This award began in 2009. It is given to a new author or authors who have not been previously published and have had a strong literary debut for young adults.
The 2009 winner was:
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Charlotte Miller has always scoffed at talk of a curse on her family’s woolen mill, which holds her beloved town together. But after her father’s death, the bad luck piles up. Then a stranger named Jack Spinner makes a tempting offer: he can turn straw into gold.
The 2010 winner is:
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan
Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him. When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa.
The honor books for 2010 are:
Ash by Malinda Lo
This debut, a retelling of Cinderella in which the heroine falls in love with a beautiful huntress rather than a prince, should establish Lo as a gifted storyteller.
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.
The everafter by Amy Huntley
After her death, seventeen-year-old Maddy find a way to revisit moments of her life by using objects that she lost while she was alive, and by doing so she tries to figure out complicated emotions, events and meaning of her existence.
Hold still by Nina La Cour
Ingrid didn’t leave a note. Three months after her best friends suicide, Caitlin, finds what was left instead: a journal, left under Caitlin’s bed.
The 2011 winner was:
Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
Suffering from a crippling case of post-traumatic stress disorder, sixteen-year-old Loa Lindgren tries to use her problem solving skills, sharpened in physics and computer programming, to cure herself.
Attention teens. It's Teen Tech Week! Celebrate by letting us know your opinions about your library. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey so we know what is important to you.