The 2014 Printz Winner Has Finally Been Announced!

The 2014 Printz Winner has finally arrived! Last week, the American Library Association announced the 2014 Printz winner and four Printz Honor books at the Youth Media Awards celebration.

There were a few surprises, and only one (ONE!) of my predictions actually panned out. So now it’s time to break down the committee’s selections and see what needs to go on my spring reading list. I’ll also take some time at the end of this post to see how some of my favorite picks fared in other award categories – they may not have won the big award, but were still honored. Here we go:

The 2014 Printz Winner

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

I did have some suspicion that Midwinterblood would win the award, and had even gone so far as purchasing the book. It is a paranormal book with multiple short stories interwoven to tell a greater tale. The short stories (seven of them) bring together the past and the future while showing how souls are connected through time and place. I was intrigued about this hard-to-categorize book, and plan to read it very soon.

Honor Books

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park  was my only prediction to actually win the award. I predicted it would get the honor, but I also predicted that Boxers & Saints would take the gold (it didn’t win anything!). Eleanor & Park was a favorite going in and one of the most popular YA books of 2013, so it’s probably the most crowd-pleasing pick of this year’s crop.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

Maggot Moon appears to be set in a dystopian Soviet society, but the narrative structure must be what makes it one of the best of the year. Told in 100 short chapters that jump through time, this is a beautifully written, yet challenging, story of a dyslexic boy growing up in an alternate timeline of the USSR.

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

This was a weird pick for the Printz committee, and I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that. Vanderpool’s 2010 novel Moon  Over Manifest, won the 2011 Newbery Award. The Newbery is like the little sister of the Printz, given to works of literary merit for children. I don’t think anyone expected it to be considered for the older (teen) audience of the Printz award. Definitely a curve ball.

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

I didn’t know much about this book before the awards, but apparently it’s set in Renaissance Scandinavia. I heard it described as a fairy tale about syphilis, with some very dark themes. Unlike Navigating Early, this one reads older than YA, even though the characters fit the age range. I think both picks by the committee show the fluidity/subjectivity of the YA age range and content. Interesting picks.

Awards My Predictions Did Win

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein won the teen Schneider Family Book award “for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.”

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell also won an Odyssey Honor, for excellence in audiobooks.

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn won the William C. Morris award for a debut book published by a first-time author.

Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian was award as a William C. Morris finalist.

To learn more about the Printz Award, check out our post on the Printz. And to see all of the American Library Association’s 2014 Youth Media awards, head over to the ALA website for the full list.

And that’s it! Thank you for following me in my journey to the 2014 Printz Winner. I read some amazing books this year. Which of these books will you be adding to your TBR stack?