2019 Nominees

The 57 Bus (2019 honor book)

by Dashka Slater
One teenager in a shirt. One teenager with a lighter. Both from Oakland, CA, but from seemingly different worlds. One moment that changes both of their lives forever.

Allegedly

by Tiffany Jackson
When Mary, a teenager living in a group home, becomes pregnant, authorities re-examine the crime for which Mary was convicted when she was nine years old.

The Education Margot Sanchez

by Lilliam Rivera
Margot Sanchez is paying off debts by working in her family's grocery store, but she must make the right choices about friends, family, and boys.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

by Julia C. Dao
The stars say Xifeng is destined for greatness, meant to be Empress of Feng Lu, but only if she embraces the darkness within her and hurts the one she loves.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

by Mackenzi Lee
Vowing to make his yearlong escapade across Europe his last hurrah before taking over the family estate, Henry 'Monty' Montague and his best friend Percy, find themselves in the middle of a dangerous manhunt involving pirates and highwaymen.

Girl in the Blue Coat

by Monica Hesse
On 1943 Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Hanneke--a 'finder' of black market goods--is tasked with finding a Jewish girl who has seemingly vanished into thin air, and is pulled into the resistance activities and secrets as she attempts to solve the mystery and save the missing girl.

The Hate U Give (2019 winner)

by Angie Thomas
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahill died.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love

by Maurene Goo
Desi Lee decides to tackle her romance disasters by watching Korean television dramas, where the hapless heroine always seems to end up with her true love. Desi goes after a moody artist -- utilizing boat resuces, love triangles, and staged car accidents.

Kat and Meg Conquer the World

by Anna Priemaza
Kat's anxiety and Meg's ADHD makes it difficult for them to find and maintain friendships. Can a random science project pairing and the discovery of a mutual love of an online star help them get out of their heads to find a real friend?

The Language of Thorns

by Leigh Bardugo
In this short story collection, travel to a world of dark moonlit bargains, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a love-struck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price.

The Lie Tree

by Frances Harding
On an island off the coast of Victorian England, Faith investigates the death of her father. She discovers a tree that bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it---and the fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. Does the tree hold the key to her father's death?

Lighter Than My Shadow

by Katie Green
A graphic novel documenting the author's struggle with eating disorders, and sexual abuse and her road to recovery.

Long Way Down (2019 honor book)

by Jason Reynolds
As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn's fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.

Moxie: a novel

by Jennifer Mathieu
In a small Texas town where high school football reigns supreme, Viv, sixteen, starts a feminist revolution using anonymously-written zines.

My Sister Rosa

by Justine Larbalestier
When his father's business takes the family to New York City, a seveteen-year-old Australian boy must balance his desire to protect his ten-year-old sister, a diagnosable psychopath, from the world with the desperate need to protect the world from her.