And The Winner Is…
Congratulations to my little (but taller) brother, Andrew Peterson. The second book in his acclaimed Wingfeather Saga, North! Or Be Eaten, went into the ring tonight to contend for the 2010 Christy Award in Young Adult Fiction and emerged victorious.
The Christy Awards honor the best in Christian fiction in nine categories.
From the official announcement:
North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson
In Book Two of the WINGFEATHER SAGA, escape with Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby as they flee north, to the Ice Prairies, where they will be safe from the cruel Fangs of Dang. But first they have to survive the dangers along the way—and the dangers within themselves. Andrew Peterson delivers more breathtaking adventure in this tale for all ages.
Andrew Peterson is the author of Christy finalist On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Book One in the WINGFEATHER SAGA, and The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats. He’s also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of ten albums. He and his wife live with their two sons and one daughter near Nashville, Tennessee.
(Do I smell a nomination for Jonathan Rogers next year?)
A.S. Peterson has crafted a work of compelling historical fiction which begs the question, “Can this really be a debut novel?” With dogged fidelity, Peterson captures the spirit, manners, and social conditions present during the American Revolutionary War. We meet colorful, credible characters who navigate the high seas of life and love, dependence and independence, war and peace, truth and consequence, and despite forays into dark places, The Fiddler’s Gun is beautiful, lyrical, and redemptive.
Walt Wangerin, Jr. strikes again.
Janner Igiby lives in Glipwood, a nothing little village in the land of Skree, on the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Manhood is on the horizon, but Janner finds it hard to feel much hope for the future. Skree is ruled by foreign oppressors, snake men called the Fangs of Dang, servants of a shadowy emperor named Gnag the Nameless. The Skreeans are weak and weaponless. They’re even tool-less. Any Skreean who needs to use a hoe has to borrow one from the Fangs (and fill out the requisite paperwork). And from time to time, the Black Carriage arrives in Glipwood to carry young Skreeans toward an unknown fate across the Dark Sea.
I am not a fan of Civil War literature; in fact, I have always thought of it as one of those weird sub-genres for obsessive types. They’re almost like Trekkies with their re-enactments and maniacal devotion to detail. It’s just not my thing (although I’m secretly jealous that they get to dress up and shoot cannons).
A Randall Goodgame song is like a great independent movie. Characters deliver lines like they were lifted from a break room, a truck stop, or a downtown diner. Seemingly incongruent scenes are juxtaposed and plot isn’t obvious; in fact, narrative–a good story–is often more evident than linear plot lines. An indie movie, like a Randall Goodgame song, seems to tell itself. Rather than being rudely yanked by a chain through a sequence of contrived events, with a Randall Goodgame song, I have the sense that I’m being allowed a willing, but vicarious sneak peak into the real lives of his real characters.
Sara Groves irritates me just a little bit. With each album she makes, she moves from strength to strength and is always raising the bar with the quality, depth, and lyrical ambition of her work. And as a fellow artist, that’s just a little irritating since it means the rest of us are going to have to work harder if we hope to keep up.
I am outside on my front porch. The yellowed leaves are methodically falling from the black walnut in the yard, my breath is chalky visible in the recent cold snap, and lately I have been exploring the unpleasant nuances of the dark night of a soul - my own, to be exact. It is a strange passion we live out on this over-glorified orb of rock hurtling through space at some rate that I’m sure would astound me were I to know what it was. It is an odd series of days, I am realizing, when you question your own faith more than you question your own doubt. And, indeed, it is these nagging questions which have prompted me to share my thoughts on Andrew Peterson’s 2003 album, Love and Thunder.
11-year old Reuben Land, a character in the 2001 book Peace Like a River, provides narration that is clear-eyed and insightful, yet retains the magic, wonder, and innocence of youth. I found it easy to entrust my imagination to the author’s clever method of telling the story through the sensibilities of a pre-teen boy. An author with lesser skill would have either made the boy too smart-alecky for his own good or impossibly cute.
I just finished a book that upon closing it, I felt like it finished me in a sense. A quiet meditative book that reached down and stirred the deep waters in me. It’s Marilynne Robinson’s 2005 Pulitzer prize winner Gilead, given to me by my friend Andrew Peterson.
Eric Peters’s body of work addresses a diverse range of topics, but hope is a recurring theme that gently percolates in the midst of it all. And yet, somewhere between the 2001 masterpiece Land of the Living, and Scarce, the flavor of hope that Peters’s work emits has evolved closer to a tone that is more resolute than what came before. And though the complexion of hope has a broad range, the lyrics from Scarce–while intermittently contrite and timorous as in previous efforts, are now strengthened and bolstered by roots that have grown deeper, radiating an underlying grit and security.
Having read The Great Divorce many times over the years, I’ve found this classic from the great C.S. Lewis to be full of startling clarity and depth on the differences between Heaven and Hell. The only thing both have in common is that both begin in the human will; we can either let Heaven enter us and rule in us to blossom into love and goodness, or allow Hell to infect and reign in our hearts by the daily refusal to submit to Heaven.
Even if you haven’t heard Room to Breathe, its still likely you’ve heard Andy Gullahorn. He’s what I’d call a heavy lifter by trade. He writes lyrics, plays guitar, arranges vocals and adds production help to the work of artists like Jill Phillips and Andrew Peterson.
Allow me to preface this by telling you that I am a great despiser of gushing reviews. I’d much rather write (or read) a scathing dismemberment of the latest Brett Ratner film or Terry Goodkind book than suffer through four hundred words of overblown hyperbole about even the best of things. But when asked to write some thoughts on Frederick Buechner’s Godric, no amount of distaste for high praise was able to intervene. I hope you’ll take what I say with the understanding that I do not say it readily or lightly.
And what am I supposed to do ’till Book Three is finished???
I suppose, in the words of Shankrill the Scotsman, I shall “Wait now, or forever hold these pieces.”
Congratulations to Andrew!! Hopefully this award will usher even more readers to the wondrous land of Aerwiar (they need to know what to do should they encounter toothy cows or the dreaded Fangs of Dang!)!
In all seriousness, it’s a wonderful book and definitely deserving of this award. I can’t wait for number 3!
Yay!!! This book and Lisa Samson’s stellar The Passion of Mary Margaret were the two I wanted to win and they both did. I was super happy.
Congrats! It was definitely one of the best books I read last year, along with The Fiddler’s Gun by Andrew’s big (and apparently shorter) brother. Who’d have thought we shared that older but shorter curse with our brothers Pete?
Congratulations, Andrew! I’m going to have to get this book for my son to read. And it looks like we’ll become fans of the whole Wingeather Saga as well! Maybe you can sign our copy at Hutchmoot.
oops … I meant WINGFEATHER SAGA on that previous comment. Guess I shouldn’t be trying to send a blog comment in a hurry before church…
I am very happy for you and glad to be a fan. Does this mean your going to be stuck up now?
I just read this great news on Facebook: awesome! Great job on the book!
Congrats Andrew! Writing, singing, touring, wife and kids! How do you find time to breath
Congratulations, Andrew. You are a humbly gifted person. We all thank you.
Congratulations Andrew! So many people are rejoicing with you! Hardiest congratulations!
Huzzah! Congrats!
Any book that can make me cry openly (on an airplane no less) deserves every award possible!
Congratulations, and well deserved. I can’t wait to see what the third (and subsequent?)instalments have for us. It would be great to have this as an audiobook too, like On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.
I’m amazed at your time management skillz! I haven’t checked out the series yet, but plan on investing in the Part 1 for my next book selection. Where can I find them for sale?
Elliot,
Hard to believe, I know, but you can get them right here in the Rabbit Room Store
Congrats, Andrew!
The book definitely deserved the award. I’m finishing up reading On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness to my boys, and eagerly anticipating getting them into the second book…
Thanks for the story. Now finish the third.
Well deserved!
Hold on a second. It said ten albums. I thought I had all of them..
Carried Along, Clear to Venus, Behold the Lamb of God, Love and Thunder, The Far Country, and Resurrection Letters II and Slug Bugs… What am I missing here?
They must be counting Walk and the Appendices.
Wow, this is so much better than the Best Cover award that I recall from before. Congratulations, mi amigo.
Huzzah! Bring on the Irish!
Congratulations, Andrew. How exciting to be honored by such a prestigious award. I’ll agree with Pete—well deserved. And I’m not related.
Becky
[...] Andrew won a Christy Award for writing the very best Young Adult novel in what is known as the Christian market for North, Or [...]