I Read 99 books, but Jellicoe Road Ain't One

Go figure. I read non-stop for over a month in an effort to ensure that I've read all of the likely Printz contenders, and I haven't read three of the five books that actually medaled/honored. What are the odds? Below I justify my actions and react...

Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta: Our entire library system has only two copies in its twenty-something libraries. This book wasn't even on ANY of the mock Printz lists I reviewed. Every single review I read for this book started with that quote about how long it took her father to die, and how she knows, because she counted. And those reasons - particularly the last one - are why I didn't read this book, even though the reviews were gushing. Now I wait patiently for my copy to become available.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves, by M.T. Anderson: Phew, that's a long title! But I hadn't read the first, so how could I read the second? And I had so many books to read that I couldn't read them both. Of course, since my next self-imposed reading challenge is to read all the Printz medal/honor books I'll be getting around to both before too long.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart: I loved this book. I hoped it would honor. It did. Yay!

Nation, by Terry Pratchett: I knew this was going to get an honor from all the buzz out there, but I hadn't read it yet, so it wasn't on my list. My hold finally came in yesterday, and this is up next on my reading list.

Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan: I was in such a rush to put my Printz Predictions together that I totally forgot how much I enjoyed this book and thought it had some Printz potential. I couldn't be sure, but it seemed like the kind of book that would get an honor - unique, somewhat inaccessible to teens, yet immensely engaging and enjoyable to adults. If I'd remembered, I'd have put this on my list and removed Graceling (not because I didn't love it, but because it wasn't as strong a contender as Tender Morsels).

But really, I'm kind bummed Paper Towns didn't get the threepeat for John Green and Christina Meldrum's Madapple didn't get either the Morris Award or anything Printzly. Even though it was my personal favorite for the year, I didn't think Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games was likely to win anything, and what do you know, it didn't.

I'm excited to read the actual winners and congratulate the authors for their contributions to the field of YA literature.