Congratulations, E. Lockhart!
For winning the Cybils Young Adult Fiction category for The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. The goal of the Cybils is to honor books of of outstanding literary merit and kid (or in this case, teen) appeal, and the judges certainly picked a worthy book.
According to the judges,
It’s a setting we know. It’s a theme we’re familiar with. But with The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart takes common features of teen fiction and turns them into a smart, fun, multi-layered, action-filled, coming-of-age story with a unique treatment and fresh voice. Frankie’s feminist-fueled and P.G. Wodehouse-inspired antics at boarding school are hilarious, but also tinged with the sometimes-harsh truths of growing up. A book complex and clever enough that wildly diverse readers will each take, and love, something different out of the narrative.
Congratulations as well to the other winners:
Easy Reader — I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems (Hyperion)
Fantasy & Science Fiction, Middle Grade — The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Adult — The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Fiction Picture Books — How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham (Candlewick)
Graphic Novels, Elementary and Middle Grade — Rapunzel’s Revenge, written by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale (Bloomsbury)
Graphic Novels, Young Adult — Emiko Superstar, written by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Steve Rolston (Minx)
Middle Grade Fiction — The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd (David Fickling)
Non-Fiction, Middle Grade/Young Adult — The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby (Bloomsbury)
Non-Fiction Picture Book — Nic Bishop Frogs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic)
Poetry — Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye (HarperCollins)
For more information about the Cybils and this year’s winners, visit the Cybils website.
And a big round of applause for the judges in all the categories. Great job, guys.
The Cybils judges chose well! I haven’t read all the winners, but for sure The Disreputable History and The Hunger Games both were stand-out winners in my mind. Awesome books!