Margaret A. Edwards Award Books
1988 - 1991

1991 -Robert Cormier
In presenting this award to Robert Cormier for three of his books - After the First Death, The Chocolate War, and I Am the Cheese - the Young Adult Services Division recognizes that these books provide a window through which young adults can view the world.

Cormier's brilliantly crafted and troubling novels have achieved the status of classics in young adult literature.

The Chocolate War—YA Cormier, R.
Does Jerry Renault dare to disturb the universe? You wouldn't think that his refusal to sell chocolates during his school's fundraiser would create such a stir, but it does; it's as if the whole school comes apart at the seams. To some, Jerry is a hero, but to others, he becomes a scapegoat--a target for their pent-up hatred. And Jerry? He's just trying to stand up for what he believes, but perhaps there is no way for him to escape becoming a pawn in this game of control; students are pitted against other students, fighting for honor--or are they fighting for their lives?

I Am the Cheese—YA Cormier, R.
In this complicated, chilling novel of the savagery of modern society, Adam mentally relives his past while facing the interrogation and trauma of his present life as a guest of the government.

After the First Death—Cormier, R.
Events of the hijacking of a bus of children by terrorists seeking the return of their homeland are described from the perspectives of a hostage, a terrorist, an Army general involved in the rescue operation, and his son, chosen as the go-between.

1990 - Richard Peck
In presenting this award to Richard Peck for, Are You in the House Alone?, Father Figure, The Ghost Belonged to Me, Ghosts I Have Been, Remembering the Good Times, and Secrets of the Shopping Mall, the Young Adult Services Division recognizes that these books provide a window through which young adults can view the world.

Through sharp wit and strong storytelling, Richard Peck's novels encourage readers to carefully examine the world around them as well as to seek possibilities beyond immediate view.

Are You in the House Alone

Teenager Gail Osburne's life shades into nightmare as she receives threatening notes and phone calls, and then comes face to face with her stalker.

Father Figure—YA Peck, R.

Seventeen-year-old Jim Atwater has played father to his kid brother Byron since their parents divorced eight years before. But Jim and Byron's world falls apart when their mother dies and their father--who is a virtual stranger to the boys--shows up, wanting to be part of their lives.

The Ghost Belonged to Me—j Peck, R.

In 1913 in the Midwest a quartet of characters share adventures, from exploding steamboats to "exorcizing" a ghost.

Ghosts I Have Been

Blossom Culp is the outspoken outcast of Bluff City, always getting into trouble. No one wants to cross her, especially now that she's revealed that she can see the Unseen. Then Blossom herself is stunned, because her lie turns out to be truth. She actually does have second sight . . . and she is "on board" the sinking Titanic.

Secrets of the Shopping Mall—YA Peck, R

Two eighth-grade loners decide to take up residence in a department store. Little do they know that theirs is not an original idea.

Remembering the Good Times—YA Peck, R

Trav, Kate, and Buck make up a trio during their freshman year in high school, but their special friendship may not be enough to save Trav as he pressures himself relentlessly to succeed.

1989 - No Award Given

1988 - S.E. Hinton
S.E. Hinton's books have shown, over the past twenty-one years, the "lasting ability to speak to the young adult experience, to help reader to become more aware of themselves and of the world around them.

In presenting this award to S.E. Hinton for The Outsiders; That Was Then This Is Now; Rumble Fish and Tex, the Young Adult Services Division recognizes that these books provide a window through which young adults can view their world. In them a young adult may explore the need for independence and simultaneously the need for loyalty and belonging, the need to care for others, and the need to be cared for by them.

The Outsiders—YA Hinton, S.

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser. This classic, written by S. E. Hinton when she was 16 years old, is as profound today as it was when it was first published in 1967.

Rumble Fish—YA Hinton, S.

So far, whenever Rusty-James gets into trouble, his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy, has bailed him out. Then one day Rusty-James's world comes apart--and this time the Motorcycle Boy isn't around to pick up the pieces.

Tex—YA Hinton, S.

Easy going, thoughtless, and direct, Tex at 15 likes everyone and everything. Life with his 17-year-old brother, Mason, would be just about perfect if only Mason would stop complaining about Pop, who hasn't been home in five months. Mason just wants to leave Oklahoma for good. Can Tex keep it all together?

That Was Then, This is Now—YA Hinton, S.