YA Youth Media Award Winners 2023

"Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young people, Essie, goes missing. Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her. Along the way...

3) Queer ducks (and other animals): the natural world of animal sexuality

Author

Schrefer, Eliot

Notes

Printz Honor Book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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"A research-based exploration of queer behavior in different animal species is interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with scientists"--

4) Icebreaker

Author

Graziadei, A. L

Notes

Printz Honor Book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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Mickey James III is following in his father's (and grandfather's) skates by playing hockey at Hartland University, but he is not enjoying the situation: for one thing he is seriously depressed, unsure of anything, even whether he can make it as a hockey player (or wants to); more troubling his rival, Jaysen Caulfield, is also on the team and seems to bitterly resent him--and Mickey actually finds Jaysen very attractive and does not know how to deal...

5) Scout's honor

Author

Anderson, Lily

Notes

Printz Honor Book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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"Sixteen-year-old Prudence Perry is a legacy Ladybird Scout, born to a family of hunters sworn to protect humans from mulligrubs—interdimensional parasites who feast on human emotions like sadness and anger. Masquerading as a prim and proper ladies' social organization, the Ladybirds brew poisons masked as teas and use knitting needles as daggers, at least until they graduate to axes and swords. Three years ago, Prue’s best friend was...

6) The last mapmaker

Author

Soontornvat, Christina

Notes

Newbery Honor Book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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Joining an expedition to chart the southern seas, twelve-year-old mapmaker's assistant Sai, posing as a well-bred young lady with a glittering future, realizes she's not the only one on board harboring secrets when she discovers the ship's true destination.

7) Ain't burned all the bright

Author

Reynolds, Jason

Notes

Caldecott Honor Book

Formats:

Book, Bag Book, eAudiobook

Description

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"A smash up of art and text that viscerally captures what it means to not be able to breathe, and how the people and things you love most are actually the oxygen you most need"--

8) victory stand raising my fist for justice

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

9) We deserve monuments

Author

Hammonds, Jas

Notes

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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When seventeen-year-old Avery moves to rural Georgia to live with her ailing grandmother, she encounters decade-old family secrets and a mystery surrounding the town's racist past.

10) The words we keep

Author

Stewart, Erin

Notes

Schneider Family Book Award

Description

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When sixteen-year-old Lily Larkin's older sister, Alice, begins to struggle with her mental health, Lily attempts to keep everything together and perfect, despite her own growing anxiety.

11) Breathe and count back from ten

Author

Sylvester, Natalia

Notes

Schneider Family Book Award Honor

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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"Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Verónica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex,...

12) The Honeys

Author

La Sala, Ryan

Notes

Odyssey Award for best audiobooks winner

Description

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"Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant. Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions--and expectations--of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his...

13) Demon in the Wood: Graphic Novel

Author

Bardugo, Leigh

Notes

Odyssey Award for best audiobooks honoree

Description

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A 2023 Audie Award winner!
A 2023 Odyssey Honors title!

"This is no ordinary audiobook, but rather a graphic novel for the ears. Readers will be delighted by the auditory magic of this book." —Booklist
"A full cast of talented narrators taps into the darkly magical atmosphere of Bardugo's graphic novel prequel to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Primary narrator Ben Barnes depicts the villainous Darkling

...

14) Inheritance: a visual poem

Author

Acevedo, Elizabeth

Notes

Odyssey Award for best audiobooks honoree

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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"In her most famous spoken-word poem, author of the Pura Belpré-winning novel-in-verse The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo embraces all the complexities of Black hair and Afro-Latinidad--the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance. Paired with full-color illustrations by artist Andrea Pippins in a format that will appeal to fans of Mahogany L. Browne's Black Girl Magic or Jason Reynolds's For Everyone, this poem can now be read in a...

15) Burn Down, Rise Up

Author

Tirado, Vincent

Notes

Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award Winner

Formats:

eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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The 2023 Pura Belpré Award-winning young adult novel! Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of friends determined to save their city at any cost. Stranger Things meets Jordan Peele in this acclaimed novel from an incredible new voice. For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police...

16) The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

Author

Reyes, Sonora

Notes

Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award Honor Book William C. Morris Award finalist

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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Sixteen-year-old Mexican American Yami Flores starts Catholic school, determined to keep her brother out of trouble and keep herself closeted, but her priorities shift when Yami discovers that her openly gay classmate Bo is also annoyingly cute.

17) high spirits short stories on dominican diaspora

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

18) I kissed Shara Wheeler: a novel

Author

McQuiston, Casey

Notes

Stonewall Honor Book

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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After seventeen-year-olds Chole and Shara, Chole's rival for valedictorian, kiss, Shara vanishes leaving Chole and two boys, who are also enamored with Shara, to follow the trail of clues she left behind, but during the search, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to Shara and her small Alabama town than she thought.

19) Kings of B'more

Author

Thomas, R. Eric

Notes

Stonewall Honor Book

Description

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Propelled by his best friend's impending move out of state and inspired by Ferris Bueller's Day Off, sixteen-year-old Harrison plans a farewell through Baltimore that includes a road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party.

20) summer of bitter and sweet

This entry no longer exists in the catalog