« SCIENCE FAIR by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson | Main | NEED by Carrie Jones »
February 18, 2009
2009 PRINTZ AWARD
THE WINNER OF THE 2009 PRINTZ AWARD IS JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta. The book is set in Australia, but the story could happen anywhere.
Taylor has been living at the Jellicoe School, since her Mother abandoned her at age eleven. Everything about her is a mystery, but the mystery begins to unravel when the territory wars begins. Cadets, who camp out on Jellicoe Road, townies, who live near Jellicoe Road, and the Jellicoe School students are all vying for property and the right of way through property.
This year the war is different. Taylor is leader of the Jellicoe students and she takes an interest in Cadet Leader, Jonah. Taylor and Jonah have met before, when each tried to runaway from their groups.
As the two get closer and their negotiations become more complicated, Taylor begins to unravel her past. Who she is and why did her Mother abandoned her?
When I started the novel, I found it confusing. Just get through the first hundred pages and you will find a tale that brings tears to your eyes.
I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 10 TO 12.
2009 PRINTZ HONOR BOOKS
THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOLUME II, THE KINGDOM OF THE WAVES, by M.T. Anderson. Caught in the crossfire of the American Revolution, escaped slave Octavian joins the British army in hopes of finally securing his own freedom.
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS, by E. Lockhart. Can the old-boy network at her elite boarding school survive the mal-doings of Frankie Landau-Banks? (This is a favorite of the Young Adult Librarians at the East Meadow Public Library.)
NATION, by Terry Pratchett. After a devastating tsunami destroys all that they have ever known, Mau, an island boy, and Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, together with a small band of refugees, set about rebuilding their community and all the things that are important in their lives.
TENDER MORSELS, by Margo Lanagan. A young woman who has endured unspeakable cruelties is magically granted a safe haven apart from the real world and allowed to raise her two daughters in this alternate reality, until the barrier between her world and the real one begins to break down.
Terry Pratchett's NATION and E. Lockhart's FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS ARE GREAT TALES FOR GRADES 7 AND UP. Avi's OCTAVAIN NOTHING and Margo Lanagan's TENDER MORSELS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at February 18, 2009 3:23 PM