New YA Award Books

Nothing - Janne Teller
When thirteen-year-old Pierre Anthon leaves school to sit in a plum tree and train for becoming part of nothing, his seventh grade classmates set out on a desperate quest for the meaning of life.  Mildred L. Batchelder Honor, Michael L. Printz Honor


Departure Time - Truus Matti
A tale of a girl in two stories, one involving a fox and rat, the other involving her constantly-traveling father.  Mildred L. Batchelder Honor


The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba - Margarita Engle
Draws on little-known Cuban history to tell a stirring story in poetry. Based on the diaries and letters of Swedish suffragist Fredrika Bremer, who spent three months in Cuba in 1851, the story focuses on oppressed women, the privileged as well as the enslaved, in three alternating free-verse narratives.  Pura Belpre Author Honor


Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing - Ann Angel
This book examines the life and musical career of Janis Joplin.  YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults