YA Literature Winner
Posted by Liza's Journal at 11/15/2007 12:48 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
The National Book Foundation announced that among its 2007 winners, Sherman Alexie won the Young People's Literature Prize for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown & Company). The story is based on the author’s own experiences. The description is "a heartbreaking, yet funny story that chronicles the adolescence of one contemporary Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he seems destined to live." I haven't yet read it, but I plan to. As a YA writer, it's always a good idea to learn what quality literature is being published for teens. Besides, I have found that some of the best books out there are written for middle grade and young adult readers.
I have read this book and reviewed it. It is wonderful, but because it is so realistic about boys and masturbation, it probably won't make school libraries until it wins prizes. Hopefully it will, as then librarians can use that as a wedge to get the book into libraries for all their students who need to form their own place in the world.
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You mean Hugo? I suspect a lot is about to change for the book. And that's wonderful. Have librarians had trouble with the book?
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Not Hugo Cabret. It is wonderful,isn't it? I meant Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I loved it, but knew it would have trouble getting into libraries without an award to make it more acceptable for others.
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