Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.
Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre. By Alverne Ball. Art by Stacey Robinson. Abrams/Megascope, $15.99 (9781419755170).
Greenwood—also known as Black Wall Street—was a bustling district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with many successful Black-owned businesses. In 1921, a white mob descended on Greenwood, destroying businesses and devastating the community. One hundred years later, Across the Tracks pays homage to Greenwood.
Alone. By Megan E. Freeman. 2020. Penguin Random House/Crown, $17.99 (9780593176399).
Maddie finds herself completely, totally alone when she wakes up from a secret sleepover and discovers that everyone was evacuated overnight from her town, her state, and maybe her whole half of the country. She has to survive natural disasters, the elements, looters, wild animals, and her own crushing loneliness.
The Canyon’s Edge. By Dusti Bowling. Little, Brown and Company/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $16.99 (9780316494694).
One year after a tragedy changed their family forever, Nora and her father set off to explore an isolated canyon. Disaster strikes, bringing with it a struggle for survival punctuated by flashbacks of the horrible events from a year earlier.
The Crossroads at Midnight. By Abby Howard. Iron Circus Comics, $18.00 (9781945820687).
What happens in that dark fuzzy place in the middle of the night? What happens when you are desperate enough to reach out and accept the supernatural? These beautifully drawn short stories attempt to answer these questions and more in this creepy graphic story collection.
Don’t Stand So Close To Me. By Eric Walters. 2020. Orca Book Publishers, $10.95 (9781459827875).
Quinn, Isaac, Reese and the rest of their 8th grade class react to the quickly evolving COVID-19 pandemic with the help of Quinn’s physician father and their very helpful teacher.
Home is Not a Country. By Safia Elhillo. Penguin Random House/Make Me a World, $17.99 (9780593177051).
Nima feels like she doesn’t belong at home, at school—anywhere. She wishes she could be prettier and less awkward. But when this other self shows up and tries to steal her life, Nima may find that what she has isn’t so bad after all.
Muted. By Tami Charles. Scholastic Inc./Scholastic Press, $18.99 (9781338673524).
Denver and her best friends are taken under the wing of music legend Sean “Mercury” Jones to become the next big thing, but at what price? As Merc becomes more controlling and cuts the girls off from family and friends, will they even make it out alive?
Noelle: The Mean Girl. by Ashley Woodfolk. Penguin Random House/Penguin Workshop, $15.99 (9780593096079).
Noelle is losing control. First she has a crush on her friend Tobyn. Next, her younger brother Pierre keeps getting beat up. Then when her father loses his job, she agrees to work more hours at her grandparent’s restaurant. Can Noelle figure out how to handle all of these changes?
Playing With Fire. By April Henry. Macmillan/Henry Holt and Co, $17.99 (9781250234063).
When a fast moving wildfire traps Natalia, Wyatt, and a group of other hikers, they must do whatever it takes to survive, which means hiking farther into the forest and potential danger, to get to safety. This is not what Natalia had in mind for her and Wyatt’s first date.
This is Not the Jess Show. By Anna Carey. Quirk Books, $18.99 (9781683691976).
Jess is a perfectly normal high school junior living in a small town in 1998, until the day her friend drops a small object with an apple logo on it, turning her world upside down.
Starfish. By Lisa Fipps. Penguin Random House/Nancy Paulsen Books, $17.99 (9781984814500).
Ellie has been bullied for her weight for as long as she remembers. Through new friendships and a helpful therapist, she feels confident being herself for the very first time. Written in verse from Ellie’s perspective, readers follow the mental and emotional evolution of a girl striving to fit in.
Stranded. By Jocelyn Shipley. 2020. Orca Publishing, $10.95 (9781459823891).
Kipp, a troubled teen trying to do right despite obstacles, finds himself working for a wealthy woman with a secret; she’s had troubled teens work for her before, but they’ve gone missing. Could Kipp be next?
Take Back the Block. By Chrystal D. Giles. Penguin Random House/Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99 (9780593175170).
Wes doesn’t want to go to all the protests his mom keeps dragging him to. But when developers swoop in and try to gentrify the neighborhood he loves, he finds that some things are worth fighting for.
Yesterday is History. By Kosoko Jackson. Sourcebooks/Sourcebooks Fire, $17.99 (9781492694359).
After a life-saving liver transplant, Andre gains the ability to time travel. He finds himself tethered to Michael in the year 1969, and the two quickly build a bond. Andre must balance this version of reality with life in 2021 which holds its own complicated relationships.
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Want a printable version of this round-up? Download the Summer nominations round-up.
