Which novel won the first Michael L. Printz Award in 2000?

Walter Dean Myers’s novel Monster won the first Michael L. Printz Award in 2000.

The Michael L. Printz Award honors a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young-adult literature. The American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association created the award in memory of Michael L. Printz, a longtime Kansas librarian and leader in young-adult services.

Monster is presented through the screenplay and diary entries of Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old awaiting trial for felony murder. The unusual format allows the novel to examine identity, guilt, justice, and the gap between how a person sees himself and how others judge him.

The award is sometimes confused with the Newbery Medal, which recognizes distinguished American children’s literature more broadly. Speak was a Printz Honor book in 2000, but it did not win the first medal. Holes won the 1999 Newbery Medal, while The Perks of Being a Wallflower was not the inaugural Printz winner.