Award Winners

The Michael L. Printz Award for Teen Literature

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. The honor was named for a Topeka, Kansas, school librarian who was a long-time member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

2011 Winners and Honor Books

Ship Breaker written by Paola Bacigalupi---Winner

A fast-paced postapocalyptic adventure set on the American Gulf Coast. Nailer works light crew; his dirty, dangerous job is to crawl deep into the wrecks of the ancient oil tankers that line the beach, scavenging copper wire and turning it over to his crew boss. After a brutal hurricane passes over, Nailer and his friend Pima stumble upon the wreck of a luxurious clipper ship. It's filled with valuable goods—a "Lucky Strike" that could make them rich, if only they can find a safe way to cash it in. Amid the wreckage, a girl barely clings to life. If they help her, she tells them, she can show them a world of privilege that they have never known. But can they trust her? And if so, can they keep the girl safe from Nailer's drug-addicted father? Exciting and sometimes violent, this book will appeal to older fans of Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series and similar action-oriented science fiction

Honor Books

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Nothing by Janne Teller

Stolen by Lucy Christopher