Marshall Cavendish is thrilled and proud to announce
that
My Name Is
Not Easy
by Debby Dahl Edwardson is a Young People’s
Literature finalist for the 2011 National Book Award. The National Book Awards,
administered by the National Book Foundation, are considered one of the most
prestigious literary honors, rivaled only by the Pulitzer Prizes. They were
created in 1950, and are presented
annually.
My
Name Is Not Easy
tells the inspiring story of Luke and other
Native Alaskan teens who are shipped out to a boarding school in bush Alaska in
the 1960s. At Sacred Heart School the students—Eskimo, Indian,
White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some
kind of war going on. Here, the rules are strict and speaking Inupiaq—or
any native language—is forbidden. As Luke and the others struggle to
survive, each has his own story to tell. But once their separate stories come
together, things at Sacred Heart School—and the wider world—will
never be the same.
Praise for
My Name Is Not
Easy
has come from many of Edwardson’s
peers:
"We think of the Civil Rights Movement as something that
happened in the South, but here is a book from the far North that shows a
different, and equally important, side of it... The words soar off the page and
then, beautifully, bring us home."--Helen Frost, author
of
Crossing
Stones
"An extraordinary tale of love, betrayal,
and above all, survival...This is a novel that, like landscape, marks a
reader’s soul forever."—Ellen Levine, author of
Freedom’s
Children
"Haunting and deftly composed... With
fierce love and first-hand knowledge, Edwardson brings beautiful, harrowing,
courageous lives along the Arctic Ocean to readers."—Howard Norman,
author of
What Is Left the
Daughter
The author herself is honored. "I am
truly humbled to have been named a National Book Award finalist. I write from
the northernmost spot in the country, a place as far removed from the media
centers of the world as it is possible to be. And I write from a culture that is
little known beyond the Arctic. All I ever wanted to do was write to the heart
of my experience; to give those readers willing to join me an opportunity to see
what I’ve seen. This recognition means the world to me," says
Edwardson.:
About
the Author
Debby Dahl Edwardson lives in Barrow,
Alaska. Her first book, Blessing’s Bead, was a Booklist Top 10 First Novel
for Youth, a Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, and a YALSA Best
Fiction for Young Adults selection. Visit her online at
debbydahledwardson.com.
Learn more about the book here:
http://www.marshallcavendish.us/marshallcavendish-us/children/catalog/young_adult/978-0-7614-5980-4.xml
