Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick, 272 pages2014 Printz Award Winner
In 2073, Eric, a journalist, heads to a small Scandinavian island to write a story about its inhabitants. The residents of Blessed Island never die, but no children are born. The island is also home to a rare orchid, rumored to be a fountain of youth of sorts, yet the islanders seemingly have no desire to exploit this for their own gain. There he meets Merle, and finds himself immediately in love. But he can't shake the feeling of déjà vu, that this has all happened to him before. And it's not until the final moment that he realizes that it has happened before, but maybe not always in the same way or with the same faces.
Midwinterblood is a bit hard to describe, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful. Seven stories, all entertwined, tell the story of Eric and Merle, starting in 2073 and going back through the centuries. Each story contains certain elements: two people named Eric and Merle, the orchid in some form, a hare, a sacrifice (and more I'm probably missing). Collectively, it's a story of a love that endures, but it's not a romance, like you might expect from a young adult novel. And I think that what I love most about it is that it's about this love. It's a quiet book, yet each story is so effused with that love, that when you get to the last story and really get to the heart of why Eric and Merle have endured for so long, you feel sad for what could have been for them, yet happy for what was. Like many other Printz winners, this is one to recommend to anyone you know who doesn't think young adult books are any good, as well as the ones who do.
(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge)
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