ShareThisBy KAREN MACPHERSON
If you're looking for a good book for the teenager in your life, try one of the Printz Award winners.
Never heard of the Printz Award? You're not alone. It's a relatively new award presented annually by the American Library Association, the same group that selects the Newbery Medal for the best-written children's book of the year and the Caldecott Medal for the best-illustrated children's book of the year.
Unlike the Newbery and Caldecott _ often called the "Oscars of children's literature"_ the Printz Award hasn't yet gathered nearly so much public attention. But experts who care about teens and the books published for them believe the Printz has made an impact in the world of young-adult literature _ nicknamed "YA lit" _ since the award was first presented in 2000.
"I believe the award has contributed to this renaissance we seem to be experiencing in young-adult literature,'' said Deborah Taylor, a nationally respected expert on young-adult literature and the coordinator of school and student services at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.
"Many writers in this field have deliberately chosen to write for this age group, and are not just waiting to be discovered by the adult market. In order for an area of literature to grow and develop, it needs the kind of close literary scrutiny that the Printz Award provides."
The award is named for Michael Printz, a Topeka, Kan., high-school librarian and passionate supporter of young-adult literature until his death in 1996. Like the Newbery and Caldecott winners, the selection of the Printz Award winner, plus up to four honor books, is made by a committee composed of librarians.
Books considered for the Printz Award must be designated by publishers as young-adult books, published for readers ages 12-18. Books can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or an anthology.
Defining the literary qualities of a Printz Award winner, however, is challenging. Even those who created the award had trouble stating definitive criteria, noting that "what we are looking for, in short, is literary excellence."
The creators added: "We hope the award will have a wide audience among readers from 12 to 18, but popularity is not the criterion for this award. Nor is message.... Controversy is not something to avoid. In fact, we want a book that readers will talk about."
The first Printz Award winner was "Monster," author Walter Dean Myers' gut-wrenching look at a young man accused of murder. For more information and a list of previous winners, go to www.ala.org/yalsa, click on "Book Lists & Book Awards" and then click on "Michael L. Printz Award."
This year's winner is "Looking For Alaska" (Dutton, $15.99), a remarkable debut novel by John Green. "Looking For Alaska" focuses on Miles Halter, an only child who's tired of his no-name status in his public high school and decides to transfer in his junior year to the Alabama boarding school once attended by his father. Miles, who collects famous last words, is particularly fond of some of the last words spoken by French writer Francois Rabelais: "I am going to seek a great perhaps."
Like Rabelais, Miles believes he is seeking a "great perhaps" at the Culver Creek Preparatory School. Upon his arrival there, Miles meets his energetic and eccentric roommate Chip, a/k/a the Colonel, who promptly christens the skinny Miles "Pudge." Chip also introduces Miles to cigarettes, cheap liquor, daring pranks and, most importantly, a bewitchingly beautiful and troubled girl named Alaska.
It's impossible to say much more about the plot of "Looking For Alaska" without giving away the book's powerful story, and the suspense that Green builds up with the mastery of a much more experienced writer. Suffice it to say that Miles' relationship with Alaska changes him _ and all of her friends _ forever.
Taylor, who was part of the committee that awarded the Printz to "Looking For Alaska," believes the book is a stellar example of a work that captures the "voice" of the young-adult world.
"I have come to the conclusion that what differentiates a YA book from an adult book is intimacy," said Taylor. "Teen readers need to be invited in _ no distance in the storytelling. ...This is something that Green achieves on every page."
Four Printz Honor Books also were chosen this year: "Black Juice" by Margo Lanagan; "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak; "John Lennon: All I Want Is the Truth," by Elizabeth Partridge; and "A Wreath For Emmett Till," by Marilyn Nelson.
(Karen MacPherson writes this column weekly for Scripps Howard News Service. Contact her at karen.macpherson(at)gmail.com.)
