with Wintergirls and tales of the MADMAN Underground as 2nd/3rd runners-up/honor books. I was really hoping that the Barnes' book would come out on top (as Karl had replaced Marcelo in my literary heart), but I was fine with Marcelo taking the prize.

Mock Printz 2010 - pt. 1

On January 9th, Jennifer Studebaker, the fabulous Coordinator for Fort Vancouver Regional Library’s Youth Adult Services, and I hosted our Second Annual Mock Printz Workshop. Clark County-area librarians, teachers and teens spent the afternoon discussing and, ultimately, recognizing a book that they felt was the best young adult title for the previous year.

The following YA novels were the titles selected for discussion at our workshop:

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
if I stay - Gayle Forman
Liar - Justine Larbalestier
Andromeda Klein - Frank Portman
Punkzilla - Adam Rapp
When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead
Marcelo in the Real World - Francisco X. Stork
Tales from Outer Suburbia - Shaun Tan
Distant Waves: a Novel of the Titanic - Suzanne Weyn
The Monstrumologist - Rick Yancey

This year's workshop saw a dramatic 400% increase in the number of teens that participated! My math skills aren't the greatest (click here to see my favorite t-shirt slogan regarding my attitude toward all things mathematical); but with ten more teens added to last year's three returning participants, I am pretty sure that percentage is correct. I have to give partial credit for this happy upsurge to my Union High School colleague who designed an entire thematic unit for her Honors English students that provided them with the opportunity to select Mock Printz participation as an end-of-semester final assignment.

So, what were the conclusions that the librarians, teachers and teens came to regarding some of the most outstanding YA literature published in 2009?

And the award goes to . . .



I was quite shocked that this title won. So much buzz had been humming around Marcelo in the Real World that I was sure that would win. On reflection, though, I could see the appeal of this gothic historical fiction title. Paper-ephemera geek that I am, I was initially drawn to this book for the 19th century scientific engravings that cover the endpapers and are sprinkled throughout the opening pages of the novel. Also, I am always a sucker for novels that title each chapter as I feel this sets a tone for the reading that will follow. Finally, I find the device of an author claiming to be merely the editor of a found manuscript quite charming. Taking all these things into consideration, I am pleased that a fellow Floridian was chosen as our winner (even if he does plan for the book to be the first in a series when I would have loved to just have the story end with the monstrumologist laughing at the possibilities the arawakus Infestation might bring).

Honor Books:



The Honor Book winners seemed predictable as these were the titles whose characters stayed with me throughout most of last year and who I kept returning to when thinking of my "Top 10". Both informative in their own ways of enlightening the reader to the reality of functioning with an "excessive attempt at cognitive order," in Marcelo's case; and battling an eating disorder in Lia's, these novels should be required high school reading.

My personal top 3 for the workshop were 1) Marcelo in the Real World 2) Tales from Outer Suburbia and 3) Andromeda Klein (which left a few participants calling for my blood as I was the one who chose this title for the short list of 10 - I will save my proselytizing on Portman's prose for a post on a different day, though.)

Plans are already afoot for Mock Printz 2011. Happy reading!

Channeling Sally Bowles

Every January 1st, I pull out my Moleskine journal and write down resolutions I would like to accomplish in the coming year. The number one spot for the past 14 years (!) has always been occupied by the resolution to tame the paper tiger that has resided in my house since eloping with my favorite redhead to the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas and moving across the country to Portland, Oregon. Time will tell if I am finally able to accomplish this feat and have my long awaited “Summer of George”.

Coming in a close second on this year’s list was to follow through on posting to this blog. I have a tendency to start a mental post (this usually takes place on my work commute between Oregon and Washington) then fail to put keyboard strokes to computer screen.

After giving a lot of thought as to why I have such trouble posting, I came to the conclusion that being an anal-retentive wordsmith definitely has its disadvantages. I am searching for a way to let go of the angst I feel when electronically capturing and sharing my reflections on life and literature with the cyberverse. Having said that, I am sure that, even if I become more proficient at posting, I will still have the tendency to obsessively edit and rewrite; but here’s to kicking the fine-tuning fixation while still providing the goods.

And so it begins

Well, as Sam Cooke (and recently a very soulful Bettye LaVette) sang, "it's been a long time coming." After obsessing for months, I finally settled on a name that encapsulated both my personality and the purpose behind my writing and thus the beginning of my blog could commence. Yes, I fully realize how superficial this will make me appear to my online readers, but there you have it.

I hope you will enjoy reading my reflections on young adult literature, life as a high school teacher/librarian and random comments on atrocities and amusements witnessed in popular culture.