Youth Reader's Choice Awards Nominees 2022
Since 1940 young readers in the Pacific Northwest have been participating in the Young Reader’s Choice Award (YRCA). The award was established in 1940 by Harry Hartman, a Seattle bookseller, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives him or her pleasure. The Young Reader’s Choice Award is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association and continues to be the longest-running children’s choice book award. It is also the only international award with young readers in both the United States and Canada participating in the program.
The bridge home
Venkatraman, Padma, author
2019
Four determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Chennai, India.
Dragon Pearl
Lee, Yoon Ha, 1979- author
2019
Min, a thirteen-year-old girl with fox-magic, stows away on a battle cruiser and impersonates a cadet in order to solve the mystery of what happened to her older brother in the Thousand World Space Forces.
The fountains of silence
Sepetys, Ruta, author
2019
At the Castellana Hilton in 1957 Madrid, eighteen-year-old Daniel Matheson connects with Ana Moreno through photography and fate as Daniel discovers the incredibly dark side of the city under Generalissimo Franco's rule.
Frankly in love
Yoon, David, author
2019
High school senior Frank Li is caught between his parents' traditional expectations and his own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance: 'Date Korean. But Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful-- and white. Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and they make a pact: they'll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. It seems like the perfect plan, until their fake-dating maneuver leaves Frank wondering if he ever really understood love- or himself- at all.
I can make this promise
Day, Christine, 1993- author
2019
When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity.
I love you so mochi
Kuhn, Sarah, author
2019
Kimi Nakamura loves nothing more than transforming the outfits of her friends into expressions of their "Ultimate Selves" but her mother thinks it is a waste of time. After a huge fight, Kimi makes the decision to accept her grandparents' invitation to Kyoto where she is surrounded by her heritage, which is simultaneously foreign and familiar, and the environment helps her understand her mother better than ever before.
Indian no more
McManis, Charlene Willing, 1953-2018, author
2019
When Regina's Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.
Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me
Tamaki, Mariko, author
2019
All Freddy Riley wants is for Laura Dean to stop breaking up with her. The day they got back together was the best one of Freddy's life, but nothing's made sense since. Laura Dean is popular, funny and SO CUTE ... but she can be really thoughtless, even mean. Their on-again, off-again relationship has Freddy's head spinning -- and Freddy's friends can't understand why she keeps going back. When Freddy consults the services of a local mystic, the mysterious Seek-Her, she isn't thrilled with the advice she receives. But something's got to give: Freddy's heart is breaking in slow motion, and she may be about to lose her very best friend as well as her last shred of self-respect. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnist Anna Vice, to help her through being a teenager in love. Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.
Other words for home
Warga, Jasmine, author
2019
Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.
Patron saints of nothing
Ribay, Randy, author
2020
When seventeen-year-old Jay Reguero learns his Filipino cousin and former best friend, Jun, was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, he flies to the Philippines to learn more.
Pet
Emezi, Akwaeke, author
2019
There are no monsters anymore. In the city of Lucille, Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. Then Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood. Pet has come to hunt a monster-- and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? -- adapted from jacket
A royal guide to monster slaying
Armstrong, Kelley, author
2019
Twelve-year-old Rowan is destined to be Queen; her twin brother, Rhydd, to be Royal Monster Hunter. Rowan would give anything to switch places, but the oldest child is always next in line, even if she is only older by two minutes. She resigns herself to admiring her monster hunting aunt's glorious sword and joining her queen mother for boring diplomatic teas. But tragedy shatters the longstanding rule, and Rowan finds herself hunting the most dangerous monster of all: a gryphon.
Shouting at the rain
Hunt, Lynda Mullaly, author
2019
Delsie loves tracking the weather, living with her grandmother, and the support of friends and neighbors, but misses having a "regular family," especially after her best friend outgrows her.
Song for a whale
Kelly, Lynne, author
2019
Twelve-year-old Iris and her grandmother, both deaf, drive from Texas to Alaska armed with Iris's plan to help Blue-55, a whale unable to communicate with other whales.
Sorcery of thorns
Rogerson, Margaret, author
2019
When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything.
Spin the dawn
Lim, Elizabeth, author
2019
Disguising herself as a boy to compete for the position of imperial tailor, Maia must somehow complete the impossible task of sewing three magic gowns for the emperor's bride-to-be from the sun's laughter, the moon's tears, and the blood of stars.
White Rose
Wilson, Kip, author
2019
Tells the story of Sophie Scholl, a young German college student who challenges the Nazi regime during World War II as part of the White Rose, a non-violent resistance group.
With the fire on high
Acevedo, Elizabeth, author
2021
Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago has been doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. She dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, but knows that is impossible. But once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.
A wolf called Wander
Parry, Rosanne, author
2019
A young wolf cub, separated from his pack, journeys 1000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home. Based on the true story of a wolf called OR-7. Includes facts about wolves and their habitats.