Canadian Library Association Announces 2011
CLA Young Adult Book Award Winner and Honour Books
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Ottawa, April 15, 2011) The Canadian Library
Association / Association canadienne des bibliothèques is pleased
to announce the 2011 CLA Young Adult Book Award winner and Honour Books
for books published in 2010. Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel,
published by HarperCollins, is the winner. The Honour Books are
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston, published by Puffin, and
Room by Emma Donoghue, published by HarperCollins.
In Half
Brother, thirteen-year old Ben is less than
thrilled when his parents decide to move halfway across the country from
their home in Toronto to BC because of his father’s research. He
is even less happy when he discovers that this research will involve
welcoming a baby chimp into their home and raising him as a member of
the family. But over the next two years Ben becomes deeply attached to
their new family member and when his worst fears are realized and the
funding for his father’s research is discontinued, Ben decides
that he must find a way to protect the Òhalf brotherÓ that he
has come to love. Oppel’s tale provides sympathetic, well-rounded
characters of all ages, a gripping plot, and a thoughtful and sensitive
treatment of familial relationships while tackling such very large
issues as animal rights and the psychology of belonging and
attachment.
Emma Donoghue’s Room, is told
entirely from the point of view of five year old Jack, a lively and
inquisitive little boy with a vivid imagination and a genuine love of
life. He and his ma spend their days watching TV and playing games in
their tiny home. Or, as the reader quickly comes to realize, their
prison. This tiny 11 x 11 foot room is the only home that Jack has ever
known, and while his mother obviously longs for the outside world that
he doesn’t even believe exists, Jack is perfectly content. But Ma
knows that things can’t go on this way forever and ultimately she
convinces Jack that he must be brave and trust her so that they can
finally be free of their captor, Old Nick, once and for all.
Jack’s narration provides a unique perspective on this horrific
tale; through him Donoghue has created a haunting portrait of human
resilience.
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston is a
gritty fantasy/mystery tale that skilfully weaves elements of many
best-loved fairytales into its twisting, twining plot. Henry Whelp, son
of the infamous wolf who brutally slaughtered a girl and her
grandmother, is himself locked up in the Remus Home for Wayward Youth.
When the school psychiatrist is found dead, Henry makes an unplanned
escape and finds himself trying to lay low in the heart of the city. He
soon becomes convinced that his father may have been set up and that
there is something sinister going on which may explain the disappearance
of the fairies, the mysteries surrounding the city’s drug trade
and the truth of what happened the night that his father committed his
terrible crime. A highly original exploration of the dark side of fairy
tales, Weston’s tale is smart and sophisticated.
A complete list of the 2011 finalists, as well
as information on past winners, is available on the CLA web site, http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Young_Adult_Canadian_Book_Award&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2504
The CLA Young Adult Book Award was established
by the Young Adult Caucus of the Saskatchewan Library Association in
1980. The award recognizes an author of an outstanding Canadian
English-language work of fiction (novel or collection of short stories)
that appeals to young adults between the ages of 13 and 18. Previous
winners include Lesley Livingston, Allan Stratton, Martha Brooks,
William Bell, Shyam Selvadurai, Miriam Toews, and Polly Horvath.
The award will be presented at this
year’s Book Awards reception, on May 26, 2011, in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, during the CLA 2011 National Conference & Trade Show. The
CLA Young Adult Book Award is generously sponsored by Library Services
Centre. The Book Awards Reception is generously sponsored by TD Bank
Group.
The Canadian Library Association / Association
canadienne des bibliothèques is Canada’s largest national and
broad-based library association, representing the interests of public,
academic, school and special libraries, professional librarians and
library workers, and all those concerned about enhancing the quality of
life of Canadians through information and literacy.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the 2011
CLA Young Adult Book Award Committee:
Lisa Doucet, Woozles Children’s Book
Store, Halifax - Chair
Carol Rigby, Contract Cataloguer, Iqaluit, NU/Maberly, ON
Barb Janicek, Kitchener Public Library
Kim Hebig, Wheatland Regional Library
Jen Hoyer, Edmonton Social Planning Council
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Media Contact: Lisa Doucet,
902-423-7626
