I am reading the 2014 Nutmegs! Just released on May 1, 2013. The Nutmeg Book Awards have introduced a new category this year specifically for High School students. The Teen and High School options have several great options! What are your favorites? (I put a star next to mine)
Here are both the Teen and High School Nominated Books, all available to borrow at the Library! Come check one out today.
Teen Nominated 2014 Nutmeg Book Awards:
City of Orphans by Avi
New York City, 1893. When Maks’ sister, Emma, is falsely accused of stealing and imprisoned, Maks and his friend Willa must prove her innocence. Maks must balance his amateur detective work with his newspaper business, not to mention the Plug Ugly gang and their attempts to stop Lower East Side Newsies from delivering their papers.
*Divergent by Veronica Roth
Beatrice “Tris” lives in a society where citizens belong to factions that share certain aptitudes. Tris has not one, but three aptitudes, selflessness, courage, and truth-seeking. To survive, Beatrice must hide her Divergence and choose just one faction, one aptitude. When she selects Dauntless, for courage, she little imagines the stunts, battles, and friendships she will encounter.
*I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Sam and Riddle have moved around their entire lives with their unstable father. Sam wishes he could leave, but he could never abandon his quirky little brother Riddle. Then one day Sam meets Emily, a true believer in fate. Emily believes that Sam and Riddle are part of her destiny. As their paths intersect, their lives change forever.
*The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
1958, Arkansas. Painfully shy, Marlee feels grateful to her new friend Liz for making middle school more bearable. But Liz has a secret. She is a light skinned black ‘passing’ for white. This causes a massive uproar in the community. Shy Marlee finds the courage to help integrate her school. A powerful story of friendship and determination.
*Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey has a secret. He is electric and can even restart car batteries. He thought he was unique until he meets Taylor, and they make a startling discovery. When Michael’s mom disappears, they face an unknown enemy and even more electrics.
*Mindblind by Jennifer Roy
14 year-old Nathaniel is a profoundly gifted Asperger’s student. He thinks of himself as “mindblind:” he cannot always guess what other people are thinking. After college, he plans to become an “official genius.” His story presents a unique perspective, illuminating the mind of a gifted person while showing the humor of Nathaniel’s quirky existence.
Now Is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Deo and his friends live for soccer. Every day they meet in the fields near their village in Zimbabwe and play, cheered on by Deo’s brother, Innocent. One day, the soldiers arrive, and everything changes in an instant. Deo and Innocent run for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a soccer ball.
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Doug Swieteck sees only the negatives of his move to a new town. Doug’s father and brothers often take their anger out on Doug. Despite Doug’s family troubles, he finds his own place in town and discovers his strengths and talents with the help of some unlikely friends.
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
Paige has recently moved to New York City from Virginia with her writer parents. In her sketchbook, Paige journals her inner feelings and struggles. Although she is a true artist, she is afraid to share her drawings with her new friends. Gulledg presents beautiful illustrations and visual metaphors.
*The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio Races take place every November on the island of Thisby, with wild horses that emerge from the sea and young men who risk their lives to ride them. This year, 17-year-old Puck Connolly plans to break tradition as the first
girl to enter the race. This book is a wild mix of horror, action, fantasy, and romance.
High School Nominated 2014 Nutmeg Book Awards:
*Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor: Karou has secrets. Secrets she cannot tell her fellow art students in Prague. Secrets so marvelous that even she will not believe the truth behind them. This enchanting novel explores identity and love.
*Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King: When a teenager prefers to spend his time inside his grandfather’s nightmarish dreams of the POW camps in Vietnam rather than face the reality of his life, you know he has it rough. It’s only when Lucky Linderman realizes that nobody’s life is perfect that he can (maybe) find the strength to, well, live.
*Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride: Sam knows magic exists, but he never thought HE had powers. Imagine Sam’s surprise when he discovers he can raise the dead. To add to Sam’s problems, a very evil and dangerous man wants Sam to work with him, or else. Horror has never been so humorous.
*Kings of Colorado by David E. Hilton: Everyone has to grow up. William’s time comes when he stabs his abusive father with a penknife. He is sent to a boys’ reformatory in Montana where boys break wild horses and the reformatory breaks wild boys.
*Legend by Marie Lu: In a futuristic war-torn western United States, an elite military prodigy and al alleged war criminal from the slums meet and learn the truth about their government. This is nonstop action at its best with a hero and heroine to admire.
*The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: Two young magicians, two horrendous father figures, two clever twins, one supernatural circus, hundreds of passionate circus fans, and one deadly contest.
*Paper Towns by John Green: As human beings we often create perceptions of each other based on what we want to see, not on what is actually there. Both poignantly meaningful and hilariously original, Paper Towns points out the mistakes we often make in relationships and our own lives.
*Shine by Lauren Myracle: A terrible hate crime rocks a rural southern community. With her best friend in a coma as a result, Cat is determined to solve the mystery. In doing so, Cat uncovers some unbelievable truths about her own family, friends, the small town she lives in, and, most surprisingly, herself.
*The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf: In poems reflecting the voices of over twenty distinct characters based on real people (including the ship’s rat and the infamous iceberg), readers experience the first, and final, voyage of the “unsinkable” Titanic.
*Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: Lia struggles with anorexia, her parents, and the death of her bulimic ex-friend Casie. This novel offers a riveting view into the often mysterious world of eating disorders.
