The Red Palace by June Hur Feiwel & Friends Publication Date: January 25, 2022 ISBN: 9781250800558
In 1758 Joseon (Korea), 18-year-old Hyeon worked hard to become a palace nurse, one of the very few positions an illegitimate daughter can hold, with the hopes of doing a good job and earning her father’s approval, but her hopes are dashed when her mentor is accused of murdering four girls and Hyeon chooses to risk her life and position to help clear her mentor’s name.
Answers in the Pages by David Levithan Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: May 10, 2022 ISBN: 9780593484685
Three different storylines intertwine to reveal the importance of stories, representation, and standing up for the right to read. The story opens from the perspective of Donovan who is reading a book titled, The Adventurers for school. His mom reads the last sentence of the book and goes on to challenge the title in front of the school board based on her presumption that the book contains LGBTQIA+ themes. This storyline is intersected with actual excerpts from The Adventurers, as well as the story of Gideon, a boy who is experiencing new feelings towards a boy who just moved to his school.
Due to the large number of nominees, not all titles are shown here. See full list below.
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.
Amari and the Night Brothers. By B.B. Alston. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (9780062975164).
Amari’s brother Quinton has disappeared, and her only hope of finding him is to follow in his footsteps and become a Junior Agent with the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
Amber and Clay. By Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick Press, $22.99 (9781536201222).
In ancient Greece, two unlikely friends Rhaskos and Melisto find their lives intertwined in a search for freedom and purpose. As a ghost bound to Rhaskos, Melisto must help free him before she can find her own rest in the Halls of Hades.
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur Macmillan / Feiwel and Friends Publication Date: April 20, 2021 ISBN: 978-1250229588
Five years ago, Hwani and her sister Maewol got lost in the forest and were later found unconscious, just a few paces away from the apparent suicide of a young woman. Then Hwani’s father, Detective Min, disappears in the same area, and Hwani returns to the hometown they left after the incident, following cryptic clues in her father’s journal that seem to connect the Forest Incident–as it came to be called–with the recent disappearance of thirteen girls. As she reconnects with her estranged sister and doggedly follows in the footsteps of her father’s investigation, lost memories begin to bubble to the surface — memories that someone else would like to see buried forever.
