2023 Nominees

Ace of Spades

by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Devon and Chiamaka score coveted leadership positions at school, but secrets get out and their positions are jeopardized. Someone is out to get them both.

All These Bodies

by Kendare Blake
Sixteen bloodless bodies. Two teenagers. One impossible explanation. What really happened the night that the Carlsons were killed? And why is one girl in the middle of it all?

Blackout

by Dhonelle Clayton, Tiffany D Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks as several stories weave together.

The Corpse Queen

by Heather M. Herrmann
Orphaned seventeen-year-old Molly Green is eager to start a new life in her aunt's lucrative business selling corpses to medical students, but she quickly becomes entangled in a murderer's plans.

A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

by  Laura Taylor Namey
Seventeen-year-old Lila Reyes, furious when her parents send her to the English countryside to recover from grief and heartbreak, unexpectedly falls in love with a tea shop clerk--and England, itself.

The Darkness Outside Us

by Eliot Schrefer
Ambrose wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of a launch. There's more that doesn't add up, but nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed--not when he's rescuing his own sister.

Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love

by Jared Reck
Oscar decides his future is working with his grandfather on their food truck Hej Hej!, but when Oscar unexpectedly gets his first taste of adulthood he realizes his plans may be half-baked.

An Emotion of Great Delight

by Tahereh Mafi
Shadi is named for joy, but she's haunted by sorrow. She tries to navigate her crumbling world by soldiering through, saying nothing, until finally, one day, everything changes. She explodes.

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown

by Steve Sheinkin
After World War II, the U.S. and the Soviet Union emerged as the two greatest world powers, on extreme opposites of the political spectrum, bringing the world to the brink of the third world war                                                                  

Firekeeper’s Daughter

by Angeline Boulley
Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.

The Girls I’ve Been

by Tess Sharpe
When seventeen-year-old Nora O'Malley, the daughter of a con artist, is taken hostage in a bank heist, every secret she is keeping close begins to unravel.

Himawari House

by Harmony Becker
When Nao returns to Tokyo to reconnect with her Japanese heritage, she books a yearlong stay at the Himawari sharehouse. There she befriends Hyejung and Tina, as they all forge their own paths.

Home Is Not a Country

by Safia Elhillo
Nima feels like an outsider and can’t help wishing her parents had chosen a different path for her. But when that imagined other life starts creeping into Nima’s reality, she has to fight for what she has.                     

House of Hollow

by Krystal Sutherland
Something happened to Iris Hollow and her two older sisters Grey and Vivi when they were children, leaving them with identical scars. When Grey goes missing, Iris has to revisit their childhood mystery. 

In Deeper Waters

by F.T. Lukens
Sixteen-year-old Prince Tal is on his long-awaited coming-of-age tour when he meets the intriguing and roguish Athlen, and when he is kidnapped by pirates, Athlen is his only hope of escape.

Kneel

by Candace Buford
Russell has a goal: to get a college scholarship and play football nationally. But when his best friend is unfairly arrested and kicked off the team, Rus faces an impossible choice: speak up or live in fear.

Not My Problem

by Ciara Smith
Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t solve. But she stumbles into the role of “fixer” for other people’s problems. Now, if she could just solve her own!

Nubia: Real One

by L. L. McKinney
Nubia has amazing powers, but keeps them hidden for fear the world will see her not as a hero, but a threat. When her community is attacked, she finds the strength to be their own Wonder Woman..

The Passing Playbook

by  Isaac Fitzsimmons
After starting over in a liberal private school where he is passing, transgender athlete Spencer must decide between fighting for his right to play on the boys' soccer team and staying stealth. 

Take Me With You When You Go 

by David Levithan and Jennifer Niven  
Ezra’s sister Bea has run away from home. He’s not surprised she left; he’s angry she didn’t take him with her. Via email, the siblings unpack their past in hopes of making a safer future..

Today Tonight Tomorrow

by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rowan and Neil have been in competition with one another since freshman year. But in the last twenty-four hours of high school, the two learn they share something much deeper than a rivalry.

What I Carry

by Jennifer Longo
Muir has just one year left before she ages out of the foster care system. One year to avoid anything--or anyone--that could get in her way. And then everything changes