2015-2016 Nominated Titles

Middle School Division

Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

This nonfiction book presents the history of the group of spies, Holocaust survivors, and lawyers who pursued Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal, for fifteen years in order to bring him to justice for his role in the killing of thousands of Jews during World War II.

Jinx by Sage Blackwood

A young boy named Jinx encounters magic and danger as he grows up in the deep, dark forest known as the Urwald and discovers that the world beyond--and within--the Urwald is more complex than he could imagine. He and his newfound friends must confront the an evil wizard in order to find the forest’s secrets.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne

Thirteen-year-old Moxie must solve a famous art heist in order to protect those she loves from her ailing grandfather's gangster past. This novel includes facts about the infamous 1990 Gardner Museum art theft.

Foul Trouble by John Feinstein

College recruiters are clambering to sign up Terrell Jamerson, the #1 high school basketball player in the country. Not all of these recruiters are playing fair, and Terrell will have to think fast if he wants to stay in the game.

Salt by Helen Frost

Twelve-year-olds Anikwa of the Miami tribe and James from a trading post in the Indiana Territory find their friendship threatened by the rising fear and tension brought by the War of 1812.

Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz

Annie and her younger brother are being raised by their fragile grandmother and are surrounded by family secrets. Everything changes when an escaped prisoner shows up at their house and takes the family hostage.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

Based on the true story of Jack Gruener, this novel tells his story of survival from the Nazi occupation of Krakow, through a succession of concentration camps, and to the final liberation of Dachau.

Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington

Sarah writes letters to her hero, Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird, for help in understanding her mentally ill mother, her first real crush, and life in her small Texas town.

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata

Summer thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong in a year of bad luck. Then an emergency takes her parents to Japan, and Summer must care for her little brother while helping her grandparents work the grain harvest.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

A strange weather phenomenon drives students into a superstore where fourteen kids take refuge while the world outside gets torn apart from a series of escalating disasters.

March: Book 1 by John Lewis

This graphic biography presents events from the life of Georgia congressman John Lewis and focuses on his youth in rural Alabama, his meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., and the birth of the Nashville Student Movement.

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano

It is 1969 in Spanish Harlem, and Evelyn is trying hard to break free from her conservative Puerto Rican surroundings. When her activist grandmother comes to stay and the neighborhood protests start, daily life gets a lot more complicated--and dangerous—for her family.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

When Jeremy's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of Ginger, the two friends find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown and the dark secrets of its fabled bakery.

Call of the Klondike by David Meissner and Kim Richardson

Through telegrams, letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles, the authors retell the true story of Will Stanley Pearce and Marshall Bond's adventures as prospectors during the Klondike gold rush.

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

Sophie travels with her mother to an animal sanctuary for bonobos in the Congo. After rebel soldiers overrun the compound, she and the apes flee into the jungle where they must fight for their survival.    

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

A brilliant but eccentric young girl named Willow must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her own parents are killed in a car accident.

The President Has Been Shot by James Swanson  

Swanson discussing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and related events, including his funeral and the apprehension of his killer in this dramatic work of narrative non-fiction.

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

In 1871 Wisconsin, sharpshooter Georgia sets out to find her missing sister. Everyone assumes Agatha is dead, but Georgia refuses to give up hope that her sister is still alive. All she has to do is find her.

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

When an eleven-year-old boy takes over a friend's newspaper route in July, 1959, in Memphis, his debilitating stutter makes for a memorable month, especially after he runs afoul of the local junkman.

Boxers & Saints by Gene Yang

The two-boxed set of graphic novels looks at China in 1898 during the Boxer Rebellion from two very different perspectives.