2014 Michael L. Printz Winners

2014 Winner

Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

Midwinterblood

By Marcus Sedgwick

Published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group

Doomed love circles back through the centuries in a series of seven intricately plotted, interlocking stories set on a mysterious, isolated island. Forgetting and remembering, blessed and cursed, modern and ancient, these dualities brilliantly infuse the novel’s lush landscape.

2014 Honor Books

Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park

By Rainbow Rowell

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin (Macmillan)

Unlikely love blossoms on the bus when two unique, exceptional souls find strength in each other’s differences in Rowell’s emotionally charged and hopeful novel.

Kingdom of Little Wounds

Kingdom of Little Wounds

By Susann Cokal

Published by Candlewick Press

Impeccably researched and darkly disturbing, this complex literary tale reveals the sordid side of palace life in a 16th century Scandinavian kingdom where the royal family, the Lunedies, is cursed by a mysterious illness, and political machinations cast doubt on who will rule.

MAGGOT MOON

MAGGOT MOON

By Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch

Published by Candlewick Press

In Sally Gardner’s explosively original dystopian novel, Standish Treadwell and his grandfather show quiet defiance in the face of the oppressive, merciless Motherland. The cleverly parallel illustrations highlight a story as offbeat and perceptive as Standish and his mismatched eyes.

Navigating Early

Navigating Early

By Clare Vanderpool

Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, Penguin Random House Company

Jack Baker, uprooted suddenly after his mother’s death, and Early Auden, the strangest of boys, meet at a Maine boarding school. Their friendship culminates in a treacherous quest and unexpected self-discovery. Vanderpool delivers an emotionally powerful novel in an untamed setting as the boys head up river in search of the Great Appalachian Bear. The award, first given in 2000, is named for the late Michael L. Printz, a Topeka, Kan., school librarian known for discovering and promoting quality books for young adults.

Members of the 2014 Printz Award Committee are: Chair Jennifer Lawson, San DiegoCounty Library; Michael Fleming, Pacific Cascade Middle School Library, Issaquah, Wash.; Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library; GregoryLum, Jesuit High School, Portland, Ore.; Steve Matthews, Currier Library, Foxcroft School, Middleburg, Va.; Rachel McDonald, King County(Wash.)Library System; Elizabeth Schneider, Monrovia (Calif.) Public Library; Sarah Wethern, Douglas County Library, Alexandria, Minn.; Emily Williams, Metropolitan Library System, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Award Administrative Assistant Mara Cota, Half Moon Bay (Calif.) Library; and Ilene Cooper, Booklist consultant, Chicago.

Previous Winners

View a complete list of Michael L. Printz winners and honor book authors.

More information on previous winners.