LibraryAware Prepare for Zusak's Bridge of Clay

"Bursting with ideas, art, music and blasphemy, this is a joy to read." -- Librarians' Choice

"The deliberateness of his sentences, down to the punctuation, is something to savour." -- Books + Publishing

"With heft and historical scope, Zusak creates a sensitively rendered tale . . . " -- Publishers Weekly

"Zusak pushes the parameters of YA . . . " -- Booklist

"Much like building a bridge stone by stone, this read requires painstaking effort and patience." -- Kirkus Reviews

The YA lit world is already in a tizzy about

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. . .

Bloggers, vloggers, and reviewers for notable journals are all sharing their hot takes, and the book won't even be published until October 9th. But, fun fact, Markus Zusak has always been good at causing a stir. Case in point . . .

At my first ever trip to ALA Annual, our library staff were accompanied by the members of our all-teen Mock Printz Award Club. While they knew they would meet authors at the event, they were shocked when Zusak approached them, introduced himself, and asked if he could eat lunch with them.

While this isn't a picture of the teens from my book club, the facial expressions pictured here are indicative of how the club felt about meeting Zusak in person.

Moving on from memory lane, although initial reactions have mostly been positive, we know many of you are anxious, or at least curious, to get your hands on a copy of Bridge of Clay. And there are those inevitable questions everyone is asking:

How will it compare to The Book Thief?
Do I have time to read a 600 page book?
Will teens read it or will they be turned off by the heft and rumored leisurely pace?
And why is the pet budgie named Telemachus? Or the donkey Achilles?

Do you have thoughts about Bridge of Clay? Email us. Whether it's reporting your current hold list or sharing your forecast, I would love to hear from you.

Hooroo to ya,

Lindsey

#loveozya

Although Zusak is certainly the most popular Australian author for teens at the moment, there are many Australian authors and books to appreciate. NoveList librarians are working hard to give these titles and authors their due. Want to explore some of the bounty?

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