Lauren Myracle is the author of several young adult books that have gotten a lot of attention, both good and bad. Her books were among the most challenged in school libraries in 2009 due to scenes that deal with controversial subjects such as homosexuality and drug use.
Her book Shine was a finalist for a National Book Award for young adult’s literature. But she was asked to withdraw her book from consideration, which she did. It was announced that another book would become a finalist around the same time. That book, Chime by Franny Billingsley, was suppose to be the book originally nominated according to the National Book Foundation. There is a rumor that the close spellings of the titles of the books is what caused the mix-up, but that has not been confirmed or denied by the National Book Foundation.
The National Book Foundation has apologized for the mix up but it has made them look a little foolish. It has also given Lauren Myracle quite a bit of publicity as a result.
For me, I hadn’t heard of Lauren Myracle, even though I am a fan of young adult books. Now I’m interested in reading some of her books, including Shine, since they sound interesting. She is also from Brevard, North Carolina, fairly close to where I live, which makes me even more interested in checking her books out.
You can go to the LA Times to read more about this story.
Lauren Myracle’s books are incredibly popular among the teens at my library, even the ones who don’t read very much. Shine hadn’t really been on my radar until the accidental nomination, but I put it on my to-order list right away– and finding out it wasn’t the ACTUAL shortlister (side note: I already ordered Chime a long time ago) didn’t change that! In a way I’m almost glad for the mistake, because it let me know about the book– though the committee handled it stupidly! My absolute favorite response to the situation is a Tweet from author Maryrose Wood: As Agatha Swanburne said, “To step in dung is bad; to put your foot in your mouth afterward is worse.” Sums it up.
My daughters love the Lauren Myracle books. Both (ages 12 and 15) have read the 11, 12, 13, 13+1 books multiple times. Now I want to get them Shine and see what they think.
Jen
@IC_Jen