INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Center for the Book and Indiana Humanities have announced two book selections for the annual Great Reads from Great Places program of the United States Library of Congress.
In 2022, the Indiana Great Reads selections will be Zorrie by Laird Hunt and You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson.
Every year, a list of books representing the literary heritage of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is distributed by the Library of Congress’s Center for the Book during the National Book Festival. Each book is selected by a local Center for the Book. In 2022, the Library of Congress suggested states pick two books: one for young readers and one for adults. Books may be written by authors from the state, take place in the state, or celebrate the state’s culture and heritage.
Zorrie, a 2021 finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction, tells the story of one Hoosier woman’s “life convulsed and transformed by the events of the 20th century.” Taking place in Clinton County, Ind., the novel is a poignant study in rural Midwestern life and an exploration of the passage of time through individuals and communities.
You Should See Me in a Crown, a 2020 release named by TIME magazine as one of the best 100 young adult books of all time, tells the story of a queer Indiana teenager’s senior year of high school and her pursuits to get into an elite college by winning the school’s prom queen contest as well as capture the attention of the new girl in school.
The 2022 Great Reads from Great Places in books will be highlighted at the 2022 National Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. This year’s theme is “Books Bring Us Together.”