Wednesday, September 6, 2023

2023-2024 YHBA Middle Grade Nominees


Students in Indiana are eligible to read and vote on Young Hoosier Books if they have access to at least 12 of the nominated titles.

Students may only vote in one eligible program, either their school or public library.



A 13-year-old girl learns she's an all-powerful magician and faces trials as she seeks her missing brother. Amari Peters is tired—tired of being belittled and dismissed at her rich private school, where she is bullied for being poor and Black.


Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist

A coming-of-age tale about a boy who discovers a love of poetry after finding his late father's journal. Adapted from a story that first appeared in Flying Lessons & Other Stories and perfect for fans of The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. Isaiah is now the big man of the house.



Fighting Words is the story of 10-year-old Della and her big sister, Suki, who escape terrible circumstances and end up in foster care. We learn that the girls' mom was incarcerated on meth-cooking charges, and that they lived for a time with her predatory boyfriend, Clifton.


Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee

Violets Are Blue captures the experience of a seventh grader struggling with her parents' divorce, a budding friendship with the perkiest girl in school, and a non-romance with a boy in her class. To deal with the stress, she throws herself into special-effects makeup, which she learns from a YouTuber.


Unsettled by Reem Faruqi

When her family moves from Pakistan to Peachtree City, all Nurah wants is to blend in, yet she stands out for all the wrong reasons. Nurah's accent, floral-print kurtas, and tea-colored skin make her feel excluded, until she meets Stahr at swimming tryouts. And in the water Nurah doesn't want to blend in.


Yusuf Azeem is not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi

It centers on twelve-year-old Yusuf Azeem, who is excited to start sixth grade until he finds hostile and racist notes in his locker. Quiet, bespectacled, robot-loving Pakistani-American Yusuf Azeem, who is almost 12, is excited to start the sixth grade, until a series of ominous notes appears in his locker.



Written in free verse, Starfish follows Ellie, a Texas girl who has been bullied relentlessly for her weight, even by her own mother. With the help of a therapist, a new friend, and her loving father, Ellie learns to stand up for herself and be unapologetically her.


Alone by Megan E. Freeman

Alone is Megan E. Freeman's debut survival middle-grade novel in verse. It follows 12-year-old Maddie who gets abandoned by some twist of fate when her entire town is mysteriously evacuated. Left alone with no human in sight, she bonds with a Rottweiler named George who is one of many abandoned pets.



Livy is already having trouble fitting in as the new girl at school—and then there's Viola. Viola is Livy's anxiety brought to life, a shadowy twin that only Livy can see or hear. Livy tries to push back against Viola's relentless judgment, but nothing seems to work until she strikes up new friendships at school.


Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Christina Diaz Gonzalez: Concealed is the story of a girl (currently named Katrina) who believes she and her parents are in the Witness Protection Program… having to change their names and move every time their cover could be revealed.


Lupe Wong won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera

Lupe Wong Won't Dance follows Guadelupe “Lupe” Wong, a Chinacan/Mexinese (Mexican-Chinese) girl and baseball pitcher who made a deal with her uncle: get straight-A's this year, and he'll take her to meet Fu Li Hernandez, a Chinacan/Mexinese baseball pitcher who reminds Lupe of her father.



An enthralling journey interwoven with historical realities. A 12-year-old Black girl in 1920s Georgia learns she has the ability to commune with ghosts—and goes on to help solve a mysterious death.



Best friends Matt and Eric are hatching a plan for one big final adventure together before Eric moves away: during the marching band competition at a Giant Amusement Park, they will sneak away to a nearby comics convention and meet their idol-a famous comic creator. Without cell phones.


Girl of the Southern Sea by Michelle Kadarusman

An inspiring novel about good-luck magic, courage and the power of storytelling. A gifted student, Nia longs to attend high school so she can follow her dream and become a writer. She has notebooks filled with stories she's created about the mythological Dewi Kadita, Princess of the Southern Sea 



Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she's the only Indian American student, and home, with her family's traditions and holidays. But Reha's parents don't understand why she's conflicted--they only notice when Reha doesn't meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma. Although their names are linked--Reha means "star" and Punam means "moon"--they are a universe apart.

Then Reha finds out that her Amma is sick. Really sick.

Reha, who dreams of becoming a doctor even though she can't stomach the sight of blood, is determined to make her Amma well again. She'll be the perfect daughter, if it means saving her Amma's life.


Candidly Cline by Kathryn Ormsbee

Born in Paris, Kentucky, and raised on her gram's favorite country music, Cline Alden is a girl with big dreams and a heart full of song. When she finds out about a young musicians' workshop a few towns over, Cline sweet-talks, saves, and maybe fibs her way into her first step toward musical stardom.


Liars' Room by Dan Poblocki

Wildwyck, a former schoolhouse for misbehaved boys, might have plenty of creaks and shadows, but the twins know that ghosts aren't real. But Simon is getting harder and harder to ignore, as his cries for attention become increasingly dangerous and difficult to explain.



High school students embark on a crash course of friendship, female empowerment, and women's health issues in Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann's graphic novel Go With the Flow. Good friends help you go with the flow. Best friends help you start a revolution.


The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

In The Troubled Girls Of Dragomir Academy, 12-year-old Marya Lupu finds herself caught in the middle of a struggle between her parents and the town of Torak, her peers at the mysterious school she has been sent to, and everything she starts to unravel inside of it.


Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

Nathan thinks he's in for a boring summer vacation staying with his Nali (grandmother) on the Navajo reservation. Before long, though, he's discovered his ability to see Holy Beings, creatures from Navajo lore that only children can see before going through puberty.


Join the reading challenge! Click the image below to access the YHBA Middle Grade BINGO! reading challenge on Beanstack!


 

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