The 2012 National Book Award in Young People's Literature has been awarded to...

...William Alexander, for Goblin Secrets:

At moments, I was reminded of Diana Wynne Jones—and I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see a Miyazaki film adaptation—but while it shares her storytelling technique of throwing a huge number of elements into the air and letting them fall into place in a logical and neat manner, Goblin Secrets doesn't share the things I will always love most about Our Lady Diana: the heart and the humor. It's ironic that a story that deals—again, both literally and metaphorically—with stolen hearts would leave me feeling emotionally untouched, but here we are.

The finalists are:

Patricia McCormick, for Never Fall Down:

So often, authors write—and we read—survival stories for pure entertainment. As you may have gathered, Never Fall Down doesn't read like that: rather, it reads as testimony from someone who witnessed (and survived) something that just shouldn't be. And, as with Between Shades of Gray last year, in reading it, it makes us witnesses as well, albeit a few very large steps removed.

Eliot Schrefer, for Endangered:

Is there much in this book to cry about? Oh, yes. But as it plays out as more of a survival story a la How I Live Now (but minus the romance)—girl risks all to make her way across a dangerous, war-torn country while caring for an innocent—than a book simply about the plight of an endangered species. Sophie is so busy trying to keep herself (and Otto the bonobo) alive that she doesn't have time for the luxury of tears.

And I was so focused on their fight for survival that I didn't, either.

Carrie Arcos, for Out of Reach:

But. Though most of them are smoothly woven into the story, there's an overwhelming barrage of FACTS ABOUT ADDICTION and FACTS ABOUT METH, which gives it that A Very Special Episode of 90210 feeling. (Other than that, I have no complaints about the writing, which is straightforward and clear and unpretentious.)

Steve Sheinkin, for Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon:

Like I said, I loved it. Sheinkin takes a massive piece of history—one that spans years and countries and careers—and condenses it down into just under 250 pages... but without sacrificing intellectual, political, or emotional complexity. And, for those who want to read further, in addition to a couple of indexes, the book ends with a 5-page bibliography.

See the National Book Foundation website for a list of the other winners and finalists.