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TEENS

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Truman Readers Award

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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. Missouri school children 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.

Truman Award Nominees 2016-2017

Buzz Kill
Buzz Kill
by Beth Fantaskey

Seventeen-year-old Millie joins forces with her classmate, gorgeous but mysterious Chase Colton, to try to uncover who murdered head football coach "Hollerin' Hank" Killdare--and why.

Codename Zero
Codename Zero
by Chris Rylander

When a desperate man in a nondescript black suit asks thirteen-year-old Carson Fender to deliver a mysterious package for him, the middle schooler discovers there's something going on in his sleepy North Dakota hometown he had never expected--something involving the CIA.

Falls the Shadow
Falls the Shadow
by Stefanie Gaither

When her sister Violet dies, Cate's wealthy family brings home Violet's clone, who fits in perfectly until Cate uncovers something sinister about the cloning movement.

Famous Last Words
Famous Last Words
by Katie Alender

High-schooler Willa has just moved to California with her mother and film director stepfather, and she will be attending a private school--but her real problem is that she keeps seeing things that are not really there, like a dead body in the swimming pool, and her visions may be connected to a serial killer that is stalking young girls in Hollywood.

Grandmaster
Grandmaster
by David Klass

Freshman Daniel Pratzer gets a chance to prove himself when the chess team invites him and his father to a weekend-long parent-child tournament. Then he finds out the truth: as a teen, his father was one of the most promising young players in America, but the pressures of the game pushed him too far.

I Have a Bad Feeling About This
I Have a Bad Feeling About This
by Jeff Strand

Everything unathletic sixteen-year-old Henry was dreading about survival camp turns out to be true--or even worse--when armed killers arrive and survival takes on a whole new meaning for the campers.

Just a Drop of Water
Just a Drop of Water
by Kerry O'Malley Cerra

Jake and Sam are best friends, but after the attacks on September 11 their friendship is in danger of crumbling, as Sam and his family succumb to hatred for being Muslim American.

Midnight Thief
Midnight Thief
by Livia Blackburne

Kyra, a highly skilled seventeen-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city.

Pieces of Me
Pieces of Me
by Amber Kizer

After a car accident leaves her brain-dead, Jessica tries to prevent her parents from donating her organs and tissues, but then follows the lives of four fellow teens who are able to survive because she did not.

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek
by Maya Van Wagenen

Stuck at the bottom of the social ladder at "pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren't paid to be here," Maya Van Wagenen decided to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell. Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline, and a strand of pearls help Maya on her quest to be popular? The real-life results are painful, funny, and include a wonderful and unexpected surprise-meeting and befriending Betty Cornell herself.

The Blood Guard
The Blood Guard
by Carter Roy

When thirteen year old Ronan Trueloves seemingly ordinary mom snatches him from school, then sets off on a high speed car chase, Ronan is shocked. His quiet, nerdy dad has been kidnapped? And the kidnappers are after him, too?

The Body in the Woods
The Body in the Woods
by April Henry

While helping the Portland County Sheriff's Search and Rescue to seek a missing autistic man, teens Alexis, Nick, and Ruby find a body instead. They form an unlikely friendship when they join forces to find the girl's murderer.