Annal:1997 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
From AwardAnnals
Results of the National Book Award in the year 1997. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
- 1997 NBA–Youth winner
- Score: 10.47
Miracle McCloy has always known that there is something different about her: She was pulled from the womb of a dead woman—a “miracle” birth—and Gigi, her clairvoyant grandmother, expects Miracle to be a prodigy, much like Dane, the girl’s brooding novelist father. Having been raised according to a set of mystical rules and beliefs, Miracle is unable to cope in the real world. Lost in a desperate dance among lit candles, Miracle sets herself afire and is hospitalized. There Dr. DeAngelis, a young psychiatrist, helps her through her painful struggle to take charge of her life.
The Facts Speak for Themselves
- 1997 NBA–Youth finalist
- Score: 6.47
At the request of her social worker, thirteen-year-old Linda gradually reveals how her life with her unstable mother and her younger brother led to her rape and the murder she witnessed.
- 1997 NBA–Youth finalist
- Score: 6.47
Nobody knows the American Revolution better than Rock Kindle. He takes pride in his patriotic forefathers and believes that he too could brave any combat. But when he helps his best friend run away from home, Rock begins to question the bonds that hold his own family together.
- 1997 NBA–Youth finalist
- Score: 6.47
After fleeing her alcoholic father’s rage, Fiona finds refuge in the home of Yolanda, a black girl from her former school. But, it’s 1963 and interracial friendships are taboo. McGuigan demonstrates a wonderful talent for creating emotionally complex characters, believable situations, and closely observed, realistic settings. —Booklist starred review.
- 1997 NBA–Youth finalist
- Score: 6.47
Question: What do a pair of newlywed woodchucks, a squirrel, a testy snake, a skunk, and a couple of bats have in common with a family of pudgy human beings named Hubble?
Answer: Their lives are all turned topsy-turvy by a tyrannical three-year-old named Margaret.
Question: Will Mean Margaret ever realize that there’s more to life than being nasty to everybody?
Answer: Read this touching comedy and find out.
