Presented to: Carol Lynch Williams
For: My Angelica
In the past three years, Carol Lynch Williams published four middle-grade books--three in the national market and one for Mormon readers. Her humor, storytelling ability, facility with language, and courage to consider difficult issues place her at the top of her field.
Her protagonists are generally young women who face a web of serious challenges. Through the course of her experiences the protagonist discovers the power to resist the trouble confronting her.
Christmas in Heaven explores the tension between family and friends as the protagonist's brother is drawn away from himself by an emotionally disturbed girl. Carolina Autumn shows a young woman facing adolescence after losing her father and sister through death and her mother through emotional isolation.
My Angelica, lighter than most of her books, has a male protagonist and deals with the issues of first love and distorted self-concept. Tish, shows a pioneer girl struggling with her grandparent's anger about Mormonism.
Her books embrace the values of the best Mormon literature--respecting each person as a child of God, building solid relationships with friends and family, and progressing toward maturity.