Mock Printz 2026 discussion

What are your final predictions for what will win and what will receive an honor? These can be books we read or books we didn't, as long as they are eligible!

Jenna wrote: "What are your final predictions for what will win and what will receive an honor? These can be books we read or books we didn't, as long as they are eligible!"

Out of the books we’ve read, I think Poet X and Hey, Kiddo have the highest chances of snagging Printz, also maybe Sadie.

From my personal favorites, I am pulling for Damsel, Tess of the Road and Muse of Nightmares.

Sadie by Summers for the medal.
The Poet X by Acevedo, Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Khorram, and Hey, Kiddo by Krosoczka for honors.

I think Blood Water Paint by McCullough should also receive some serious consideration for an Honor.

I didn't read as many teen books this year as I have in other years, but of what I read my top choice for winner is Hey, Kiddo and I think Blood Water Paint and The Poet X are possible contenders for honors. There were other books I really loved but don't see as strong Printz books.

Hey, Kiddo as the winner & my personal choice. Could see Sadie or Darius the Great is Not Ok getting well deserved medals .

I loved Muse of Nightmares and Hey, Kiddo. A Heart in a Body in the World and Furyborn were also excellent. Really enjoying Darius the Great is Not Okay, so may add this to my top contenders.

I'm REALLY in the minority on this, but the book I think is most deserving of the Printz is The Place Between Breaths by An Na. She won the Printz before, and I hope she'll do it again.

Jenna wrote: "What are your final predictions for what will win and what will receive an honor? These can be books we read or books we didn't, as long as they are eligible!"

A Heart in the Body of the World, a significant and well told story by Deb Caletti, also The Poet X by Acevedo.
Two titles that weren't posted to be read by the group that I thought were remarkable stories: American Road Trip by Patrick Flores Scott and Wild Blues by Beth Kephart.

Jenna wrote: "What are your final predictions for what will win and what will receive an honor? These can be books we read or books we didn't, as long as they are eligible!"

I also think that HEY, KIDDO and POET X are the most likely to win Printz or honors, out of the books that we read.

I also think that BLOOD WATER PAINT may win something.

Personal favorites that I'd like to see win something: I'd say BRIDGE OF CLAY, although I'm not sure he really had teens in mind when he wrote it; SKY IN THE DEEP; BRIGHTLY BURNING; WHAT I LEAVE BEHIND; HOUSE OF DREAMS; WHAT THE NIGHT SINGS.

I'm hoping that one of my favorite books of the year wins! I absolutely love The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. After hearing her speak and read in DC earlier this year, I love the author as much as the book.

I feel like Hey, Kiddo and The Poet X both have really strong chances to win! I really hope Sadie wins something—that book really blew me away!

My favorites this year were A Heart in a Body in the World, The Poet X, The Vast Expanse of Sea, and The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza.

I think either The Poet X or Hey, Kiddo for the winner, but definitely Darius the Great is Not Okay as an honor, for sure.

My pick for the gold is A Heart in a Body in the World with Dry, A Very Large Expanse of Sea and Hey, Kiddo for honor books.

I think Poet X is going to win. I didn't read enough of the others to form an opinion but I'm hoping Sadie gets an honor.

Dawn wrote: "I think Poet X is going to win. I didn't read enough of the others to form an opinion but I'm hoping Sadie gets an honor."

I agree 100%, Dawn!

I loved Hey, Kiddo and A Heart in a Body in the World, but my big money is on Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu, such an amazing diversity of women and so perfect for this #metoo year.

Hey, Kiddo is still on my to be read list (haven't gotten my hands on a copy). I actually think the Astonishing color of after has a strong chance of winning. I fought reading this book all year as it didn't grab my interest. But once I did I got sucked in immediately. The story and writing were amazing. I would also love to see Darius the Great is not Okay get an honor.

Blood, Water, Paint is my pick for winner.
I could see any of these getting Honors: Munmun; Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World; A Heart in a Body in the World; The Disturbed Girl's Dictionary; When My Heart Joins the Thousand; and The Poet X.

I kept having to return Darius the Great and The Astonishing Color of After because of holds, so I have yet to read those. Hey, Kiddo was strong but I felt it had significant flaws that made is less strong than some of the others, so I'm fascinated to see how many folks picked it.

Poet X, Hey Kiddo, and I second A Place Between Breaths

I think it'll be either The Poet X or Hey Kiddo but I'm hoping that The Cruel Prince, Darius the Great is Not Okay and Dread Nation also get honors.

My vote is for Blood, Water, Paint. It is beautifully written, and both timely and historical. I would be happy to see The Astonishing Color of After and Poet X get honors. I haven't read some of the books getting attention here, including A Heart in a Body in the World, Sadie, or Darius the Great Is Not Okay so can't weigh in on those. I enjoyed Hey, Kiddo, but felt that the story and characters could have been more fleshed out in places, though the art was wonderful.

This is such a tough year, so many good books. My picks include, without committing to any particular winner:

Blood Water Paint
Sadie
Hey, Kiddo
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler
Darius the Great Is Not Okay

I'm hoping Sadie will win and Darius the Great is Not Okay, Hey, Kiddo, and Poet X take honors.

I know it probably doesn't stand a chance because it's a fantasy book, but I loved Circe by Madeline Miller - such gorgeous writing. I'm also hoping that a free verse novel wins something - Blood Water Paint (McCullough), Mary's Monster (Judge), The Poet X (Acevedo), or Swing (Alexander). Two novels that I enjoyed as well were A Very Large Expanse of Sea (Mafi) and Sadie (Summers). Lastly, it would be great to see a non-fiction book get some recognition - I was enthralled by Chasing King's Killer (Swanson).

Beth wrote: "I know it probably doesn't stand a chance because it's a fantasy book, but I loved Circe by Madeline Miller - such gorgeous writing. I'm also hoping that a free verse novel wins something - Blood W..."

Circle is published for adults so it's not eligible for Printz. Alex award maybe!

CIRCE is not fantasy, but an adaptation of part of Homer's Odyssey - but I am very glad you mentioned it. Both this title and Miller's earlier novel based on the Iliad, THE SONG OF ACHILLES, are superb reading for teenagers.

There once was an extensive discussion on the SLJ Printz blog about what constitutes a YA book, and the participants couldn't come up with a stronger definition other than simply following along with the publisher's designation.

However, around the same time I read an interview with an author about whether her book should be published as YA or adult, and she indicated that her publisher chose YA because the publisher felt her book would be more likely to garner awards if it was designated YA. In other words, this was a business decision, not a literary one.

And I find it interesting that of the 100-125 titles that make up my local high school's summer reading list, probably 85% are adult titles. (The list is revised annually; my public library contributes about ten titles to the list each year, at the school's request.)

Last but not least, one of the all-time great YA novels of this century is ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Young protagonists dealing with age-appropriate (albeit universal) concerns. (Of course, if it had been published as YA, Anthony Doerr would not have won the Pulitzer, and he was already an acclaimed short story writer.)

This blurring of publishing categories has been on my mind, because this year I think I was more impressed with "teen" books published for adults (Linnea Hartsuyker's Golden Wolf saga, The Overstory by Richard Powers - and Circe!) and "teen" books written for middle-graders/middle schoolers (The Journey of Little Charlie, Hey Kiddo, the TRACK series, Love to Everyone).

I did think The Poet X was terrific and expect it to get some recognition.

Thanks for the clarifications, Jenna and Mary. My bad! But I do hope any YA fantasy or mythology-lovers will give it a read if they haven't already. I mean no disrespect to Madeline Miller when I say that it had a very YA feel to it for me when I read it. It has garnered a lot of recognition so I have high hopes that it will get some love somewhere else - in fact, it already won the Fantasy category for the Goodreads 2018 Choice Awards. Looking forward to reading The Song of Achilles!

My library's Mock Printz contenders were The Poet X; Hey, Kiddo; Pride; The Cruel Prince; and When My Heart Joins the Thousand. After defenses, The Poet X won. Our two Mock Printz Honor books were Hey, Kiddo and When My Heart Joins the Thousand.

Of the ones we read, I’d say Girl Made of Stars. I’ve just finished A Very Large Expanse of Sea (thank you for recommendations in this thread) and think that might be a strong contender.

My two favorites of the year are

The Poet X by Acevedo
Hey, Kiddo by Krosoczka

I also really enjoyed
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by Anderson
or Thunderhead by Shusterman

and would love to see either of these win something.

Maureen wrote: "This is such a tough year, so many good books. My picks include, without committing to any particular winner:

Maureen, I just read The Faithful Spy and LOVED it, and I hope it gets some serious award recognition (Sibert, Printz or Newbery, even Caldecott!)