Michael L. Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award is given out each year by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association to a book that has shown to be an extraordinary example of high quality Young Adult literature. It is named after Michael L. Printz who was a school librarian in Topeka, Kansas and a long time member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The award is sponsored by Booklist. More information about this award can be found at this site.
Below is the list of winners and honor books. |
2024
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- The Collectors: Stories edited by A.S. King.
An anthology of ten stories by young adult authors about surprising and unusual collections.
HONOR BOOKS
- Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Astot.
"Ante's life has been steeped in Sami tradition. It is indisputable to him that he, an only child, will keep working with the reindeer. But there is something else too, something tugging at him. His feelings for his best friend Erik have changed, grown into something bigger. Ante is so aware of Erik and his body in relation to his own; everything he does matters so much. What would people say if they knew? And how does Erik feel?"--Provided by publisher. - Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow.
"Ian Gray isn't supposed to have a dog, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen end up happening anyway. And Gather, Ian's adopted pup, is good company now that Ian has to quit the basketball team, find a job, and take care of his mom as she tries to overcome her opioid addiction. Despite the obstacles thrown their way, Ian is determined to keep his family afloat no matter what it takes. And for a little while, things are looking up: Ian makes friends, and his fondness for the outdoors and for fixing things lands him work helping neighbors. But an unforeseen tragedy results in Ian and his dog taking off on the run, trying to evade a future that would mean leaving their house and their land. Even if the community comes together to help him, would Ian and Gather have a home to return to?"--Publisher. - The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption by Shannon Gibney.
"Two girls on different timelines--each growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee--find their lives bridged by a mysterious portal. Part memoir, part speculative fiction, Gibney examines the absurdities of the adoptee experience through her own adoption experiences"--OCLC. - Salt the Water by Candice Iloh.
A confrontation with a teacher and a family crisis force high school senior Cerulean Gene to drop out of twelfth grade and derails their dreams of moving cross-country and living off the grid.
2023
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.
A family extending from Pakistan to California, deals with generations of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness.
HONOR BOOKS
- Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei.Mickey James III is following in his father's (and grandfather's) skates by playing hockey at Hartland University, but he is not enjoying the situation: for one thing he is seriously depressed, unsure of anything, even whether he can make it as a hockey player (or wants to); more troubling his rival, Jaysen Caulfield, is also on the team and seems to bitterly resent him--and Mickey actually finds Jaysen very attractive and does not know how to deal with that.
- When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb.
"Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they've left behind"--Provided by publisher. - Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson.
"Prudence Perry is a legacy Ladybird Scout, born to a family of hunters sworn to protect humans from mulligrubs. Masquerading as a prim and proper ladies' social organization, the Ladybirds brew poisons masked as teas and use knitting needles as daggers. Three years ago, Prue's best friend was killed during a hunt, so she kissed the Scouts goodbye. But old monster-slaying habits die hard and Prue finds herself falling back into the fold. When her town is hit with a mysterious wave of demons, Prue knows it's time to confront the most powerful monster of all: her past"--Provided by publishers. - Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer.
"A research-based exploration of queer behavior in different animal species is interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with scientists"--Provided by publisher.
2022
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.
HONOR BOOKS
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas.
"A gang leader's son finds his effort to go straight for the sake of his child challenged by a loved one's brutal murder"--Provided by publisher. - Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo.
1954, in San Francisco's Chinatown, seventeen-year-old Lily Hu falls in love with Kathleen Miller. - Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon.
"In this comprehensive history of the Black Panther Party, the author introduces readers to the Panthers' community activism, grounded in the concept of self-defense, which taught Black Americans how to protect and support themselves in a country that treated them like second-class citizens. For too long the Panthers' story has been a footnote to the civil rights movement rather than what it was: a revolutionary socialist movement that drew thousands of members--mostly women--and became the target of one of the most sustained repression efforts ever made by the U.S. government against its own citizens"-- Provided by publisher. - Starfish by Lisa Fipps.
Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies,
2021
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story) by Daniel Nayeri.
In an autobiographical novel, middle-schooler Daniel, formerly Khosrou, tells his unimpressed and at times cruel classmates about his experience as an Iranian refugee.
HONOR BOOKS
- Apple (Skin to the Core) by Eric Gansworth.
Gansworth—an enrolled member of the Onandaga Nation—revisits his childhood and teen years spent on a Tuscarora reservation in this ambitious and searing memoir. Told in verse and accompanied by original art, Gansworth’s compelling coming of age story is a moving, illuminating exploration of otherness, intergenerational trauma, and resilience. - Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yan; color by Lark Pein.
Gene Luen Yang never would have guessed that he would be working on a graphic novel about a basketball team, but he found inspiration in the men’s varsity team at Bishop O’Dowd High School. The games are only a small portion of the story, though, as readers learn about the history of basketball as well as Yang’s personal journey. - Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh.
In this novel in verse, Ada recounts her freshman year as a first generation student attending a Historically Black College, while simultaneously taking the reader through her younger life. Ada feels the pressure to make money from her major, but she ultimately realizes that dance is what connects, energizes, and sustains her. - We Are Not Free by Traci Chee.
Just months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt issued the Civilian Exclusion Order, forcing the tight knit community of Japantown teens and their families to incarceration camps. Author Traci Chee deftly manages fourteen narratives all with a unique voice and experience. The lives of these teens may have been forever changed, but as Chee writes, “We are not free. But we are not alone."
2020
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Dig by A. S. King.
Five teenagers’ disparate lives weave together, unveiling long-buried secrets within a complex shared history. King’s surrealistic narrative confronts themes of white privilege and its dark legacies.
HONOR BOOKS
- The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi; translated by Cathy Hirano.
Orphaned Elin learns to use her ability to communicate with animals as she navigates through political unrest. The beauty and power of the natural world are at the heart of this captivating, nimbly translated Japanese fantasy. - Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki; illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell.
Freddy is enamored with the magnetic Laura Dean, but their on-again, off-again relationship is far from healthy. Through soft-hued illustrations and cinematic scope, this graphic novel captures the intoxication of teenage love and the search for identity. - Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki Grimes.
Grimes’ verse memoir traces her development through a tumultuous childhood as she finds her voice as a powerful storyteller. Themes of family, belonging, and identity combine to tell a story of faith and resilience. - Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean.
In 1727, a group of men and boys from St. Kilda sail to a remote sea stack on a fowling trip, only to find themselves stranded. McCaughrean’s exceptional tale evokes the harsh beauty of its setting and the warm humor of its characters.
2019
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Acevedo transforms everyday language into transcendent imagery in this novel-in-verse about Xiomara, who struggles to come into her own power amid her restrictive upbringing. Over the course of these lyrical, expressive, and honest poems, she grows from speaking with her fists to embracing her identity as the Poet X.
HONOR BOOKS
- Damsel by Elana K. Arnold.
Ama has no memory of what comes before she wakes in Prince Emory’s arms, but she’s no ordinary damsel in distress. Using the language of classic fairy tales to shatter familiar tropes, Arnold asks readers to confront the ways systemic violence against women pervades cultural touchstones. - A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti.
Struggling with PTSD in the wake of a terrifying tragedy, Annabelle decides to run across the country in a physically demanding journey that mirrors the circuitous path of her emotional recovery. Caletti insightfully explores trauma, loss, and guilt while illuminating the damaging expectations our culture places on teenage girls. - I, Claudia by Mary McCoy.
In this political thriller set in a privileged high school, underestimated and unreliable narrator Claudia chronicles her rise to power. Sharp, biting humor pervades McCoy’s novel about vicious high school students embroiled in an explosive struggle for control.
2018
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.
California native Marin, devastated by grief and questioning her reality, plans to spend her winter break in an empty dorm in upstate New York. But now her best friend, Mabel, is on her way to visit, and Marin must confront the loneliness that is threatening to take over her heart.
HONOR BOOKS
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.
William Holloman is on the most haunting elevator ride of his life. He’s been urged to break “the rules”he’s grown up with. (No crying. No snitching. Get revenge.) Reynolds’ first novel in verse is a provocative, compelling, and essential love letter to young people in detention centers. - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
Traumatized after witnessing the violent death of a friend, Starr searches for her voice as she moves between her black neighborhood and predominately white private school. This emotional novel, inspired by volatile race relations in America today, explores the importance of family, friendship, identity, and the courage to seek justice. - Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.
In a world of gods, monsters, and nightmares, orphan librarian Lazlo and goddess Sarai find each other in their dreams. Against the backdrop of a city reeling after a brutal war, this lushly built, extravagantly written tale explores vengeance, love, and mercy. - Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman.
Inspired by the more than 700 letters the van Gogh brothers wrote to each other, Heiligman uncovers fresh insights into Vincent’s development as an artist and his relationship with the brother who supported him emotionally and financially throughout his life
2017
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
This graphic novel is the conclusion of the March trilogy, a gripping autobiographical account of Congressman John Lewis’s experiences during the Civil Rights Movement. It follows Lewis’s involvement with the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the March on Selma, concluding with a call to action for today’s youth.
HONOR BOOKS
- Asking for It by Louise O'Neill.
After a party, Emma Donovan is found dumped outside her house with no recollection of the previous night. Pictures go viral showing her being raped. Lacking support from her small Irish town, Emma becomes a shell of her previous self, struggling with the question of whether she asked for it. - The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry.
This beautiful historical epic tells the tale of Dolssa, an accused heretic on the run, and the three sisters who find and help her during the time of the Inquisition. Through recollections and testimonies, Dolssa’s layered story unfolds across time periods with rich language and historical detail. - Scythe by Neal Shusterman.
In a future where death has been eradicated, scythes are selected to control overpopulation by “gleaning” random members of society. Teens Citra and Rowan are selected as apprentices and are thrust into a world of political intrigue. “Scythe” is a powerful examination of ethics, humanity and the flaws of immortality.
2016
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Bone Gap by Laura Ruby.
Told from alternating viewpoints, Bone Gap perfectly melds elements of fairy tales, myths, gothic romance, and magic realism into the story of Finn, who lives in a town with gaps in the very fabric of time and place.
HONOR BOOKS
- The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick.
Sedgwick connects four seemingly disparate stories, each of which feature a character haunted by the ever-present shape of a spiral. Spanning time, space, and genre, each story raises powerful questions about human nature. - Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez.
In 1937 East Texas, Mexican American Naomi and African American Wash begin a bittersweet romance. Perez’s beautifully crafted novel is a moving portrayal of both powerful love and a period marked by oppressive, destructive racism.
2015
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson.
Once inseparable, twins Noah and Jude are torn apart by a family tragedy that transforms their intense love for each other into intense anger. Timelines twist and turn around each other in beautifully orchestrated stories of love and longing.
HONOR BOOKS
- And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard.
Reeling from her boyfriend’s dramatic suicide, Emily hides her anguish at a new boarding school, where she finds healing through poetry. Hubbard’s gem-like prose beautifully balances Emily’s poetry. - The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
In 1993, Maggie is dismayed to leave Chicago and her beloved Uncle Kevin behind when she moves to a small Irish town. Yet it is within this evocative setting that Foley unwinds Maggie’s exceptional coming-of-age tale, where Maggie discovers music and forgiveness as antidotes for grief. - Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith.
Historian Austin Szerba is in love with his best girl friend, Shann. He is also in love with his best boy friend, Robby. Mastermind Smith takes these tender facts and swirls them into a whirlwind tale of carnivorous praying mantises, the history of the world, the role of the individual, and the end of all we know. - This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki; illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.
Adolescence in its precarious first bloom is the subject of this sensitive graphic novel. The team of Mariko and Jillian Tamaki show and tell us of one special summer in Rose’s life, in a brilliant flow of pictures and text.
2014
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick.
Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant.
HONOR BOOKS
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. - The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal.
On the eve of Princess Sophia's wedding, the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn prepares to fete the occasion with a sumptuous display of riches. A mysterious illness plagues the royal family, threatening the lives of the throne's heirs, and a courtier's wolfish hunger for the king's favors sets a devious plot in motion. In the palace at Skyggehave, things are seldom as they seem -- and when a single errant prick of a needle sets off a series of events that will alter the course of history, the fates of seamstress Ava Bingen and mute nursemaid Midi Sorte become irrevocably intertwined. - Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner.
Friendship and trust inspire Standish to rise up against an oppressive regime and expose the truth about a planned moon landing. - Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool.
Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters.
2013
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- In Darkness by Nick Lake.
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Shorty, a poor, fifteen-year-old gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a hospital and as he grows weaker, he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in 1804.
HONOR BOOKS
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz.
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before. - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can. - Dodger by Terry Pratchett.
In an alternative London ruled by a young Queen Victoria, Dodger, a resourceful, homeless boy, unwittingly prevents Sweeney Todd from committing murder. - The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna.
Taylor travels to the south of France with her mother and her friends. She is going to be working for the summer babysitting for the Phoenix family. While on this journey Taylor will embark on another quest for independence both personal and universal as she casts her mind back to her earliest memories.
2012
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.
Seventeen-year-old Cullen's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance.
HONOR BOOKS
- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler; art by Maira Kalman.
Sixteen-year-old Min Green writes a letter to Ed Slaterton in which she breaks up with him, documenting their relationship and how items in the accompanying box, from bottle caps to a cookbook, foretell the end. - The Returning by Christine Hinwood.
When the twelve-year war between the Uplanders and Downlanders is over and Cam returns home to his village, questions dog him, from how he lost an arm to why he was the only one of his fellow soldiers to survive, such that he must leave until his own suspicions are resolved. - Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.
In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible. - The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.
Nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
2011
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.
HONOR BOOKS
- Stolen by Lucy Christopher.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma, a British city-dweller, is abducted while on vacation with her parents and taken to the Australian outback, where she soon realizes that escape attempts are futile, and in time she learns that her captor is not as despicable as she first believed. - Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King.
When her best friend, whom she secretly loves, betrays her and then dies under mysterious circumstances, high school senior Vera Dietz struggles with secrets that could help clear his name. - Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick.
Fourteen-year-old Sig is stranded at a remote cabin in the Arctic wilderness with his father, who died just hours earlier after falling through the ice, when a terrifying man arrives, claiming Sig's father owes him a share of a horde of stolen gold and that he will kill Sig if he does not get his money. - Nothing by Janne Teller.
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.
2010
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Going Bovine by Libba Bray.
Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen-year-old diagnosed with mad cow disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.
HONOR BOOKS
- Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes.
Karl Shoemaker, starting his senior year in Lightsburg, Ohio, in 1973, vows to break out of the therapy group he has been forced to attend during school hours and become "normal." - Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deorah Heiligman.
A biography of English naturalist Charles Darwin that provides an account of the personality behind evolutionary theory and the affect of his work on his personal life, such as his relationship with his religious wife. - Punkzilla by Adam Rapp.
A runaway teenager, having overcome his addiction to meth, travels across the country from Portland to Memphis in order to reconnect with his dying brother and meets a colorful cast of characters along the way. - The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey.
In 1888, twelve-year-old Will Henry chronicles his apprenticeship with Dr. Warthrop, a scientist who hunts and studies real-life monsters, as they discover and attempt to destroy a pod of Anthropophagi.
2009
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.
Abandoned by her drug-addicted mother at the age of eleven, high school student Taylor Markham struggles with her identity and family history at a boarding school in Australia.
HONOR BOOKS
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Volume 2: The Kingdom on the Waves by M. T. Anderson.
Octavian, a young African-American, is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years prior to and during the American Revolution. - Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan.
A young woman who has endured unspeakable cruelties is magically granted a safe haven apart from the real world and allowed to raise her two daughters in this alternate reality, until the barrier between her world and the real one begins to break down. - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau- Banks by E. Lockhart.
Frankie Landau-Banks attempts to take over a secret, all-male society at her exclusive prep school, and her antics with the group soon draw some unlikely attention and have unexpected consequences that could change her life forever. - Nation by Terry Prachett.
A tsunami destroys everything leaving Mau, an island boy, Daphne, an aristocratic English girl, and a small group of refugees responsible for rebuilding their village and their lives.
2008
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean.
Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.
HONOR BOOKS
- One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke.
As her irritating family prepares to celebrate her grandfather's eightieth birthday, sixteen-year-old Lily yearns for just one whole perfect day together. - Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill.
A series of poems that provide a chronological portrait of the life of Sylvia Plath, told in the voices of family members, friends, associates, and others who knew her. - Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
A fallen angel, tired of being unappreciated while doing his pointless, demeaning job, leaves Hell, enters the body of a seventeen-year-old boy, and tries to experience the full range of human feelings before being caught and punished, while the boy's family and friends puzzle over his changed behavior. - Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox.
While investigating the government's involvement in the disappearance of her father, Tziga Hame, and the decline of the art of projecting dreams, dreamhunter Laura learns more about "The Place."
2007
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
Alternates interrelated stories about three characters, including a Chinese American trying to participate in popular culture; a Chinese folk hero attempting to be worshipped as a god; and a teenager who is so ashamed by his Chinese cousin's behavior that he changes schools.
HONOR BOOKS
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation. Volume 1. The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson.
Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. - Abundance of Katherines by John Green.
Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships. - Surrender by Sonya Hartnett.
As he is dying, a twenty-year-old man known as Gabriel recounts his troubled childhood and his strange relationship with a dangerous counterpart named Finnigan. - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
2006
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Looking for Alaska by John Green.
Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.
HONOR BOOKS
- Black Juice by Margo Lanagan.
Provides glimpses of the dark side of civilization and the beauty of the human spirit through ten short stories that explore significant moments in people's lives, events leading to them, and their consequences. - A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson.
This illustrated poetry collection eulogizes Emmett Till, an African American man who was killed in a brutal, racially motivated lynching in 1955. - John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth, a Photographic Biography by Elizabeth Partridge.
Presents a biography of musician John Lennon, chronicling his life and times from his troubled childhood in Liverpool, England, through his career writing, recording, and performing as a member of the Beatles. - I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak.
After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, which helps him start to get over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.
2005
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
To get away from her pregnant stepmother in New York City, fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins, with whom she instantly bonds, but soon war breaks out and rips apart the family while devastating the land.
HONOR BOOKS
- Airborn by Kenneth Oppel.
Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface. - Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt.
In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine, but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot. - Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton.
Chanda Kabelo, a sixteen-year-old in a small South African town, faces down shame and stigma in her efforts to help friends and family members who are dying of AIDS.
2004
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- The First Part Last by Angela Johnson.
Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter.
HONOR BOOKS
- A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.
Sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel in 1906 where the death of a guest renews her determination to live her own life. - Keesha's House by Helen Frost.
Seven teens facing such problems as pregnancy, closeted homosexuality, and abuse each describe in poetic forms what caused them to leave home and where they found home again. - Fat Kid Rules the World by K. L. Going.
Seventeen-year-old Troy, depressed, suicidal, and weighing nearly three hundred pounds, gets a new perspective on life when Curt, a semi-homeless teen who is a genius on guitar, asks Troy to be the drummer in a rock band. - The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler.
Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her.
2003
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers.
Alternates between two stories--contemporarily, seventeen-year-old Jacob visits a daunting Amsterdam at the request of his English grandmother--and historically, nineteen-year-old Geertrui relates her experience of British soldiers' attempts to liberate Holland from its German occupation.
HONOR BOOKS
- The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.
In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States. - My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr.
As she tries to understand the closeness between her older brother and his best friend, fourteen-year-old Ellen finds her relationship with each of them changing. - Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos.
The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.
2002
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- A Step from Heaven by An Na.
A young Korean girl and her family find it difficult to learn English and adjust to life in America.
HONOR BOOKS
- The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson.
When the magic that protects their Valley starts to fail, Tilja and her companions journey into the evil Empire to find the ancient magician Faheel, who originally cast those spells. - Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art by Jan Greenberg.
A compilation of poems by Americans writing about American art in the twentieth century, including such writers as Nancy Willard, Jane Yolen, and X. J. Kennedy. - Freewill by Chris Lynch.
A teenager trying to recover from the tragic death of his father and stepmother believes himself to be responsible for the rash of teen suicides occurring in his town. - True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff.
Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to.
2001
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Kit's Wilderness by David Almond.
Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past.
HONOR BOOKS
- Many Stones by Darolyn Coman.
After her sister Laura is murdered in South Africa, Berry and her estranged father travel there to participate in the dedication of a memorial in her name. - The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci.
Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams embarks on a path of terror and pain when he sets out to investigate the disappearance of Christopher Creed, a weird kid who vanished from his small hometown of Steepleton, leaving only a cryptic E-mail message as a possible clue to what happened to him. - Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison.
Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. - Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman.
Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him.
2000
WINNER
HONOR BOOKS
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers.
While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken.
HONOR BOOKS
- Skelig by David Almond.
Unhappy about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger who is something like a bird and something like an angel. - Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school. - Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
After starting to publish a magazine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.