Awards

I’m going to dedicate April to talking about all the different types of awards that YA books, Science Fiction and Fantasy books, and especially YA Science Fiction and Fantasy books can win.  I think that it’s very important that good books get recognition.  Books that win awards get picked up more often in bookstores and bought as gifts as well as purchased for libraries and schools to use.  

It’s important, however, to find out how an award system works to make sure it fits your needs.  Adults looking for YA books that will appeal to adults probably shouldn’t look to awards that are voted on by teens.  Likewise, an English teacher probably shouldn’t give too much weight to a book that has won an award for illustration, but that might totally appeal to an art teacher trying to make a cross-curriculum assignment.  So for April I’ll be looking not only into what YA Science Fiction and Fantasy books have won an award, but how that award is determined and what merits they are looking for in a book that they give an award to. I'll also be devoting all the reviews in April to YA books that have been recognized by at least one of the awards mentioned. I hope that somewhere in the alphabet you’ll find a book or two that won an award that appeals to you!