And the 2009 Christy Award Nominees are…

by Stephen Lamb on March 30, 2009

peets-castle-smallThe nominees for the 2009 Christy Awards were announced earlier this week, and our own Andrew Peterson’s first novel, the beautifully-written On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, earned a nomination in the “Young Adult” category. Congratulations, Andrew!

If you haven’t had the chance to read it yet, you’re in for a real treat. And the second book in the series, North! Or Be Eaten is nearing completion, so what are you waiting for? Jonathan Rogers wrote a review for the Rabbit Room back when the book released, and I wrote the following for a review on my blog.

My favorite part in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the story of when the town gathers on the edge of the cliffs to hear the dragons, rising from the depths of the dark sea of darkness, sing, which happens once a year. We get the first inkling of the beauty of their song from the opening paragraph of the chapter: “A long, warm note like the sound of a yawning mountain rose in the air and bounced off the belly of the sky. The deep echo was absorbed by the tall trees of Glipwood Forest and was answered a moment later by a higher sound that felt like a soft rain.” And then, as the dragons begin to sing, echoing Buechner, Andrew writes: “All of the passion and sadness and joy of those who listened wound into one common strand of feeling that was to Janner like homesickness, though he couldn’t think why; he was just a short walk from the only home he’d every known.” And later, when the children hear Armulyn, the traveling bard, sing, Janner is embarrassed when he finds tears in his eyes. He doesn’t know why, but tries to explain it to his mom: “There’s just something about the way he sings. It makes me think of when it snows outside, and the fire is warm, and Podo is telling us a story while you’re cooking, and there’s no place I’d rather be – but for some reason I still feel…homesick.” I love reading stories that articulate feelings and experiences that I haven’t been able to put into words on my own.

Here’s the link to buy an autographed copy of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness here in the Rabbit Room store.