At last Saturday’s Mock Printz, a Hudson Valley Library Associate book club regular, Susannah Goldstein, aptly called 2014 “the year of storytelling.” It was a dead-on observation that applies to so many 2014 books. Storytelling is certainly a theme that’s resonated with me this year. One major question books like How It Went Down and The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone ask is: who gets to tell your story after your gone? I’ll Give You the Sun and 100 Sideways Miles are both interested in individuals as authors of their own stories. Let’s take a second look at two books that also explore story and storytellers: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith and Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero.
In Grasshopper Jungle, Austin uses story (and more specifically, historical context) to try to make sense of the very bizarre circumstances in which he finds himself. Smith’s first novel published in 2014 is jam packed with plot. In her original review, Karyn wrote that Smith’s novel is “…also a head-scratcher, genre-defier of a book.” Whether the giant insects, conspiracy theories, and weird science work or not seems to be a matter of opinion. What really shines here is Austin Szerba’s voice which is consistently written and fully realized. Smith is not as successful with the rendering of Shann, who is more plot device than person. Still, this is an audacious novel that sticks in your head.
Voice is also strong in the Morris Award nominee Gabi, a Girl in Pieces. The diary style allows Quintero an authentic framework for first person narration, and by most accounts, she handles it with aplomb. The novel explores sexuality, identity, and body image, among other issues through Gabi’s documentation of her life. Last week Karyn noted that, “the voice is fantastic, and one we don’t hear enough.” Gabi’s poetry was also mentioned as a high point of the novel at the HVLA Mock Printz.
What’s your take, reader? How do Grasshopper Jungle and Gabi, a Girl in Pieces fare under the scrutiny of Printz criteria?
(And if you were curious, and you should be, a link to the quote in the post’s title.)
