At the end of January every year, the American Library Association announces its coveted Youth Media Awards, which include many book awards such as the Caldecott, the Newbery, and more. One of the most popular book awards when it comes to Young Adult literature is the Michael L. Printz Award.
The Printz Award is given to the author of the best book written for teens in the past year. Only one gold winner is chosen each year, but there can be up to four runner-ups as well (those authors receive a silver medal).
Any reader of YA books will want to keep an eye out for the award reveal on January 22nd- but if you want to do some predicting of your own, the following books are getting a lot of acclaim and buzz, and could be up for a gold or silver medal. Good luck to all the contenders!
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli (9th gr & up)
YA F ALBERTALLI
Pretending to be her queer best friend Lili's former girlfriend, heterosexual Imogen Scott spends a lot of time with Lili's friend Tessa and starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with.
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (9th gr & up)
YA F BOULLEY
With the rising number of missing Indigenous women, her family's involvement in a murder investigation, and grave robbers profiting off her Anishinaabe tribe, Perry takes matters into her own hands to solve the mystery and reclaim her people's inheritance.
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks (9th gr & up)
YA F BROOKS
J.B., Ramón, and Trey, students of the Urban Promise Prep School, must follow the school's strict rules, but when their principal is murdered, the three boys must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested.
An Appetite for Miracles by Laekan Zea Kemp (8th gr & up)
YA F KEMP
With the help of her cousin and their friends, Danna scours the city, searching for her grandfather's favorite foods and hoping the remembered flavors will bring back his memories.
We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride (9th gr & up)
YA F MCBRIDE
When hospitalized for her clinical depression, Whimsy connects with a boy named Faerry, who also suffers from the traumatic loss of a sibling, and together they work to unearth buried memories and battle the fantastical physical embodiment of their depression.
Enter the Body by Joy McCullough (7th gr & up)
YA F MCCULLOUGH
In the room beneath a theater stage, the ghosts of Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and other teenage girls who died tragically in Shakespeare's plays, share their experiences and trauma and get the chance to retell the stories of their lives in their own terms.
Monstrous: a Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer (8th gr & up)
YA GN MYER
Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode.
Into the Light by Mark Oshiro (9th gr & up)
YA F OSHIRO
Seventeen-year-old queer adoptee Manny, now homeless, sets out to find his sister Elena, who is still enmeshed in Christ's Dominion, the community that abandoned him, but the journey is fraught with danger, as he is forced to confront the religious trauma from his past.
I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork (9th gr & up)
YA F STORK
Alberto is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, living in New York City, and is now suspected of a terrible crime; his friend Grace is a top student with every advantage, and she is determined to prove Alberto's innocence.
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon (7th gr & up)
YA F WOON
Known as a fixer, but unable to fix her own life after her politician father ruins everything, Hana is hired to expose the dark secrets of her supposedly flawless classmates at the elite private school she’s attending in Washington, D.C..
