Walden Award

A humble thank you to the Adolescent Literature Action Network (ALAN) for naming 

NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL as one of the finalists for the 2010 Walden Award. ALAN's members are among the most influential (and rocking cool) librarians, reviewers, professors, and high school educators in the country. 

I am profoundly disappointed that I had to cancel my trip to Orlando for the Awards Ceremony on Monday...especially since this Award means so much to me personally. It's given for the three attributes that matter most to me as a writer:  a positive approach to life, teen appeal and literary merit.

Congratulations to this year’s winner, Kristin Cashore, for her imaginative work, and my other finalists, including:

MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Franciso X. Stork

THE MONSTRUMOLOGIES by Rick Yancey

THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY by Jill S. Alexander