Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominees 2015 Master Lists Grades 9-12
The 5th Wave / Rick Yancy.
Putnam Juvenile, 2013; ISBN: 978-0399162411
Aliens sent waves of destructive forces to eradicate the humans. Cassie Sullivan, a survivor of the invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.
The Beginning of Everything / Robyn Schneider.
Katherine Tegan Books, 2013; ISBN: 978-0062217134
The way Ezra Faulkner sees it, everyone gets one great tragedy, after which life should roll on predictably. Star athlete and prom king, his life is irreparably transformed by a tragic accident and the arrival of eccentric new girl Cassidy Thorpe.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea / April Genevieve Tucholke.
Dial, 2013; ISBN: 978-0803738898
Violet is in love with River, a mysterious seventeen-year-old stranger renting the guest house behind the rotting seaside mansion where Violet lives. When eerie, grim events begin to happen, Violet recalls her grandmother's frequent warnings about the devil and wonders if River is evil.
I am the Weapon previously titled Boy Nobody / Allen Zadoff.
Little Brown, 2013; ISBN: 978-0316199681
Boy Nobody is a coldly dispassionate teenage assassin working for a mysterious organization called the Program. When it assigns him his next mission—to assassinate the mayor of New York—it seems at first like business as usual. But then he meets Sam, the mayor’s beautiful daughter.
If You Find Me / Emily Murdoch.
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013; ISBN: 978-1250021526
Carey’s little sister, Jenessa, has not spoken since the white starry night and now depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency until that one fateful day she disappears for good. Two strangers arrive and suddenly the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world where they must face the truth of why their mother abducted them and kept them hidden for ten years.
The Impossible Knife of Memory / Laurie Halse Anderson.
Viking Juvenile, 2014; ISBN: 978-0670012091
For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend high school.
How to Love / Katie Cotugno.
Balzer & Bray, 2013; ISBN: 978-0062216359
Sawyer LaGrande's unexplained disappearance rocked Serena Montero's world; it had been love at first sight, and then he ran away and left her pregnant. Now he's back in town and ready to pick up where they left off. Serena, however, has a steady boyfriend and is now the mother of a two-year-old. Will she make the same mistake twice?
The Rithmatist / Brandon Sanderson.
Tor Teen, 2013; ISBN: 978-0765320322
Wild Chalklings threaten the American Isles and Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense. Joel longs to be a Rithmatist with the magical power to bring the two-dimensional Chalklings to life. But he is 16, and Rithmatists are chosen at age 8. Surely he has missed his chance, or has he?
Thousand Words / Jennifer Brown.
Little Brown, 2013; ISBN: 978-0316209724
Ashleigh feels madly in love with her boyfriend, Kaleb, even though he has barely paid attention to herall summer. To make sure Kaleb remembers her when he leaves for college, Ashleigh snaps a photo of herself posing naked and sends it to him. That gets his attention. However, they soon break up and Kaleb sends the photo to a friend, who shares it with the world. Ashleigh is arrested for distributing child pornography and Kaleb, at 18, may go to prison.
The Tragedy Paper / Elizabeth Laban.
Knopf Books, 2013; ISBN: 978-0375870408
While preparing for the most dreaded assignment at the prestigious Irving School, the Tragedy Paper, Duncan gets wrapped up in the tragic tale of Tim Macbeth, a former student who had a clandestine relationship with the wrong girl, and his own ill-fated romance with Daisy.