Omnivoracious: YA Wednesday: 2013 Printz Award

YA Wednesday: 2013 Printz Award

by Seira Wilson on January 30, 2013

I don't know about the rest of you, but this year's Michael L. Printz picks were a bit of a surprise to me. Don't get me wrong--the winner, In Darkness by Nick Lake, is a book to rave about (one reviewer even compared it to The Wire) and I'm really happy for the author to receive this show of book love. Lake's raw narrative tells a story of brutality and courage, and in his hands a Haitian boy trapped in the wreckage of an earthquake captures universal experiences of teens (or adults, for that matter), be it love, loss, or hope against all odds. Winning the Printz award will hopefully bring In Darkness the attention and readership it deserves.

I was also thrilled to see a couple of my favorites of last year make the Honor list, including Code Name Verity and Dodger--my surprise came from the omission of a couple books that I was almost certain would make the cut and didn't (I'm thinking of Every Day and The Fault in Our Stars).

What books on the list did you love? Any you would have included in your own Printz line-up?

2013 Printz Winner and Honor books: