Monday Night Printz Reception

Tweeted at the at the Michael L Printz Reception. And the winner is:



The committee also named four Printz Honor Books:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Once Charles Darwin sets his rational mind to marry the religious Emma Wedgeworth, they both must take a leap of faith in order to build a life together.

The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a monstrumologist, races against time to save his town (and himself) from the anthropophagi, a pod of monstrous creatures who prey on humans.

Punkzilla, by Adam Rapp, published by Candlewick Press.

Fourteen-year-old runaway Jamie, homeless and strung out, embarks on a harrowing journey to reach his dying brother.

Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973, by John Barnes, published by Viking Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Young Reader’s Group.

Karl Shoemaker wants to begin his senior year with a new identity separate from his counseling group, his alcoholic mother and the legacy of his dead father.

The speeches were all really funny. Libba Bray had some great quotes. One of my favorites was "Every time you open a book, it is a strike against ignorance...Unless you are reading something by Sarah Palin."

After the speeches, we got to mingle with the guests and authors. There were many big names there besides the Honorees. I saw Nancy Werlin, who sat right behind us, M. T. Anderson, John Greene, Ellen Hopkins, David Levithan; those were just the ones I recognized. There were probably more.

A student was passing around a booklet to collect signatures of everyone there. I signed and pinned one of the SAVE California Libraries to it (yes, I carried them everywhere!).

The best part of the evening was talking to Rick Yancey and his wife. She was wearing a soft gray sheath dress with ruffles and a matching ruffled silver handbag. Her bejeweled sandals and earrings completed the outfit. My group noticed they were off a bit by themselves, so we struck up a conversation by complementing the outfit. Rick Yancey told us a great scary story about a time they stayed in a resort that was like the hotel in the shining. If you like scary and gross, you should definitely read: