Young Adult Novels by Donna Jo Napoli

THE MAGIC CIRCLE
1993 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45127-7) (pb 1995 Puffin)

  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • BULLETIN OF THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS Blue Ribbon Book
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • American Library Association Recommended Books for Reluctant Readers
  • American Library Association Notable
  • BOOKLIST Children's Editor's Choice
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • Volunteer State Book Award Master List in Tennessee
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • nominated Garden State Teen Book Award, New Jersey
  • book of the month Philadelphia Children's Reading Round Table
  • available in cassette through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
  • published in German (1995 Sauerländer IM ZAUBERKREIS ISBN 3-7941-4101-6)
  • published in Dutch (1996 Averbode HET GEVECHT MET DE DUIVELS ISBN 90-317-1333-3)
  • published in Japanese (2000 Aoyama Shuppansha ISBN 4-89998-003-5)
  • published in Chinese (2003 Pennant Cultural Publishing Co. ISBN 957-6774721)
  • performed as musical at Media Theatre, Media, PA, Feb., 2001

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...genuine magic and suspense ...will captivate adults as well...

 

From KIRKUS: ...extraordinary artistry... richly poetic yet accessible and immediate, pungent and wise, mesmerizing...

 

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ...richly imagined ...sure to change readers' views of this much maligned figure forever...

 

 

ZEL
1996 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45612-0) (pb 1998 Puffin)

  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
  • BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS Blue Ribbon Book
  • BOOKLIST "Books of Special Note"
  • American Booksellers Association Pick of the List
  • American Library Association Young Adults (YALSA) popular paperbacks
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • Junior Library Guild
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
  • Maine Student Book Award Master List
  • Voice of Youth Advocates Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror List
  • Missouri State Teachers Association Reading Circle Selection List
  • Notable Carolyn W. Field Award, Pennsylvania Library Association
  • Honor Book YOUNG CRITICS' TOP CHOICES FROM THE LAST SIX YEARS, 1997
  • audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-3529-2)
  • available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • published in Danish (1999 Carlsen ZEL ISBN 87-562-7748-2)
  • published in Chinese (1999 Academy Press-Xue Yuan ISBN 7- 5077-0877-2)
  • published in Japanese (2008 Poplar-Sha ISBN 978-4-591-10494-1)

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From KIRKUS: ... rich, complex ...A passionate, painful elaboration of the story of Rapunzel...

 

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... A work of depth and beauty... The genius of the novel lies in its breadth of vision...

 

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ...This version will challenge readers to think about this old story on a deeper level. It begs for discussion in literature classes...

 

SONG OF THE MAGDALENE
(originally 1996 Scholastic (ISBN 0-590-93705-7) with pb 1998)
reissued and available in pb 2004 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-87396-4) (available on Kindle 2012)

  • American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list
  • boxed review BOOKLIST

reviews another review another review For a recording of the author reading, please click here.

From BOOKLIST: ... With richness of detail and depth of feeling, Napoli introduces the biblical figure Mary Magdalene... Lyrical and layered...

 

STONES IN WATER (first in a series with FIRE IN THE HILLS)
1997 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-45842-5) (pb 1999)

  • Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 1998
  • Sydney Taylor Book Award presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries 1998
  • Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association
  • nominated Nebraska Golden Sower Young Adult Award
  • nominated Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award of Illinois
  • North Carolina Battle of the Books 2012-2013
  • American Library Association Best Books
  • American Library Association Notable
  • National Council of Social Studies Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • boxed starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • New York Public Library Best Books
  • nominated Allen White Children's Book Award, Kansas
  • nominated Young Hoosier Book Award, Indiana
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
  • nominated Maud Hart Lovelace Award, Minnesota
  • available in braille and in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • published in Dutch (1998 Averbode SAMEN STERK ISBN 90-317-1381-3)
  • published in Danish (1999 Carlsen SOM STEN I VAND ISBN 87-562-8086-6)
  • published in England (1999 Oxford U Press ISBN 0-19-271798-7, also in paperback)
  • published in German (2001 Carl Hanser Verlag FLUCHT NACH VENEDIG ISBN 3-446-20012-6)
  • published in Korean (2008 Pulbit Publishing Co. ISBN 978-89-7474-621-6)
  • Performed as drama at Media Theatre, Media, PA, 2003

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... Few books view the Holocaust from this vanage point...

 

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...Children will be riveted by Roberto's struggle to stay alive -- and aid others along the way -- against enormous odds...

 

From KIRKUS: ... Riveting... A memorable survival story...

 

FOR THE LOVE OF VENICE
1998 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32531-2) (pb 2000)

  • New York Public Library Best Books
  • Highlights Free Library of Philadelphia
  • Boxed review BOOKLIST
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

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From BOOKLIST:... writing is strong and sure... story is nicely laced with romance ...

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL:... paints Venice with loving detail that is a gift to the senses... Offers a unique slant on contemporary politics and perspectives couched in exotic romance



SIRENA
1998 Scholastic (ISBN 978-0-590-38388-2) (pb 2000) (available on Kindle 2012)

  • American Library Association Best Books
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Roundup List
  • Nebula nomination
  • New York Public Library Best Books
  • International Reading Association Children's Choices
  • Highlights Free Library of Philadelphia
  • Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice for Young Adults
  • available in braille through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • published in Chinese (2005 Muses Publishing in Taiwan 0800-221029 and 02-22181142 and 957-29530-6-0, as well as Shanghai Literature and Art in Mainland China)
  • to be published in Thai by Matichon Publishing House

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... absorbing ... mythic aspects

 

From BOOKLIST: ... rich in insight, fine language, and a look at truth told aslant... full of the sweetness of longing, romance, and the space and togetherness needed for any close relationship.

 

SPINNERS

coauthored

1999 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-46065-9) (pb 2001)

  • Junior Library Guild
  • boxed review BOOKLIST
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association
  • South Carolina Book Award Master List

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From BOOKLIST: ...Love, pride, greed, magic, and revenge: what a wonderful read.

 

CRAZY JACK
1999 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32627-0) (pb 2001)

  • Junior Library Guild
  • Smithsonian's Notable Books
  • starred review BOOKLIST
  • starred review BULLETIN FOR THE CENTER OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS
  • starred review VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
  • Tennessee Master List, Volunteer State Book Award
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-3047-9)
  • audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-4010-5)
  • available in cassette through National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  • published in Japanese (2006 Julian ISBN 4-902584-14X)

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From BOOKLIST: ... beautifully written... romance, adventure, fantasy...

From VOYA: ...subtle highlighting of the need to work hard, yet appreciate the beauty in life...

From KIRKUS: ...Gripping... dark and psychologically truthful...

From the HORN BOOK:... everyday magic that makes life worth living.

 

BEAST
2000 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-83589-2) (pb 2002)

  • SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
  • Junior Library Guild
  • VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES "Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers"
  • VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES "Best Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror"
  • finalist for 2001 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review THE HORN BOOK
  • audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 0-7887-5227-8)
  • Washington DC's Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children
  • Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Pennsylvania Library Association
  • Keystone Young Adult Book Award list
  • YALSA 100 Great Books for Teens
  • 2001-2002 Texas Tayshas Reading List
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • available in cassette through Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
  • available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7421-2)
  • published in Farsi (2003 Peydayesh ISBN 964 349 169 2)
  • published in Japanese (2005 Julian ISBN 4-902584-13-1)

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For a description of Donna Jo's visit to Iran in 2005, click here:

 

From THE HORN BOOK: ... brings immediacy and vitality to the beast

From KIRKUS:.. sensual and brillliant imagining... Compelling, relentless, erotic.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... rich language and gracefully formal prose portraying Beast's poignant search for his place in the world...

From LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS: Besides creating unconventional viewpoint characters, Napoli is a master of atmosphere ...a deep immersion into an unfamiliar world... anguish... integrity ... true love.

 

DAUGHTER OF VENICE
2002 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-90036-8) (pb 2003)

  • Nevada Young Readers Award
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • Booksense 76
  • starred review VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Master List, Vermont
  • YALSA 100 Great Books for Teens
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • excerpted in READ vol.53, no. 15, March 19, 2004
  • published in England (2002 Walker Books, Ltd. ISBN 0-7445-9059-0; 2004, pb ISBN 0-7445-9080-9)
  • published in German (2003 Fischer Schatzinsel DONATA, TOCHTER VENEDIGS ISBN 3-596-85124-6)

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From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ...Even when acting rebelliously, [the main character's] actions and thoughts feel authentic to the time and world... engrossing and exotic...

 

From VOYA: ... engaging... exciting... thoroughly satisfying end ing...

 

THE GREAT GOD PAN
2003 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-32777-3) (pb 2005)

  • starred review KIRKUS
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror list, VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES

 

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From KIRKUS: ...the otherworld of myth, the lush and varying landscapes... pulsing with erotic tension... elegant and tragic solution

From BOOKLIST: ... breathtaking language about nature, music, and desire. Teen readers will swoon.


BREATH
2003 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-86174-5) (pb 2005)

  • Golden Kite Honor Book
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review KLIATT
  • Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers list
  • Renaissance Learning recommended list
  • American Library Association Young Adults (YALSA) Popular Paperback
  • available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7420-4).
  • published in Chinese (2006 Muses Publishing House ISBN 986 739913-7)
  • published in German by Patmos Verlagshaus GmbH & Co.
  • to be published in Japanese by Julian.

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From KIRKUS: ...compelling mystery.... fully realized characters...

From KLIATT: ...vividly evokes the harsh and superstitious medieval world... nightmarish but memorable.

 

NORTH
2004 Greenwillow (ISBN 0-06-057987-0) (pb 2005) (available on Kindle 2012)

  • Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award
  • South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee
  • published in Spanish (2005 Destino. Barcelona. HACIA EL NORTE ISBN 84-08-05765-0)
  • published in German (2006 Carl Hanser Verlag NACH NORDEN ISBN 3-446-20645-0)
  • audiocassette with Recorded Books (ISBN 1-4025-9927-7)
  • selections read on Vermont Public Radio in spring, 2005

 

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From BOOKLIST: ...Idyllic, yet with an authentic feel... [takes] readers on a journey they won't forget soon.

From KIRKUS: ... fascinating [journey], organically incorporating a wealth of detail about the Arctic and its human and non-human inhabitants.

 

BOUND
2004 Simon & Schuster (ISBN 0-689-86175-3) (pb 2006)

  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Books
  • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Books
  • KIRKUS Editor's Choice
  • BOOKLIST Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review BOOKLIST
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • Junior Library Guild
  • American Library Association Young Adults (YALSA) Popular Paperbacks
  • nominated for Kentucky Bluegrass Award
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Master List (Vermont)
  • South Carolina Junior Book Award List
  • available in large print from Thorndike (ISBN 0-7862-7419-0)
  • published in German (2008 Patmos Verlagshaus ISBN 978-3-7941-8047-9)
  • published in Japanese (2009 Akane Shobo ISBN 978-4-2510-6662-6)

To hear the first chapter read by the author, click here.

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From KIRKUS: ...finely crafted... ending has spart, resonance, and a relievingly appealing prince. Deliberate and satisfying.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... powerful and moving... dramatic and masterful retelling.

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...masterly third-person narrative... incorporates spiritual beliefs... authentic to her time... will have readers racing to the finish.

From BOOKLIST: ... unforgettable characters... themes of freedom, captivity, love, human rights...balanced between terror and tenderness... both subversive and rooted in tradition.

 

THE KING OF MULBERRY STREET
2005 Delacorte (ISBN 0-385-74653-9) (pb 2007)

  • Sydney Taylor Honor Book presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries 2006
  • Junior Library Guild
  • Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award
  • starred review in KIRKUS
  • starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
  • Sons of Italy National Book Club selection
  • Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (by NCSS and CBC)
  • Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award List (Vermont)
  • Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Master List
  • Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee
  • Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award Master List, Intermediate Category
  • Graden State Book Award Nominee (New Jersey)
  • to be published in Japanese (Kaiseisha Publishing)

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...credibly expands the narrator's awareness, as he begins to recognize some of the unspeakable cruelties going on around him yet manages to extend kindnesses to others...

From KIRKUS: ... powerfully vivid.. always-immaculate prose... as real and as tangible as possible...

 

FIRE IN THE HILLS (sequel to STONES IN WATER) (pb 2008)
2006 Dutton (ISBN 0-525-47751-9)

  • Carolyn W. Field Honor Book, Pennsylvania Library Association

 

 

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From KIRKUS: ... powerful.. strong, action-packed ode to the Italian resistance movement... a side of WWII that will fascinate readers...

 

HUSH: An Irish Princess' Tale
2007 Atheneum (Simon & Schuster) (ISBN 0-689-86176-1) (pb 2008)

  • American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
  • Young-Adult Round Table of the Texas Library Association (TAYSHAS) selection
  • Bank Street Best Books selection
  • starred review KIRKUS
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
  • Miami Herald's Best Books of the Year list
  • New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
  • published in German (2011 Patmos Verlagshaus MELKORKAS SCHWEIGEN ISBN: 978-3-7941-8085-1)

 

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From KIRKUS: ... spellbinding... rich in details both tender and blood-soaked... vivid, precise, cinematic.

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ... powerful exploration of what it means to have a voice.

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... tension over Mel's hopes for escape paces this story like a thriller.

 

THE SMILE
2008 Dutton (ISBN 978-0-525-47999-4) (pb 2009)

  • Bank Street Best Books selection
  • highlighted review VOYA (5Q)
  • published in German (2009 Fischer Schatzinsel DAS GEHEIMNISVOLLE LÄCHELN ISBN978-3-596-85378-6)
  • published in Greek (2009 Agyra Publishing House, Athens ΤΟ ΧΑΜΟΓΕΛΟ ISBN 978-960-422-811-9)
  • to be published in Polish by Wydawnictwo Jaguar
  • to be published in Australia and New Zealand (Random House Australia)

 

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From VOYA:... spot-on flair for infusing history with emotion...

From KIRKUS: ... magnificent and mournful portrait of the Italian Renaissance, both tragic and triumphant...

From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ...romantic tragedy and redemption...

 

ALLIGATOR BAYOU
2009 Random House (ISBN 978-0-385-76472-8) (pb 2010)

  • American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults
  • Parents' Choice Gold Award for Historical Fiction
  • Junior Library Guild
  • International Reading Association's (IRA) Notable Books for a Global Society
  • Bank Street Best Books (Historical)
  • part will appear in TLI Grade 8 Interim assessment 2011-12 by The Learning Institute

 

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From KIRKUS: ... haunting... deep reflection on our country's treatment, past and present, of its immigrants...

From BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS:... ominous, eminently booktalkable theme...

 

Above are sixth and seventh graders in Portland, Oregon, reading ALLIGATOR BAYOU as part of their curriculum.

 

 

 

 

THE WAGER
2010 Henry Holt and Company (ISBN 978-0-8050-8781-9)

  • Bank Street Best Books selection
  • starred review PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
  • starred review BCCB
  • shortlisted for the Cybils Award in YA Fantasy & Science Fiction

 

 

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From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: ... lush feasts and brightly colored brocades give way to wretched scenes described in lurid detail...human nature at its worst and its best.

From BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: ... journey of the senses... Impeccable pacing...