Middle School Nominees

Every Soul a Star

By Wendy Mass

     This story has three important characters: Ally, Bree, and Jack.  Ally lives at the Moonshadow Campground, run by her parents, out in the middle of nowhere.  She is homeschooled and lives a fairly quiet, nature-filled life.  Bree is beautiful, and she knows it!  Her whole life revolves around being popular and her goal in life is to become a model.  Jack is a loner who considers himself to be kind of a loser.  He has given up on trying to do well in school and even at making friends.  All three of them end up at the Moonshadow Campground for the once-in-a-lifetime event of the Great Eclipse.  The story follows each of the characters' different experiences that happen while they are at the campground and how these events influence their lives.

Wendy Mass
http://www.wendymass.com/

Waiting for Normal

By Leslie Connor

     Addie is a twelve year-old girl who lives with her unstable bi-polar mother.  Her father died when she was three.  She adores her stepfather and her two half-sisters, but her mother decides to divorce him and he gets custody of her sisters.  Soon, they also lose their house.  Her ex-stepfather has moved them into a tiny, old trailer near the railroad tracks and they are beginning their new lives, just Addie and Mommers.  This story is about how Addie makes new friends in her neighborhood, deals with her mother's ups and downs, and manages to keep a positive outlook on her sometimes shaky life.  Addie hopes in the end her like will be nothing but normal.

The Official Website of Leslie Connor

http://leslieconner.com/



Revolution is Not a Dinner Party

By Ying Chang Compestine



     When the story begins, Ling is nine years old.  She lives in a comfortable apartment with her parents are both doctors in the best hospital in Wuhan, China.  It is 1972 and the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao is taking over the country.  A room in her apartment is turned into living quarters for Comrad Li.  It is his job to identify people who are not following the strict Communist rules set by Chairman Mao.  The story takes place over a four year period and is about many of the changes and restrictions that Ling and her family, friends, and neighbors actually experienced.  It was a very dangerous time for those who were free-thinkers and did not abide to Communist rules.  It helps you to know what life was like for people, like the book's author, who lived through this difficult time.

Ying Chang Compestine
http://www.yingc.com/

Young Adult Nominees

If I Stay

By Gayle Foreman

     Mia is a very talented seventeen year old cello player. She has a rock and roll boyfriend, adoring parents, and a kid brother that she actually gets along with. They all live in Oregon state. One morning, Mia’s family gets up, and it is snowing. Hard. Mia’s parents decide that since school is cancelled, they will take an impromptu trip to the grandparents’ house, only about an hour away. But on the way, there is a terrible car accident. Mia’s parents both die. Mia’s little brother, Teddy, is severely injured, and dies later that same day at the hospital. Mia goes into a coma, but she is somehow aware of what is going on around her, and her spirit walks around, watching the reactions of everyone around her. She is left with an impossible decision—to stay, and be with those who are still alive who know and love her, or to die, to slip quietly away in a coma and be with her beloved parents and brother. Her decision, and the way that she makes it, will not soon leave you.

Gayle Foreman

http://www.gayleforman.com/

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

     In a medieval world of castles and knights, evil kings, and handsome princes, there are people who are called gracelings. Gracelings are people who have eyes that are two different colors. All gracelings are graced with some special power. Some may be graced with the art of cooking, others with menial tasks like cleaning. Katsa, niece to King Randa, King of all the seven Midlunds regions, is a graceling who is graced with the power of fighting. She can beat any man who attacks her. But when she discovers that her uncle wants to use her as an assassin, she escapes, and goes on an adventure to save the young princess of a faraway kingdom, saving the entire Midlunds in the process.

"This is My Secret" Blog

http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/

Beastly

By Alex Flinn

     Kyle Kingsbury has everything. He is rich, drop-dead gorgeous, and tremendously popular. His girlfriend, Sloane, is the same way. Together, they are the envy of every other person at school. Or so they think. At school one day, Kyle meets Kendra, a witch in disguise, and he invites her to go to a dance with him. Never intending to actually go to the dance with her, he stands her up. Kendra is furious. At that same dance, Kyle gives a single white rose to a girl named Lindy—his single saving grace. Later that night, Kendra visits Kyle’s house, where she turns him into a hideous beast. She tells him that she wants his inside to match what is showing on the outside. Because of the flower, however, she gives him two years to find a girl who will love him, and therefore save his life. If he does not, he will remain a beast forever.

Alex Flinn Young Adult Author

http://www.alexflinn.com/

Picture Books for Older Readers Nominees

Wabi Sabi

By Mark Reibstein

Illustrated by Ed Young 

     Wabi Sabi, a cat, wants nothing more than to find out what her name means. As she travels across the county of Japan in search of her name’s meaning, you are exposed to beautiful pictures made from combinations of collages. Told top to bottom, the story unfolds in narrative, highlighted by haiku written by Basho and Shiki (both famous Japanese poets).

Ed Young

http://edyoungart.com/

Henry's Freedom Box

By Ellen Levine

Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

     This book is based upon the true story of Henry Brown, a slave, who eventually found freedom. Henry had always dreamed of being free, but only pursued that dream when his wife and children were sold and leftVirginia. It was then that Henry planned his escape, in a box mailed to abolitionists in Pennsylvania, a free state.

Ellen Levine

http://www.ellenlevineauthor.com/index.htm

Kadir Nelson

http://www.kadirnelson.com/

Goal!

By Mina Javaherbin
Illustrated by A.G. Ford

     Ajani just won a federation-size soccer ball and he is excited to play a game with his friends. He knows that the streets of their South African town are dangerous, but the boys draw sticks and the loser takes the first guard duty on the roof. They are so involved with their game that it is almost too late to save the new ball from the bullies that arrive and surround them. Through some quick thinking and over a few stressful minutes the boys are able to save the new ball and continue their soccer game.

Mina Javaherbin

http://minajavaherbin.com/

A.G. Ford
http://agfordillustration.com/

Intermediate Nominees

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis

By Barbara O'Connor

     It has been Popeye’s experience that nothing exciting ever happens when you live with your grandmother in a small town like Fayette, South Carolina. Well, there was the time before Popeye was three years old, and was called by the name Henry, that his Uncle Dooley tried to shoot a small crab apple off a fence post with a Red Ryder BB gun. Instead of the apple the BB hit him square in the eye and ever since his eye has squinted shut and Popeye has been Popeye. Still, Popeye is convinced that living in Fayette will always be
boring and every day will always be the same…until Elvis comes to town. Elvis Jewell, along with his nomad parents and five younger siblings, live in a big silver motor home that has taken a wrong turn and is now stuck in the mud. It is shortly after Popeye discovers the stranded Holiday Rambler and meets the unruly Jewells that things begin to happen—exciting things. On the first day, Elvis makes Popeye the senior vice president of the Spit and Swear Club. The very next day, Elvis grabs Popeye, gives him a little shake and says, “Let’s have an adventure.” And it isn’t long before an adventure comes floating down the creek in the shape of a small boat, made from Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink cartons, carrying a mysterious message. Meeting Elvis and the appearance of that Yoo-Hoo boat is just the beginning of a much-needed adventure for Popeye, who is about to find out that any adventure, even a small one, can change a person forever.

Barbara O'Connor

http://www.barboconnor.com/

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and other Scary Things

By Lenore Look

     Alvin Ho lives in Concord, Massachusetts with his parents, older brother Calvin, little sister Anibelly, and their dog Lucy. Alvin, a Chinese-American, is descended from a long line of farmer-warriors who, according to Alvin, “don’t have a scardey bone in their bodies.” Unfortunately Alvin doesn’t seem to take after these farmer-warriors because he is afraid of EVERYTHING. Alvin’s list of scary things includes: elevators, tunnels, bridges, thunder, wasabi, the dark, scary dreams, shots, and school. In fact Alvin is so afraid of school that he has never spoken in class and has to carry a PDK (Personal Disaster Kit) with him at all times. In his PDK Alvin packs things like: a whistle, a three-leaf clover, band-aids, a bandana, escape routes, a scary mask (for keeping girls away), and emergency plans for surviving fires, meeting teachers (another reason for the scary mask), surviving show and tell, and making friends. With his quirky sense of humor, his PDK, the love and support of family, and the occasional wearing of his “Firecracker Man” superhero outfit, Alvin sets out to conquer his "so-so performance anxiety disorder” and survive the perils of second grade, chicken pox, piano lessons, and girls… especially girls.

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning

By Danette Haworth

     Eleven-year-old Violet Raines is spirited, outspoken, headstrong, and happy. She has lived in the small town of Mitchell Hammock, Florida since birth and even though her Daddy is dead, she lives happily with just her Momma. When feeling lonely Violet simply walks next door to visit the Townsend family whose oldest daughter, Lottie, has been Violet’s best friend all of her life. There is also Eddie Brandon who cheerfully puts up with Violet’s “colorful personality” and shares her love of the outdoors, exploring tree caves, and spotting alligators. Violet is indeed happy, but things begin to change one bright Sunday morning when Melissa Gold comes walking into her life. Melissa has just moved into town and soon Lottie seems to spending more time with her and less time with Violet. Lottie also starts to develop new interests like putting on makeup, shopping, talking about boys and other activities that don’t interest Violet in the least. To make matters worse, lightning strikes the Townsend house and Lottie moves into Melissa’s house while hers is being repaired. Now it seems even more likely that Melissa will replace Violet as Lottie’s best friend. And why all of a sudden does Melissa’s interest in Eddie seem to make Violet feel so strange? After all Eddie isn’t her boyfriend, or so Violet keeps telling everyone. How in the world is Violet going to be able to keep showing her “fake-happy face” while trying to set right so many things that seem to be going so
wrong in her once happy life?

Danette Haworth
http://www.danettehaworth.com/