The Thumbs Up! Award is given annually by the Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association to an author for an outstanding contribution to teen literature having both literary quality and teen appeal.
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Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson When her former owner breaks his promise to set her free and ends up sending her to live with a cruel loyalist family at the start of the Revolutionary War, Isabel is heartbroken and so becomes determined to do whatever is necessary to win her freedom, including spying on her family to help the rebels win the war. Catalog Link |
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The Compound by S.A. Bodeen After his parents, two sisters, and he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that his father has perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all. Catalog Link |
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Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers Having always been different from others and viewed as a freak for his unusual style and mascara-wearing ways, Johnny finds new inspiration in the female lead singer of a punk band, but not considering himself gay, Johnny begins to question his connection to Debbie Harry and wonder how his new glamorous look will be accepted by the girlfriend he loves. Catalog Link |
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place. Catalog Link |
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Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother’s erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York. Catalog Link |
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Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña As a child of a Mexican father and blonde, blue-eyed mother, Danny finds it difficult that everyone thinks they know who and what he is just by the color of his skin and so goes to spend time with his father in Mexico in the hopes of getting in touch with his roots and the person he believes himself to be. Catalog Link |
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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right. Catalog Link |
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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own. Catalog Link |
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The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante Living in a religious commune, Agnes and Honey—along with the other Believers—keep quiet a violent secret, but when Agnes’s grandmother makes an unexpected visit to the commune and learns the truth, she seizes the opportunity to remove the children. Catalog Link |
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Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George Based on the Nordic legend East of the Sun, West of the Moon, this intricately woven tale of courage and love follows Lass, who is gifted with the ability to understand animals, as she, in exchange for her family’s safety, follows a polar bear to his castle where things aren’t what they seem. Catalog Link |
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Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman Mitch, a shy and awkward high school junior, negotiates the difficult social situations he encounters, both with girls and with his best friend David, after David reveals to him that he is gay. Catalog Link |
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Paper Towns by John Green Having been in love with Margo forever, Quentin is happy to help her with her strange plots and campaigns for revenge, but when she vanishes one evening without a trace, Quentin finds himself delving into clues in order to resolve many unanswered questions. Catalog Link |
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The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon After acting up upon his father revealing that he is gay, seventeen-year-old Ben is moved to a small town in Montana to start over with his father and his new boyfriend, yet as he attempts to adjust to the nothingness of rural life, he meets his strange neighbor, Billy, who has a family secret Ben can’t wait to uncover. Catalog Link |
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Playing with Matches by Brian Katcher After giving up on dating beautiful Amy, unattractive seventeen-year-old Leon finds new hope for romance with Melody, a kind-hearted girl who was burned in a childhood accident, but when Amy turns her attention to Leon in appreciation for a kind act, he has to tread carefully or else risk losing the one person that matters most. Catalog Link |
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Venomous by Christopher Krovatin Locke Vinetti has struggled with his inner demons since he was eight, but now that he has met the blue-haired goth-girl of his dreams, he knows he has to rid himself of his anger once and for all. Catalog Link |
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The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks. Catalog Link |
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Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott After being abducted and treated with severe abuse for five years by her kidnapper, Alice’s only wish is that she would just die, but when Ray orders her to help him seize a new girl to add to his collection, Alice remembers the girl she once was and so must do what she knows is right in her heart. Catalog Link |
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Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott Dani is forced to decide between her nomadic life with her mother as a traveling thief and the life she has always wanted when they reach the town of Heaven, a place where good people reside and simple pleasures are appreciated. Catalog Link |
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Chanda's Wars by Allan Stratton After her brother and sister are kidnapped by a brutal cult and taken away to the bush for training as child soldiers of the Rwandan genocide, Chanda is resolute in her decision to risk her own life and freedom in order to bring them back to their rightful home. Catalog Link |
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Sweethearts by Sara Zarr After losing her soul mate, Cameron, when they were nine, Jennifer, now seventeen, transformed herself from the unpopular fat girl into the beautiful and popular Jenna, but Cameron’s unexpected return dredges up memories that cause both social and emotional turmoil. Catalog Link |