Awards season is upon us… I can smell it in the air. Just a few weeks away from the National Book Award noms, and then on into January and yeahhhh…

And what’s more fun than a little awards speculation? Following Someday My Printz Will Come, and they’ve put together a lovely “short-list” of books that earned lots of starred reviews. Aka, a nice reading list to look over before the awards are announced in January.

These ones, I have read…

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Almost everything John Green touches turns to Printz gold (or silver). This one is still on the bestseller list, 9 months later. Adults who don’t read YA have heard of it! Can Green’s latest (greatest?) further cement his Printz darling status? (Please ignore my snark, I wrote a long paper on this topic a few years ago, so I can’t help it).  My (not-so-snarky) review here.

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

Um, I loved this book, and I love when non-fiction gets awards. My review here.

Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson

I’ve heard mixed reviews on this one from Woodson-loving friends and reviewers alike. I, on the other hand, am a Woodson-lover who can’t get enough books about drug addicts, so I’m somewhat biased. My review here.

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

The Printz is not kind to my favorite genre of books – the pink-cover brigade. Second Chance Summer made me weep, but I’m not sure even well-drawn sentimentality traditionally wins awards points.  My review here.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfeld

Not sure this one was… enough for a Printz. That doesn’t make sense, but then again, I’m not on the Printz awards committee so I am allowed a certain level of nonspecific language.  I haven’t read a TON of debuts this year, so maybe I am talking out of my ass, but this one has William C. Morris Award written all over it.   My review here.

My Book of Life By Angel by Martine Leavitt

This book I read for a professional review – I read it once and said, “Oh, book in verse, sad teen prostitutes, eh.” Then I read it again and it knocked me off my feet. It’s gritty, written in verse so spare there are barely any words on the page, and full of literary allusions – an impressive combination.

 

 These books have been added to my to-read list…

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

In this German-translated novel, protagonist Anna is in love with a troubled bad boy who tells pseudo-fairytales and may be a serial killer. Maybe I’ve been exposed to too much Christian Grey/Edward Cullen, but somehow I am not only tolerant of this plotline, I am intrigued.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Everyone from my close friends to review mags to blogs to awards committees to my little sister insist this is a must read. I’ve read about a hundred pages, but it’s a lot of historical for me. I should try to muscle through, because I think all this critical acclaim can’t be ignored.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

I am not sure this one sounds like a true awards contender, but it sounds like a fun urban romp, a la Nick and Norah, worth checking out.

The Disenchantments by Nina Lacour

I really liked Lacour’s Hold Still, so I’ve been wanting to check out her sophomore effort for quite some time…

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth

One of my nearest and dearest Boston friends (who is moving to Seattle in like, three days!! WAAAH!) gushed about this book, so it must be something special. However, I am not sure how I feel about “both my parents have died, but this book isn’t really about my parents being dead” books – it might beyond my capacity to understand how dead parents can coexist with any other sort of plot-point.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Also recommended by my Why-Are-You-Leaving-Me-For-Seattle friend, and also the author of another book I loved last year – Last Night I Sang to the Monster. And if there was an award for best book cover of the year? This one would have to be up there.