YA Friday: National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

A couple of weeks ago on November 18, 2020, the 71st National Book Awards took place, hosted by author Jason Reynold. The awards are "by writers to writers". The panelists who determine the award are five "writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field".

Sản phẩm National Book Award for Young People's Literature, established in 1996 is one of five annual National Book Awards given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens, was announced.

Người chiến thắng là King and the Dragonflies by Người gọi Kacen. Check out their acceptance speech and some previous finalists and winning titles phía dưới.

King and the Dragonflies, book cover

King and the Dragonflies bởi Kacen Callender

Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.

It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy—that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?"

But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.


Vòng chung kết 2020

Chúng tôi không miễn phí, bìa sách
Every Body Looking, book cover
Khi các ngôi sao bị phân tán, bìa sách
Đường về, bìa sách



Người chiến thắng 2019

1919 The Year That Changed America, book cover

1919 The Year That Changed America by Martin W. Sandler

1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Laborers took to the streets to protest working conditions; nationalistic fervor led to a communism scare; and temperance gained such traction that prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year.

Now, one hundred years later, these same social issues are more relevant than ever. Sandler traces the momentum and setbacks of these movements through this last century, showing that progress isn’t always a straight line and offering a unique lens through which we can understand history and the change many still seek.


Vòng chung kết 2019

Thú cưng, bìa sách
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, book cover
Thánh bảo trợ của hư vô, bìa sách
Mười ba cánh cửa, Những con sói đằng sau tất cả, bìa sách



Người chiến thắng 2018

Nhà thơ X, bìa sách

Nhà thơ X của Elizabeth Acevedo

Xiomara Batista cảm thấy không được lắng nghe và không thể trốn trong khu phố Harlem của mình. Kể từ khi cơ thể cô phát triển thành những đường cong, cô đã học cách để nắm đấm và sự quyết liệt của mình lên tiếng.

Nhưng Xiomara có rất nhiều điều muốn nói, và cô ấy trút hết nỗi thất vọng và niềm đam mê của mình lên những trang của một cuốn sổ da, đọc thuộc lòng những lời đó như những lời cầu nguyện—đặc biệt là sau khi cô ấy nảy sinh tình cảm với một chàng trai trong lớp sinh học tên là Aman, người mà cô ấy yêu thích. gia đình không bao giờ có thể biết được. Với quyết tâm của Mami buộc con gái phải tuân theo luật lệ của nhà thờ, Xiomara hiểu rằng tốt nhất cô nên giữ suy nghĩ của mình cho riêng mình.

Vì vậy, khi được mời tham gia câu lạc bộ thơ slam của trường, cô ấy không biết làm thế nào mình có thể tham gia mà không bị mẹ phát hiện, chứ đừng nói đến việc nói to những lời của mình. Tuy nhiên, cô vẫn không thể ngừng nghĩ đến việc trình diễn những bài thơ của mình.

Bởi vì đối mặt với một thế giới có thể không muốn nghe thấy cô, Xiomara không chịu im lặng.


Vòng chung kết 2018

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, book cover
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, book cover
The Journey of Little Charlie, book cover
Này, Kiddo, bìa sách



Người chiến thắng 2017

Far from the Tree, book cover

Xa cây bởi Robin Benway

Being the middle child has its ups and downs.

But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.

And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.

Vòng chung kết 2017

What Girls Are Made Of, book cover
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, book cover
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, book cover
Phố Mỹ, bìa sách