Every year before the winners of American Library Association's Youth Media Awards are announced, CPL librarians come together to discuss all things teen literature and nominate our own Mock Book Awards to honor some of our favorite titles of the year. Here are the 2017 teen books we chose.
Mock Printz Award for Literary Excellence
Winner: Jane, Unlimited: In this magnificent genre-bender, college dropout Jane visits a wealthy friend on a private island, leading to five different possible futures. Each of these five narratives is told in a distinct genre style: mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction and fantasy.
Honor Books: Max, What Girls Are Made of
Mock Morris Award for Best Debut Novel
Winner: The Hate U Give: Already caught between her poor neighborhood and her posh prep school, Starr finds herself at the center of racial tension after she witnesses the shooting of her childhood best friend by a white police officer.
Honor Books: Allegedly, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo
Mock Eisner Award for Best Comic Published for Teens 13 to 19
Winner: Spinning: In her debut graphic memoir, Tillie Walden describes her teenage struggle to decide whether or not to continue her 10-year pursuit of figure skating. As she falls in love with her first girlfriend and takes more interest in her art classes, the conservative world of skating starts to lose its appeal.
Honor Books: The Girl From the Other Side, Crawl Space
Mock Excellence in Nonfiction for Teens
Winner: The 57 Bus: If Sasha and Richard hadn't taken the same bus home, they probably never would have met. But after Richard set Sasha’s skirt on fire, he was charged with two hate crimes, and the subsequent court case prompted questions about gender identity, race and class.
Honor Books: Vincent and Theo, Queer, There, and Everywhere
The official Youth Media Awards winners will be announced February 12.
What was your favorite teen book of 2017?
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