Cynthia Kadohata Wins the 2013 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Julia Kuo created the illustrations. Atheneum Books for Young Readers published the book in June 2013. The story stars a Japanese-American girl named Summer who sets out to make her own luck to save her family.
Deb Caletti, Cecil Castellucci, Peter Glassman, E. Lockhart, and Lisa Von Drasek served on the judging panel. The four finalists included ‘The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp’ by Kathi Appelt, ‘Far Far Away’ by Tom McNeal, ‘Picture Me Gone’ by Meg Rosoff, and ‘Boxers & Saints’ by Gene Luen Yang. In addition, five other titles were recognized on the long list: ‘Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures’ by Kate DiCamillo, ‘A Tangle of Knots’ by Lisa Graff, ‘The Summer Prince’ by Alaya Dawn Johnson, ‘Two Boys Kissing’ by David Levithan, and ‘The Real Boy’ by Anne Ursu.
