Award-Winning Readings: National Book Award Nominees: Young People’s Literature

Colleen AF Venable is an author, designer, and maker. Her graphic novel series Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye (illustrated by Stephanie Yue) was nominated for an Eisner for Best Publication for Kids. Her other books include Mervin the Sloth is About to Do the Best Thing in the World and Amy the Red Panda Writes the Best Story in the World, both illustrated by Ruth Chan. Ellen T. Crenshaw is a cartoonist and illustrator for books, editorial, advertising, comics, and children's media. Her other books include Test Your Baby and Test Your Toddler's IQ (both written by Rachel Federman). In Kiss Number 8 (First Second) Colleen AF Venable tells Mads’ story. She’s pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be… until all of a sudden, it's not. Her dad is hiding something big―so big it could tear her family apart. And then Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam… because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. In a starred review, Kirkus called Kiss Number 8 “a story of family and friendship and love in all its forms, perfect for the graphic novel format and elevated by the combined art and narrative...the characters shine, fully human and permitted to be flawed. Hope prevails. A rare blend of tender and revolutionary."

Ellen T. Crenshaw is a cartoonist and illustrator for books, editorial, advertising, comics, and children’s media. Her work appears in Beer Advocate Magazine and The Nib, and her other books include Test Your Baby and Test Your Toddler’s IQ (both written by Rachel Federman). Kiss Number 8 is her first graphic novel. In Kiss Number 8 (First Second), nominated for a National Book Award in Young People’s Literature, Colleen AF Venable and Ellen Crenshaw tell Mads’ story. She’s pretty happy with her life. She goes to church with her family, and minor league baseball games with her dad. She goofs off with her best friend Cat, and has thus far managed to avoid getting kissed by Adam, the boy next door. It's everything she hoped high school would be… until all of a sudden, it's not. Her dad is hiding something big―so big it could tear her family apart. And then Mads is starting to figure out that she doesn't want to kiss Adam… because the only person she wants to kiss is Cat. In a starred review, Kirkus called Kiss Number 8 “a story of family and friendship and love in all its forms, perfect for the graphic novel format and elevated by the combined art and narrative...the characters shine, fully human and permitted to be flawed. Hope prevails. A rare blend of tender and revolutionary."

Hal Schrieve grew up in Olympia, Washington, has a BA in history with a minor in English from University of Washington and studies library science at Queens College, New York. Hir poetry has appeared in Vetch magazine. In Out of Salem (Triangle Square), Schrieve’s first novel, genderqueer fourteen-year-old Z Chilworth has to adjust quickly to their new status as a zombie after waking from death from a car crash that killed their parents and sisters. Always a talented witch, Z now can barely perform magic and is rapidly decaying. Faced with rejection from their remaining family members and old friends, Z moves in with their mother's friend, Mrs. Dunnigan, and befriends Aysel Tahir, a fat, Turkish-American lesbian who faces life-threatening danger if anyone discovers she’s an unregistered werewolf. When a local psychiatrist is murdered by what seems to be werewolves, the town of Salem, Oregon, becomes even more hostile to "monsters," and Z and Aysel are driven together in an attempt to survive a place where most people wish that neither of them existed. Kirkus Reviews noted that, "set in 1997, this darkly humored fantasy explores censorship, government surveillance, homelessness, and real-world (not just magical) forms of oppression.”

Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, his many books include When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, which received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. In Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks (Simon & Schuster) Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and weaves them into one wickedly funny, piercingly poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life. It’s a story that includes talking about boogers, stealing pocket change, skateboarding, wiping out, complicated handshakes but mostly, walking home. In a starred review Kirkus noted that in Look Both Ways "Reynolds' gift for capturing the voices and humanity of urban teens is on full display […] Brims with humor, pathos, and the heroic struggle to grow up."

Laura Ruby is the author of Bone Gap, a Michael L. Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist. Her other novels for children and teens include York: The Shadow Cipher and its sequel, York: The Clockwork Ghost; the mystery Lily’s Ghosts; and her debut young adult novel, Good Girls. Her short fiction for adults has appeared in various literary magazines, including Other Voices and The Florida Review. She is on the faculty of Hamline University’s MFA in writing for children and young adults program. Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All (Balzer + Bray) tells the story of two young women—one living, one dead—dealing with loss, desire, and the fragility of the American dream during WWII. When Frankie’s mother died and her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage in Chicago, it was supposed to be only temporary—just long enough for him to get back on his feet and be able to provide for them once again. That’s why Frankie's not prepared for the day that he arrives for his weekend visit with a new woman on his arm and out-of-state train tickets in his pocket. ow Frankie and her sister, Toni, are abandoned alongside so many other orphans—two young, unwanted women doing everything they can to survive. As the Great Depression fuels the fires of World War II, it will be up to Frankie to find something worth holding on to in the ruins of this shattered America. School Library Journal praised the book’s “Powerful plotting, masterful character development, and a unique narrative device set this work apart. Make room on the shelf next to Code Name Verity and The Book Thief.”