The Lucy Variations, Sara Zarr Little, Brown Books For Young Readers, May 2013 Reviewed from ARC If you stop doing the thing that defined you and made you special for most of your life, who are you and can you ever move on? The Lucy Variations is a meditation on the classic young adult themes of [...]
Review: Aristotle and Dante
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Simon & Schuster BFYR. 2012. Copy from library. Printz Honor Book. The Plot: Summer, 1987. Angel Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza is fifteen, and it’s the start of another lonely, hot summer in El Paso. Bored, he goes to the local swimming even though [...]
Review: The White Bicycle
The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna. Red Deer Press. 2012. Printz Honor Book. Library copy. The Plot: Taylor Jane Simon, 19, is in France for her summer job, being a personal care assistant for her friend Luke Phoenix’s younger brother, Martin Phoenix. Unfortunately, Taylor Jane’s mother has tagged along. It only makes sense; Penny Simon’s mother [...]
Review: In Darkness
Nick’s Picks | The 2013 American Library Association Award Winners
ALA Midwinter: SLJ Resources on the Youth Media Award Winners

With the Youth Media Awards having been announced Monday January 28, buzz around the Caldecott-winning This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick), the Newbery-winning The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins), and the Printz-winning In Darkness (Bloomsbury), is higher than ever. School Library Journal has compiled a list of relevant blog posts, reviews, interviews, and articles related to the winners and honor books.
Round Up (Austen Style!)
Alright, y’all, I’m having a rough blog post, OK? Because I have here two books that I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed reading for myself. But when I switch to my magical Printz-o-vision, neither Keeping the Castle nor For Darkness Shows the Stars stands up to a more critical analysis. Pity me, the poor [...]
Radiant Days?
Radiant Days, Elizabeth Hand
Viking, April 2012
Reviewed from final copy (that I bought for myself the day it came out)
I’ve probably said this before, but by and large I love this blog. I love talking to intelligent, passionate people about books. I love disagreeing and I love having my mind changed. I even love, although sometimes [...]
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth
Balzer + Bray, February 2012
Reviewed from ARC
There’s a lot to discuss here. A lot of win and a lot of flaw, really.
Let’s start with win, which is the writing.
The writing is mature, sophisticated, free of unnecessary embellishments. There are marks of the author’s MFA; there is a style [...]
Chopsticks
Chopsticks, Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
Razorbill, February 2012
Reviewed from Final Copy
Chopsticks is a particularly interesting item from the buzzed-about portion of our contenda list. It’s a fascinating format — available digitally and physically — full of arresting visuals and links to outside media. Although there are very few words on each page, the visual elements [...]
You may have noticed that John Green wrote a book this year
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Dutton, January 2012
Reviewed from final copy
This is easily one of the biggest titles of the year — six starred reviews! Big time buzz! John Green! Previous Printz winner! Nerdfighters! — so we’ve been thinking about it for a while. Since this is a book from a former Printz winner [...]
Contendas!
Here it is: the Someday My Printz Will Come list of possible Printzs!
This list comprises those books that we, speaking as Printz veterans and YA librarians/reviewers/bloggers, feel very very sure the RealCommittee is looking at, and that we are therefore planning to discuss here.
How can we be sure?
Not gonna lie, there’s probably a little bit [...]
SLJ’s Printz Blog Has Returned

Once upon a time, a new blog discussing possible contenders for the annual Michael L. Printz Award for exemplary teen titles was born on SLJ.com. Now in its second year, Someday My Printz Will Come is back and ready to take on the challenge of speculating which literary gem will wear this year’s crown.
The Whys & Wherefores of the Printz Award, Part 1
I’m thinking if you’ve gotten as far as reading this blog, you probably know a little something about the Printz, more formally known as the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.
But maybe not, because (and this is a matter of some concern for us) it’s not a well known award, although [...]








