Printz winners

Our first assignment is to read two Printz winners or honor books.  I picked The Monstrumologist and Punkzilla.

 The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. New York: Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2010. 454 pages.

The year is 1888.  Twelve year old Will Henry has been taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrop upon the death of his parents.  Dr. Warthrop's speciality is monstrumology, the study of monsters. Will and Dr. Warthrop are pursuing a monster of literature, the Anthropophagi.  Mentioned in Othello, Anthropophagi are tall monsters with no head.  Their eyes are located in their shoulders, their mouth is in their abdomen and their brain is below their mouth.  Join Will and Dr. Warthrop as they pursue both the monster and the reason for their appearance far from their native land of Africa.

A great book for boys.  Full of gore and fast paced adventure.  I was drawn into the story and kept interested until the last page.  Some people might have trouble with what is expected of twelve year old Will, but this is before child labor laws and I don't think it would be unusual for someone like Will to fall off the grid.   I was rather sad to see it end, but it turns out it is the first book in Rick Yancey's new series.

The book trailer can be found here.

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2009.  244 pages.

Fourteen year old Jamie, aka Punkzilla, is on his way across the country to get to his older brother before he dies from cancer.  Sent to Buckner Military Academy by his parents because of his drinking and pot smoking, Jamie does not fit in.  After going AWOL, he ends up in Portland, Oregon.  Writing to his brother as he tries to get to Memphis, the reader experiences what he has been through since leaving Portland. What happens to Punkzilla as he makes his way to see his brother?  Will he get there in time?

The first few pages of the book had me wondering if I would finish it.  The sex and animal cruelty seemed gratuitous.  Shortly, though, I was pulled into Punkzilla's world and found myself starting to care about him.  It was rather like a horror movie when you find yourself yelling at the actors "don't go there!"  The ending left me feeling a bit empty, for I wanted to know what was next for Jamie.  A great book for troubled boys.