For a complete list of the award winners you can visit the ALA (American Library Association's) website.
The Collectors: Stories by
Winner of the 2024 Michael L. Printz Award From Michael L. Printz Award winner A.S. King and an all-star team of contributors including Anna-Marie McLemore and Jason Reynolds, an anthology of stories about remarkable people and their strange and surprising collections. From David Levithan's story about a non-binary kid collecting pieces of other people's collections to Jenny Torres Sanchez's tale of a girl gathering types of fire while trying not to get burned to G. Neri's piece about 1970's skaters seeking opportunities to go vertical--anything can be collected and in the hands of these award-winning and bestselling authors, any collection can tell a story. Nine of the best YA novelists working today have written fiction based on a prompt from Printz-winner A.S. King (who also contributes a story) and the result is itself an extraordinary collection. M. T. Anderson, e. E. Charlton-Trujillo, A.S. King, David Levithan, Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, Randy Ribay, and Jenny Torres Sanchez have each penned a surprising and provocative tale.
Fire from the Sky by
From 23-year-old Sámi debut novelist and reindeer owner Moa Backe Åstot, Fire From the Sky is 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. Ánte 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? And Erik's voice just the push of a button away. Ánte couldn't answer, could he? But how could he ignore it? Fire From the Sky will warm your heart as Ánte experiences the magical, soul-combusting feeling of first love.
Gather by
A 2023 National Book Award Finalist A Michael L. Printz Honor Book "Arguably one of the finest novels of the year."--Booklist (starred review) A resourceful teenager in rural Vermont struggles to hold on to the family home while his mom recovers from addiction in this striking debut novel. 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? Told in a wry, cautious first-person voice that meanders like a dog circling to be sure it's safe to lie down, Kenneth M. Cadow's resonant debut brings an emotional and ultimately hopeful story of one teen's resilience in the face of unthinkable hardships.
The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be by
A Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book Part memoir, part speculative fiction, this novelexplores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee. Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with a new book woven from her true story of growing up as the adopted Black daughter of white parents and the fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth by the white woman who gave her up for adoption. At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience. The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form.
Salt the Water by
A Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book Cerulean Gene is free everywhere except school, where they're known for repeatedly challenging authority. 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 leave an oppressive capitalist system and live their dreams? Cerulean is truly brilliant, 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. Salt the Water is a book about dreaming in a world that has other plans for your time, your youth, and your future. It asks, what does it look like when a bunch of queer Black kids are allowed to dream? And what does it look like for them to confront the present circumstances of the people they love while still pursuing a wildly different future of their own?
All My Rage by
National Book Award WINNER Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature WINNER An INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER! "All My Rage is a love story, a tragedy and an infectious teenage fever dream about what home means when you feel you don't fit in." -- New York Times Book Review From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents. Lahore, Pakistan. Then. Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start. Juniper, California. Now. Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding. Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah's health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle's liquor store while hiding the fact that she's applying to college so she can escape him--and Juniper--forever. When Sal's attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth--and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst. From one of today's most cherished and bestselling young adult authors comes a breathtaking novel of young love, old regrets, and forgiveness--one that's both tragic and poignant in its tender ferocity. (Cover may vary)
Icebreaker by
A. L. Graziadei's Icebreaker is an irresistible YA debut about two hockey players fighting to be the best--and the romance that catches them by surprise along the way. Seventeen-year-old Mickey James III is a college freshman, a brother to five sisters, and a hockey legacy. With a father and a grandfather who have gone down in NHL history, Mickey is almost guaranteed the league's top draft spot. The only person standing in his way is Jaysen Caulfield, a contender for the #1 spot and Mickey's infuriating (and infuriatingly attractive) teammate. When rivalry turns to something more, Mickey will have to decide what he really wants, and what he's willing to risk for it. This is a story about falling in love, finding your team (on and off the ice), and choosing your own path.
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) by
NPR's "All Things Considered," calls Queer Ducks "teenager-friendly. It's a young adult book filled with comics and humor and accessible science, and it's filled with research on the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world." This groundbreaking illustrated YA nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals. A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration of queer behavior in the animal world--from albatrosses to bonobos to clownfish to doodlebugs. In sharp and witty prose--aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg--Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists. Queer behavior in animals is as diverse and complex--and as natural--as it is in our own species. It doesn't set us apart from animals--it bonds us even closer to our animal selves.
Scout's Honor by
*A PRINTZ HONOR BOOK *FOUR STARRED REVIEWS Prudence Perry is a third-generation Ladybird Scout who must battle literal (and figurative) monsters and the weight of her legacy in Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson, a YA paranormal perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sixteen-year-old Prudence Perry is a legacy Ladybird Scout, born to a family of hunters sworn to protect humans from mulligrubs--interdimensional parasites who feast on human emotions like sadness and anger. Masquerading as a prim and proper ladies' social organization, the Ladybirds brew poisons masked as teas and use knitting needles as daggers, at least until they graduate to axes and swords. Three years ago, Prue's best friend was killed during a hunt, so she kissed the Scouts goodbye, preferring the company of her punkish friends lovingly dubbed the Criminal Element much to her mother and Tía Lo's disappointment. However, unable to move on from her guilt and trauma, Prue devises a risky plan to infiltrate the Ladybirds in order to swipe the Tea of Forgetting, a restricted tincture laced with a powerful amnesia spell. But old monster-slaying habits die hard and Prue finds herself falling back into the fold, growing close with the junior scouts that she trains to fight the creatures she can't face. 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.
When the Angels Left the Old Country by
Stonewall Book Award Winner Sydney Taylor Award Winner Michael L. Printz Honor Book National Jewish Book Award Finalist AudioFile Earphones Award Winner BEST OF THE YEAR NPR · New York Public Library · Kirkus For fans of "Good Omens"--a queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure. 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. Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they''ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold. P R A I S E ★ "Powerfully moving. Broad in scope, the strong queer relationships at its core provide an unfaltering anchor." --Publishers Weekly (starred) ★ "Immersive...Propulsive. A mashup of historical fiction and magical realism, this will find a satisfied audience in fans of both." --BCCB (starred) ★ "Extraordinary....Absorbing. A sublime novel about the fantastical, freeing nature of love." --Foreword Reviews (starred) ★ "Gorgeous, fascinating, and fun. Deftly tackles questions of identity, good and evil, obligation, and the many forms love can take." --Kirkus (starred) ★ "Terrific. Richly imagined and plotted, this inspired book has the timeless feeling of Jewish folklore." --Booklist (starred) ★ "Expansive queer tale that marries historical fiction with inventive world-building. Witty, cerebral storytelling." --Horn Book (starred) ★ "A must-buy for any collection, Lamb''s historical fiction novel brings soft queer joy to a compelling tale of immigrants and unions and Jewish folklore." --School Library Journal (starred) "Liars, lovers, grifters, a good angel and a wicked one--all held together with the bright red thread of unexpected romance, enduring friendship and America''s history. You don''t have to be Jewish to love Sacha Lamb--you only have to read." --New York Times Bestseller Amy Bloom "I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!! I read it in two days and then I spent the next two weeks thinking about it. Literally forgot to take my lunch break at work because I was busy thinking about it. This book is SO fun and funny and beautiful. Inherently, inextricably deeply queer-and-Jewish in a way that makes my brain buzz. I am obsessed." --Piera Varela, Porter Square Books "I love this book more than I can say (but I''ll try!) I was delighted by the wry narrative voice of this book from the first paragraph. The author perfectly captures the voice of a Jewish folk tale within an impeccably researched early 20th century setting that includes Yiddish, striking factory workers, and revolutionary coffee houses. It gave me so many feelings about identity, love, and their obligations to the world, themselves, and each other. This story will forever have a place in my heart and in my canon of favorite books. I can''t wait to have it on my shelves!" --Marianne Wald, East City Bookshop "A beautiful story of an angel and demon set on helping an emigrant from their shtetl, and the fierce girl that joins them on the way... A must read for all ages--one filled to the brim with heart." --Mo Huffman, Changing Hands Bookstore