2008-2009 YABA
Nominees
The books presented in this PowerPoint were selected by the South
Carolina Association of School Librarians Young Adult Book Award
Nominee Committee. The Book Award Committee is made up of a
cross section of media specialists, teachers, students, parents,
administrators, public librarians, and college or university
representatives. These individuals commit themselves for three years
during which time they annually formulate the various SCASL Book
Award Program book lists. In order to accomplish this they must each
read 100-250 titles each year which are then discussed and evaluated
at regular meetings. It is their efforts which afford each year's
carefully selected reading list in each category: picture books,
children, junior, and young adult. Media specialists, teachers, and
students owe them a big thanks!
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Notes:
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with
her medievalist parents, high school junior
Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where
several students may or may not be
reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.
Subjects:
Reincarnation Fiction.
Arthur, King Fiction.
Identity Fiction.
Secrets Fiction.
High schools Fiction
Lexile Number: 800
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 02/01/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 02/01/06, Horn Book starred
10/01/06, School Library Journal 01/01/06,
Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 02/01/06,
Wilson's Senior High School 11/01/0
Pages: 288 (est.)
Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe
Notes:
While vacationing with her family in Las Vegas,
seventeen-year-old Jasmine stumbles upon a
murder mystery that she attempts to solve with
the help of her friends, recently arrived from
California.
Subjects:
Murder Fiction.
Las Vegas (Nev.) Fiction.
Racially mixed people Fiction.
Humorous stories.
Mystery and detective stories.
Lexile Number: 830
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 01/01/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 04/01/06, Horn Book 10/01/06,
School Library Journal 02/01/06, Voice of Youth
Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 02/01/06, Wilson's Senior
High School 11/01/06
Pages: 268 (est.)
The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson
Notes:
On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father,
seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her
knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a
friend while putting herself in terrible danger.
Subjects:
Coroners
Fathers and daughters
Coroners -- Fiction.
Forensic sciences -- Fiction.
Fathers and daughters -- Fiction.
Mystery and detective stories.
Father-daughter relationship -- Fiction.
Mystery fiction.
Lexile Number: 800
Reviews & Awards:
Book Links (A.L.A.) 01/01/07, Booklist 07/01/06, Bulletin
of the Center for Children's Books 09/01/06, Library
Media Connection 10/01/06, School Library Journal
08/01/06, Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 08/01/06
Pages: 274 (est.)
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
Notes:
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an
indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and
try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish
colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. Includes
bibliographical references (p. 304-306).
Subjects:
Slavery Fiction.
Indentured servants Fiction.
S. Carolina History Colonial period, 1600-1775 Fiction.
Florida History Spanish colony, 1565-1763 Fiction.
African Americans History 18th century Fiction.
Historical fiction.
Lexile Number: 820
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist starred 02/01/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 04/01/06, Coretta Scott King
Award/Honor 01/22/07, Horn Book 10/01/06, Library
Media Connection starred 08/01/06, School Library
Journal starred 01/01/06, Wilson's Junior High School
08/21/06, Wilson's Senior High School 11/01/06
Pages: 314 (est.)
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Notes:
After spending her summer running the family
farm and training the quarterback for her
school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old
D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not
anticipating the reactions of those around her.
Subjects:
Football Fiction.
Farm life Fiction.
Lexile Number: 990
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 04/01/06, Horn Book starred 10/01/06,
School Library Journal 04/01/06, Wilson's
Junior High School 08/01/07
Pages: 274 (est.)
Dead Connection by Charlie Price
Notes:
A loner who communes with the dead in the
town cemetery hears the voice of a
murdered cheerleader and tries to convince
the adults that he knows what happened to
her.
Subjects:
Murder Fiction.
Spirits Fiction.
Cemeteries Fiction.
Lexile Number: 740
Reviews & Awards:
Book Links (A.L.A.) 01/01/07, Booklist
starred 05/01/06, Horn Book starred
10/01/06, School Library Journal 04/01/06,
Wilson's Junior High School 08/01/07,
Wilson's Senior High School 11/01/06
Pages: 225 (est.)
Doppelganger by David Stahler, Jr.
Notes:
When a sixteen-year-old member of a race of
shape-shifting killers called doppelgangers
assumes the life of a troubled teen, he becomes
unexpectedly embroiled in human life--and it is
nothing like what he has seen on television.
Subjects:
Family problems Fiction.
Conduct of life Fiction.
Football Fiction.
Child abuse Fiction.
Supernatural Fiction.
Lexile Number: Not Available
Reviews & Awards:
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
09/01/06, Horn Book 10/01/06, School Library
Journal 06/01/06, Voice of Youth Advocates
(V.O.Y.A.) 04/01/06, Wilson's Junior High School
08/01/07
Pages: 258 (est.)
Firestorm by David Klass
Notes:
After learning that he has been sent from
the future for a special purpose, eighteenyear-old Jack receives help from an
unusual dog and a shape-shifting female
fighter.
Subjects:
Space and time Fiction.
Ecology Fiction.
Dogs Fiction.
Science fiction.
Lexile Number: 510
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 09/15/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 10/01/06, Horn Book
04/01/07, New York Times 11/12/06,
School Library Journal starred 09/01/06,
Wilson's Junior High School 08/01/07
Pages: 289 (est.)
Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney
Notes:
Sixteen-year-old Brittany acts as chauffeur for her
grandmother and three other eighty-plus-year-old
women going to what is supposedly their college
reunion, on a long drive that involves lies, theft, and
kidnappings.
Subjects:
Grandmothers Fiction.
Kidnapping Fiction.
Friendship Fiction.
Automobile travel Fiction.
Old age Fiction.
Lexile Number: 790
Reviews & Awards:
Book Links (A.L.A.) 03/01/07, Book Links starred
05/01/06, Booklist starred 03/15/06, Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books 06/01/06, Horn Book
10/01/06, Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.)
10/01/06, Wilson's Junior High School 08/01/07
Pages: 183 (est.)
Monkey Town: The Summer of the
Scopes Trial by Ronald Kidd
Notes:
When her father hatches a plan to bring publicity
to their small Tennessee town by arresting a local
high school teacher for teaching about evolution,
the resulting 1925 Scopes trial prompts fifteenyear-old Frances to rethink many of her beliefs
about religion and truth, as well as her relationship
with her father.
Subjects: Scopes, John Thomas Trials, litigation,
etc. Fiction.
Evolution Study and teaching Law and legislation
Fiction.
Fathers and daughters Fiction.
Tennessee History 20th century Fiction.
Lexile Number: 740
Reviews & Awards:
Book Links (A.L.A.) 01/01/07, Booklist 12/15/05,
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
02/01/06, Horn Book starred 10/01/06, School
Library Journal starred 02/01/06, Wilson's Junior
High School 08/21/06
Pages: 259 (est.)
Life As We Knew It by
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Notes:
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old
Miranda describes her family's struggle to
survive after a meteor hits the moon,
causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes,
and volcanic eruptions.
Subjects:
Natural disasters -- Fiction.
Family life -- Fiction.
Diaries -- Fiction.
Science fiction.
Lexile Number: 770
Reviews & Awards:
School Library Journal10/06, Booklist
starred 9/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 12/06, (V.O.Y.A.)10/06,
Wilson's Junior High School 8/07, Horn
Book Starred 4/07
Pages: 337 (est.)
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Notes:
Seattle high school senior Jade's life is
defined by her anxiety disorder and
dysfunctional family, until she spies a
mysterious boy with a baby who seems to
share her fascination with the elephants at a
nearby zoo.
Subjects:
Coming of age Fiction.
Zoos Fiction.
Family problems Fiction.
Anxiety Fiction.
Lexile Number: 800
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 02/01/07, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 02/01/07, Horn Book
10/01/07, School Library Journal 05/01/07,
Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.)
04/01/07
Pages: 288 (est.)
New Moon (on YouTube) by
Stephenie Meyer
Notes:
When the Cullens, including her beloved Edward,
leave Forks rather than risk revealing that they are
vampires, it is almost too much for eighteen-yearold Bella to bear, but she finds solace in her friend
Jacob until he is drawn into a "cult" and changes in
terrible ways.
Subjects:
Vampires Fiction.
Werewolves Fiction.
High schools Fiction.
Washington (State) Fiction.
Lexile Number: 690
Reviews & Awards:
School Library Journal 08/01/06, Voice of Youth
Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 08/01/06, Wilson's Junior High
School 08/01/07
Pages: 563 (est.)
Notes from the Midnight Driver by
Jordan Sonnenblick
Notes:
After being assigned to perform community service at a
nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a
cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart
about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.
Subjects:
Self-perception Fiction.
Friendship Fiction.
Nursing homes Fiction.
Guitar Fiction.
Musicians Fiction.
Family problems Fiction.
Lexile Number: 930
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist starred 10/01/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 01/01/07, Horn Book starred 09/01/06,
School Library Journal 10/01/06, Voice of Youth
Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 10/01/06, Wilson's Junior High
School 08/01/07
Pages: 265 (est.)
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
Notes:
Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his
attempts, starting at a young age, to free
himself and his sisters from the grip of their
emotionally and physically abusive mother.
Subjects:
Child abuse
Emotional problems of teenagers
Child abuse -- Fiction.
Brothers and sisters -- Fiction.
Emotional problems -- Fiction.
Siblings -- Fiction.
Lexile Number: 660
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist starred 08/01/06, Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books 09/01/06, Horn
Book starred 04/01/07, School Library
Journal starred 09/01/06, Wilson's Junior
High School 08/01/07
Pages: 259 (est.)
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by
Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
Notes:
Calliope and Eliot, two fifteen-year-olds in
Asheville, North Carolina, begin to
acknowledge some unpleasant truths about
their parents and form their own ideas about
love
Subjects:
Family problems Fiction.
Love Fiction.
Fairs Fiction.
Asheville (N.C.) Fiction.
Lexile Number: Not Available
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 06/01/06, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 06/01/06, Horn Book
10/01/06, School Library Journal 05/01/06,
Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 08/01/06,
Wilson's Junior High School 08/01/07
Pages: 262 (est.)
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Notes:
A novel in vignettes, in which Lakshmi, a
thirteen-year-old girl from Nepal, is sold into
prostitution in India.
Subjects:
Human trafficking Fiction.
Calcutta (India) Fiction.
Child prostitution Fiction.
Brothels Fiction.
Lexile Number: 820
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist starred 09/15/06, Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books starred 12/01/06,
Horn Book starred 04/01/07Library Media
Connection 01/01/07, School Library Journal
09/01/06Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.)
12/01/06
Pages: 263 (est.)
Trigger by Susan Vaught
Notes:
Teenager Jersey Hatch must piece his life
back together after he tries to shoot himself in
the head, and as he rebuilds his mind and his
body, he learns some surprising truths about
his former life.
Subjects:
Brains Wounds and injuries Fiction.
Brain damage Patients Rehabilitation Fiction.
Gunshot wounds Fiction.
Suicide Fiction.
Lexile Number: 570
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist starred 12/01/06, Bulletin of the
Center for Children's Books 10/01/06, Horn
Book starred 04/01/07, Library Media
Connection starred 02/01/07, Voice of Youth
Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 10/01/06
Pages: 292 (est.)
The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
Notes:
After learning about his magical ancestry and
his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old
Jack embarks on a training program to fight
enemy wizards.
Subjects:
Magic Fiction.
Wizards Fiction.
Identity Fiction.
Fantasy.
Lexile Number: 730
Reviews & Awards:
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
starred 07/01/06, Horn Book 10/01/06,
Library Media Connection 02/01/07, School
Library Journal 07/01/06, Voice of Youth
Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 02/01/06
Pages: 426 (est.)
What Happened to Cass McBride by
Gail Giles
Notes:
After his younger brother commits suicide,
Kyle Kirby decides to exact revenge on the
person he holds responsible.
Subjects:
Revenge Fiction.
Suicide Fiction.
Crime Fiction.
Family problems Fiction.
Lexile Number: 520
Reviews & Awards:
Booklist 01/01/07, Bulletin of the Center for
Children's Books 12/01/06, Horn Book
04/01/07, Library Media Connection
04/01/07, School Library Journal 02/01/07,
Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 12/01/06
Pages: 211 (est.)
YABA Voting
Students who read three or
more of this year’s YABA
nominees are entitled to vote
for their favorite during the
first week of February.
YABA Banner
Students who have read one of more of this year’s YABA nominees are
invited to create a banner that represents a Book Award Nominee for the
current year.
The guidelines to be followed are:
1. The banner must represent a Book Award Nominee for the current year.
2. It must measure 2’6” X 6’, to be hung vertically.
3. It must be made from cloth and have a 2” pocket on the top for the
insertion of a dowel rod plus three button holes through this pocket for
alternative hanging methods.
4. The book title and author’s name must be on the front of the banner.
5. In order to identify the banner and assist the judges, place a 3” X 5”
card in each of the lower back corners of the banner. The following
information should be included on each card:
School – name and mailing address
Name(s) of the designer (individual or group)
Category (Picture, Children’s, Junior, Young Adult)
School Media Specialist and e-mail address
YABA Banner
(Continued)
Click here to get a copy of the rubric
used to judge the banners.
Click here to get a visual of what the
banner should look like.
This PowerPoint was created by
Frank Moore, NBCT
North Myrtle Beach High School
Little River, South Carolina
All images and text are from Follett’s Titlewave resource or
from Horry County School’s OPAC.
Permission is summarily granted to use this PowerPoint for educational purposes.
© 2008
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