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BOSTON – “Bone Gap” written by Laura Ruby published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has won the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) today announced the winner during the Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits held Jan. 8-12, in Boston.

Told from alternating viewpoints, “Bone Gap” perfectly melds elements of fairy tales, myths, gothic romance and magic realism into the story of Finn, who lives in a town with gaps in the very fabric of time and place.

“’Bone Gap’ blew us away with Ruby’s vivid details, fantastic, well-drawn characters and mythological allusions,” said Printz Award Committee Chair April J. Witteveen.

Two Printz Honor Books also were named:

“Out of Darkness” is written by Ashley Hope Pérez and published by Carolrhoda Lab™, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group.

In 1937 East Texas, Mexican American Naomi and African American Wash begin a bittersweet romance. Perez’s beautifully crafted novel is a moving portrayal of both powerful love and a period marked by oppressive, destructive racism.

“The Ghosts of Heaven” is written by Marcus Sedgwick and published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Sedgwick connects four seemingly disparate stories, each of which feature a character haunted by the ever-present shape of a spiral. Spanning time, spaceand genre, each story raises powerful questions about human nature.

The award, first given in 2000, is named for the late Michael L. Printz, a Topeka, Kan., school librarian known for discovering and promoting quality books for young adults. The award is administered annually by YALSA and is sponsored by Booklist magazine.

Members of the 2016 Printz Award Committee are: Chair April J. Witteveen, Deschutes (Ore.) Public Library; Paige Battle, Grant High School, Portland Ore.; Robert Bittner, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Franklin L. Escobedo, Coronado (Calif.) Public Library.; Dolly Goyal, San Mateo County (Calif.) Libraries; Derek J. Ivie, Suffolk (N.Y.) Cooperative Library System; Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido (Calif.) Public Library; Ann Pechacek, Worthington (Ohio) Libraries; Brooke Alison Young, Salt Lake City Public Library; Administrative Assistant Melissa Smith, Forest Hills, N.Y.; and Sarah Hunter, Booklist Consultant, Chicago.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and library staff to engage, serve and empower teens. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to , or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, or email, yalsa@ala.org.

For more information on the Michael L. Printz Award and other Youth Media Awards, please visit .

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