Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award 2010 Nominees
Abundance of Katherines by John Green 227 p.
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. www.sparksflyup.com
Aftershock by Kelly Easton 165 p.
Witnessing his parents' death in a car crash in Idaho, seventeen-year-old Adam's mind is sent spinning as he begins to walk his way back home to Rhode Island in an attempt to deal with the tragedy he knows will forever alter the only life he has ever known. www.kellyeaston.com
Avalon High by Meg Cabot 288 p.
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School, where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court. www.megcabot.com
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 552 p.
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. www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak
The Christopher Killer: A Forensic Mystery by Alane Ferguson 274 p.
On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger. www.alaneferguson.com
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 485 p.
Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster. www.cassandraclare.com
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah 360 p.
Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style.
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz 386 p.
Chatting with a nervous stranger sitting at a local bar, Timothy Carrier soon realizes that he has been mistaken for a killer-for-hire and has been given an envelope full ofcash and a contract on a pretty young woman whose photograph and address accompany the money.
Sexual references & violent content www.deankoontz.com
Gym Candy by Carl Deuker 313 p.
Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life. http://members.authorsguild.net/carldeuker/
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding 292 p.
In a world similar to Victorian London, Thaniel, a seventeen-year-old hunter of deadly, demoniccreatures called the wych-kin, takes in an lost, possessed girl, and becomes embroiled in aplot tounleash evil on the world. www.chriswooding.com
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter 284 p.
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission. www.allycarter.com
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch 165 p.
High school senior and football player Keir sets out to enjoy himself on graduation night, but when he attempts to comfort a friend whose date has left her stranded, things go terribly wrong. www.harpercollins.com/authors/12419/Chris_Lnch/index.aspx
Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles 303 p.
In alternating chapters, seventeen-year-olds Caleb and Maggie relate the difficulties of readjusting to school, and changing relationships with family, friends, and one another, a year after a drunk driving accident sent her to the hospital with a crippling leg injury and him to prison. www.simoneelkeles.net
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer 337 p.
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah 229 p.
In a heart-wrenching, candid autobiography, a human rights activist offers a firsthand account of war from the perspective of a former child soldier, detailing the violent civil war that wracked his native Sierra Leone and the government forces that transformed a gentle young boy into a killer as a member of the army. www.alongwaygone.com
Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s by John Elder Robison 288 p.
In an entertaining and inspirational memoir of living with Asperger's Syndrome, the author describes life growing up different in an unusual family, his unusual talents, his struggle to live a "normal" life, his diagnosis at the age of forty with Asperger's, and the dramatic changes that have occurred since that diagnosis. www.johnrobison.com
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen 433 p.
In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others. www.myspace.com/AnnaGodbersen
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult 455 p.
The people of Sterling, New Hampshire, are forever changed after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead, and the judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter witnessed the events and was friends with the assailant.
Sexualreferences & violent content www.jodipicoult.com
Pride of Baghdad by Brian Vaughan 136 p.
A pride of lions escapes from the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraq War and question the meaning of freedom. Graphic novel format. www.myspace.com/briankvaughan
Rooftop by Paul Volponi 199 p.
Still reeling from seeing police shoot his unarmed cousin to death on the roof of a New York City housing project, seventeen-year-old Clay is dragged into the whirlwind of political manipulation that follows. www.paulvolponibooks.com
Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin 259 p. Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother. www.nancywerlin.com
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr 328 p.
Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance. www.melissa-marr.com |
