The Truman Readers Award

THE TRUMAN READERS AWARD

2012-2013 Award Nominees

2011-2012 Award Nominees

Brand new in 2008, Missouri schoolchildren in middle school/junior high vote for their favorite book from a list of nominated titles. The Truman Readers Award is awarded to the author of this book by the Missouri Association of School Librarians. The Truman Readers Award encourages students in the early teen years to express their unique voice through: exploring new literary genres, communicating with their peers about young adult literature, and honoring authors writing for young teens.

2012 - 2013 Truman Award Nominees

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.

Bruiser by Neil Shusterman

Inexplicable events start to occur when sixteen-year-old twins Tennyson and BrontÃ« befriend a troubled and misunderstood outcast, aptly nicknamed Bruiser, and his little brother, Cody.

Dark Life by Kat Falls

When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl Gemma in the frontier's underworld to seek and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they learn that the government may pose an even greater threat.

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

When an impulsive carjacking turns into a kidnapping, Griffin, a high school dropout, finds himself more in sympathy with his wealthy, blind victim, sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, than with his greedy father.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

When a dark prophecy begins to come true, sixteen-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend.

Scrawl by Mark Shulman

When eighth-grade school bully Tod and his friends get caught committing a crime on school property, his penalty--staying after school and writing in a journal under the eye of the school guidance counselor--reveals aspects of himself that he prefers to keep hidden.

Soccerland by Beth Choat

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

When high school sophomore Mason finds a beautiful but catatonic girl in the nursing home where his mother works, the discovery leads him to revelations about a series of disturbing human experiments that have a connection to his own life.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Tory Brennan is the leader of a band of teenage 'sci-philes' who live on an island off the coast of South Carolina and when the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

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2011 - 2012 Truman Award Nominees

Invisible Lines by Mary Amato

Coming from a poor, single-parent family, seventh-grader Trevor must rely on his intelligence, artistic ability, quick wit, and soccer prowess to win friends at his new Washington, D.C. school, but popular and rich Xander seems determined to cause him trouble.

Double Eagle by Sneed B. Collard III

In 1973, Michael and Kyle's discovery of a rare Confederate coin near an old Civil War fort turns into a race against time as the boys try to find more coins before a hurricane hits Alabama's Gulf coast.

If the Witness Lied by Caroline Cooney

Torn apart by tragedies and the publicity they brought, siblings Smithy, Jack, and Madison, aged fourteen to sixteen, tap into their parent's courage to pull together and protect their brother Tris, nearly three, from further media exploitation and a much more sinister threat.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

Adventurers Wanted: Slathbog's Gold by M.L. Forman

When fifteen-year-old orphan Alex Taylor sees an odd sign in a shop window and goes inside to investigate, he is sent on a quest to defeat an evil dragon, and in the process he confronts his fears and learns about his future and his past.

The Shifter by Janice Hardy

Nya, a fifteen-year-old war orphan, becomes a pawn in a bigger political game when her uncanny--and dangerous--ability to draw out people's pain and then give it to someone else turns out to be the only weapon she has to save her sister.

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

While longing to return to life in New York City, thirteen-year-old Penny helps her mother and grandmother run a cupcake bakery in Hog's Hollow, tries to avoid the beastly popular girls, to be a good friend to quirky Tally, and to catch the eye of enigmatic Marcus.

The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Kiavan

High school student Charlie West awakens bloody and bruised in a concrete bunker, only to discover that he has lost a year of his life and remembers nothing about escaping from prison after being convicted of murdering his former best friend, or why he is being pursued by both the law and a group of terrorists trying to bring down the government of the United States.

Pop by Gordon Korman

Lonely after a midsummer move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional linebacker who is great at training him, but whose childish behavior keeps Marcus in hot water.

Jane in Bloom by Deborah Lytton

Devastated when her beautiful, older sister dies from anorexia, twelve-year-old Jane recovers slowly from the tragedy, with help from unexpected sources.

The Farwalker's Quest by Joni Sensel

When twelve-year-old Ariel and her friend Zeke find a mysterious artifact which has not been seen in a long time, it proves to be the beginning of a long and arduous journey that will untimately reveal to them their true identities.

Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams

When his older brother, a bull-riding champion, returns from the Iraq War partially paralyzed, fourteen-year-old Cam takes a break from skateboarding to enter a bull-riding contest, in hopes of winning the $15,000 prize and motivating his depressed brother to continue with his rehabilitation.

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2010 - 2011 Truman Award Winners

1st Place: 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.

2nd Place: Gone by Michael Grant

In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.

3rd Place: Jump the Cracks by Stacy DeKeyser

On the way to visit her father in New York City, fifteen-year-old Victoria finds an apparently abused child in the train's bathroom and soon finds herself branded a kidnapper and on the run while trying to fulfill her promise to protect the boy at all costs.

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2009 - 2010 Truman Award Winners

1st Place: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

For thirteen years, Vlad, aided by his aunt and best friend, has kept secret that he is half-vampire, but when his missing teacher is replaced by a sinister substitute, he learns that there is more to being a vampire, and to his parents' deaths, than he could have guessed.

2nd Place: Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog.

3rd Place: Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell

Sixteen-year-old Vassar Spore's detailed plans for the next twenty years of her life are derailed when her bohemian grandmother insists that she join her in Southeast Asia for the summer, but as she writes a novel about her experiences, Vassar discovers new possibilities.

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