Recommended Reads for Teens: Award Winners

WINNER
An anthology of stories about remarkable people and their strange and surprising collections, by M.T. Anderson, David Levithan, Anna-Marie McLemore, and other bestselling YA authors.

HONOR
A queer coming-of-age story about heritage, family ties and age-old commitments to the past. Ánte's life has been steeped in Sámi 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. But what would people say if they knew?

HONOR
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.

HONOR
Part memoir, part fiction, this novel explores the experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee, inspired by the author’s own background as the adopted Black daughter of white parents.

HONOR
Cerulean Gene is free everywhere except school. Raised in a free-spirited home by two loving parents who encourage Cerulean to be their full self, they've got big dreams of moving cross-country to live off the grid with their friends after graduation. But a fight with a teacher spirals out of control, and Cerulean impulsively drops out to avoid the punishment they fear is coming. Why wait for graduation to live their dreams? But their sheltered upbringing hasn't prepared them for the consequences of their choice -- especially not when it's compounded by a family emergency that puts a parent out of work. Suddenly the money they'd been stacking with their friends is a resource that the family needs to stay afloat.

WINNER
When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as "edgy" humor. Then a few other kids found out about the account. Pretty soon, everyone knew. Ultimately no one in the small town of Albany, California, was safe from the repercussions of the account's discovery. In the end, no one was laughing. And everyone was left asking: Where does accountability end for online speech that harms? And what does accountability even mean?

HONOR
What are the stories we tell ourselves about America, and how do they shape our sense of history? From the roll of celebrity on immigration policy to the influence of one small group of white women on education, America Redux explores the themes that create our shared sense of identity, and challenges the myths we’ve been telling ourselves for centuries.

HONOR
Millions of Africans were enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade, but few recorded their personal experiences. Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is perhaps the most well-known of the autobiographies that exist. Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context.

HONOR
In this coming-of-age memoir, refugee advocate Luma Mufleh writes of her tumultuous journey to reconcile her identity as a gay Muslim woman and a proud Arab-turned-American refugee.

HONOR
Thien's first memory isn't a sight or a sound. It's the taste of the foods he ate while adrift at sea as his family fled Vietnam. After the Pham family arrives at a refugee camp in Thailand, they struggle to survive, and things don't get much easier once they resettle in California. And through each chapter of their lives, food takes on a new meaning. A moving YA graphic novel memoir perfect for fans of “American Born Chinese.”