The North Star Book Award Program
The North Star Book Award Program is a statewide teen reading program. Students read books from the list below. In the spring, students who have read 3 books will vote on their favorite title and receive a free book. Please see a Librarian for more details.
NORTH STAR AWARD BOOKS 2021-2022
Acevedo, Fred. The New David Espinoza. Harper Teen, 323 pages.
David Espinoza, who has a lean build, is perpetually bullied. When one episode is filmed and goes viral, David vows to gain 25 pounds of muscle over the summer to erase his humiliation and punish his bullies. He joins a local gym and sets a strict schedule but the muscles don’t appear fast enough. He turns to steroids to bulk up quickly. The physical and mental consequences of steroid abuse are realistically portrayed. This is an unusual look at male body image and body dysmorphia.
Realistic Fiction/Steroid Abuse/Male Body Dysmorphia
Albertalli, Becky and Aisha Saeed. Yes No Maybe So. Balzer+Bray, 436 pages.
This is a lighthearted novel told in the alternating voices of Maya and Jamie. Maya, a Muslim girl, and Jamie, a Jewish boy, learn about each other’s cultures as they explore a growing relationship. This story plays out against a political background as they work together on a senate campaign set in Georgia. All of the characters in this story feel real and fully developed, and the diversity of perspectives is refreshing.
Realistic Fiction/Muslims/Jews/Political Activists
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Inheritance Games. Little Brown and Company, 376 pages.
Avery is plucked from a life where she is barely surviving to being the heir to a major fortune. The enormous house she finds herself in is full of tricks, games, riddles, and traps for her everywhere. Readers will quickly settle into solving the mystery of why stranger Avery Kylie Grambs has become heir to the 46 billion dollar Hawthorne family fortune. Give this to teens who love solving puzzles and a good mystery.
Thriller/Suspense/Puzzles
Callender, Kacen. Felix Ever After. Balzer+Bray, 354 pages.
Felix Love has never been in love, and recognizes the irony of his name. He has a best friend, Ezra, and an enemy-ish, Declan. When he is cruelly exposed in an art gallery of pictures of his younger self and with his deadname, Felix assumes Declan is behind it. Felix is a gifted artist, shy, and funny; he is also queer, black, and trans. Felix's story is a thickly blended tale of friendship, bullying, mystery, first loves, self-discovery, family, abandonment, and self-love. The romantic plotlines and entanglements feel as genuine and heart wrenching as reality, and the exploration of gender & sexuality & identity are vivid and will be relatable for today's youth.
Realistic Fiction/LGBTQIA+/Art/Romance
Chee, Traci. We Are Not Free. Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt, 384 pages.
In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, anti-Japanese sentiment is running high in America, particularly in the neighborhoods of Japantown in San Francisco. Chee's novel gives voice to 14 friends and teenagers who are among the thousands of Japanese-Americans forcibly removed from those neighborhoods, and follows the course of their lives over 3 years of war and detainment.The 14 teen voices each tell their own stories, as well as a larger one of a community wholly dismantled. An added bonus is the inclusion of the author’s note and a further reading list.
Historical Fiction/Japanese American/Incarceration Camps
Culley, Betty. Three Things I Know Are True. Harper Teen, 465 pages.
Liv’s brother Jonah accidentally shoots himself with his friend Clay’s father’s gun. In the aftermath, Jonah requires around the clock care and Liv struggles to see and keep alive the vital brother she once knew. As damaged as Jonah’s body is from the accident, Clay also suffers emotionally. The novel intimately looks at the impact of gun violence on the two families but also shows the wider discussion that splits their small Maine community. Written by a Maine author.
Novel in Verse/Gun Violence/Grief
Deonn, Tracy. Legendborn. Margaret K McElderry Books, 501 pages.
Brianna Matthews is at the University of North Carolina for Early College. At a party she sees some strange, unexplainable things and they spark memories from her past. Soon she's wrapped up in a secret society that fights demons and claims that they go back to King Arthur. This novel reimagines the Arthurian myth and blends it with America’s complicated history of racism & slavery. Legendborn will be a clever and fun read for fantasy lovers.
Fantasy/African American/Secret Societies/Arthurian Legends
Garber, Romina. Lobizona. Wednesday Books, 391 pages.
Strongly inspired by Argentinian folklore, this fantasy explores issues of immigration, rigid gender roles and identity. Manu and her mother are undocumented and living in Miami. When her mother is captured by ICE, Manu discovers her identity as part of a secret magical Argentinian culture. This book serves as a metaphor for all individuals who cannot reveal who they truly are. Readers will be drawn to Manu who defies being labeled or categorized as she fights for her place both in America and the fantastical land of her father’s people. With its magical boarding school elements and richly drawn worlds, this book will appeal to Harry Potter fans.Fantasy/Witches/Werewolves/Undocumented People/Argentinian Folklore
Ha, Robin. Almost American Girl. Balzer+Bray, 227 pages.
Chuna is completely surprised when her mother moves them to Alabama from Seoul, Korea. The trip - disguised as a vacation - turns into a marriage for Chuna’s mother and a new Korean American family for Chuna. This graphic memoir follows her difficult journey as Chuna learns a new language and struggles to find her place in a new country, school and family. Eventually Robin - Chuna’s chosen American name - begins to thrive with the support of her mother and the rediscovery of her love for comics and drawing.
Memoir/Korean American/Graphic Novel
Hesse, Monica. They Went Left. Little Brown and Company, 364 pagesThis story picks up after the end of WWII and follows one young woman whose sole focus is on finding her brother. It's the summer of 1945, and 18-year-old Zofia has been released from a hospital where she has convalesced for several months after the liberation of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp. The book follows Zofia as she painstakingly tracks down her brother and copes with the guilt of surviving the camps and faced with creating an entirely new life. This story will break your heart in the best way. Give to fans of Ruta Septys.
Historical Fiction/Mystery/Holocaust Survivors/Displaced Persons Camps
Iftin, Abdi Nor. Call Me American: The Extraordinary True Story of a Young Somali Immigrant. Vintage Books, 310 pages
Adapted from Iftin's adult memoir, this YA edition is a heart-breaking page turner. Readers will find an unparalleled tale of perseverance as Abdi does the impossible. He survives starvation, rebels, uprisings, thieves and government red tape to get to Maine. His unflagging optimism, hard work, and good luck are in stark contrast to the impossible odds of him surviving and eventually thriving in Maine. This very accessible memoir will astonish students at the sheer size of the obstacles Abdi overcame to settle in Maine. Written by a Maine author.Memoir/Somalia/Kenya/Refugee Camps/Maine
Ifueko, Jordan. Raybearer. Amulet Books, 343 pages.
This first installment in a planned duology by debut author Jordan Ifueko introduces a richly detailed and magical fantasy world. The story begins with a young girl named Tarisai living in a lonely enchanted house with a mysterious and distant mother called only "The Lady." Her mother sends Tarisai away to the capital to vie for a position on the young Emperor Prince's council, but not before cursing her with a magical command that she kill the young Prince. Exploring themes of abandonment, justice, leadership, and feminism, Ifueko creates highly relatable teen characters in her very original world. Give this book to fans of Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir.
Fantasy/Magic/Revenge
Key, Watt. Beast: Face-to-Face with the Florida Bigfoot. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 215 pages.
Adam Parks goes missing for two months, shortly after a terrible car accident from which neither of his parents' bodies were recovered. Adam tells the investigating officer that he doesn't remember anything but this book is his account of what happened during two months of living in the Florida wilderness looking for the Bigfoot which caused his parents' car to swerve. Give this book to fans of adventure, survival and paranormal fiction.
Action/Adventure/Florida/Cryptids/Short Reads
Longo, Jennifer. What I Carry. Random House for Young Readers, 322 pages.
Muriel is aging out of foster care and has one last home to stay in. Will she make it a year in one last place? This is the story of a strong young woman who has done everything to prepare herself as she ages out of the system, including leaving every foster family she had feelings for. The many themes in this book fit seamlessly together - foster care, bullying, environmentalism, and more. A different perspective on adoption and foster care, written by a foster parent with her adopted daughter.
Realistic Fiction/Foster Care/John Muir
Lee, Lyla. I’ll Be the One. Katherine Tegen Books, 323 pages.
Skye Shin has been told her entire life that she couldn’t or shouldn’t do things because she is fat. Skye wants to be a K-Pop star. She's got the talent, but her body size is not the typical one of a star. Her mom discourages her, but she fights on anyway. Can she fight through the standards the K-Pop world has too? Very fat positive, Skye is an admirable hero for all of us.
Korean American/Body Positivity/LGBTQIA+/K-pop music
McGinnis, Mindy. Be Not Far From Me. Katherine Tegen Books, 231 pages.
What starts off as a party in the woods for Ashley Hawkin turns into a 14 day gritty fight for her life. Equipped only with the clothes on her back, Ashley fights exposure, starvation, and injury to find her way back home.This short novel packs a powerful punch around the themes of poverty, abandonment, survival, and forgiveness. Ashley’s voice is authentic and believable. It will strike a chord with those readers who appreciate its straight up honesty and Ashley's unrelenting determination.
Realistic Fiction/Survival/Poverty
Namey, Laura Taylor. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 308 pages.
Lila has hit the trifecta of loss, and her parents have sent her to England to recuperate. At first she can't bear to have left her bakery and beloved Miami West-Dade neighborhood, but slowly Winchester England becomes a little bit easier to live in. Can she love both? Slow-burn romance, delicious descriptions of food - what more do you need? A lovely story about coming of age and figuring out what you want to do in the world.
Realistic Fiction/Cuban Culture/Cooking/Romance
Nguyen, Trung Le. The Magic Fish. Random House Graphic, 256 pages.
In this gentle tale about language, family, immigration, loss, and coming out, we meet young Tien and his mother, an immigrant from Vietnam, who practice English together by reading fairy tales. The challenges of Tien and his mother are interwoven with three of these fairy tales which are "read aloud" through the course of the text. The stories also provide a magic for sorting out life and relationships, as Tien faces first love and his mother faces loss. The illustrations are fabulous and the color scheme is cleverly chosen to represent Tien’s story, his mother’s story, and the fairy tales.
Graphic Novel/Immigration/LGBTQIA+/Vietnam
Reynolds, Jason and Danica Novgorodoff. Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 208 pages.
This is the graphic version of the novel in verse in which a young man is visited by the ghosts of close friends and family who have died from gun violence. The visuals add to the story and emphasize the debilitating legacy of violence on everyone. The art brings to stunning life the emotions, moments, characters, and tense pauses of the original. Students will be drawn to this new version and appreciate the interaction between words and graphics.
Graphic Novel/Gun Violence/Revenge/Ghosts
Thomas, Aiden. Cemetery Boys. Swoon Reads, 344 pages.
When Yadriel's family forbids him from participating in the ceremony to become a full "brujo," Yadriel decides to perform the rites himself. He is certain that his family is wrong in thinking that being gay and trans will preclude the Lady of Death from recognizing him as a brujo, and sure enough, the process works. Armed with his new powers, Yadriel summons his first spirit - an energetic and obnoxious stranger named Julian. Together, Julian and Yadriel try to piece together the puzzle of Julian's death, discovering friendship, acceptance, and love along the way. Set against the Latinx landscape of the "Day of the Dead," the cultural backdrop is joyful and death-positive.
Supernatural/Latin American/LGBTQIA+/Romance
Zoboi, Ibi and Yusef Salaam. Punching the Air. Balzer+Bray, 386 pages.
Through verse, Zoboi and Salaam reveal the events that led young poet and artist Amal from a night in his neighborhood to his incarceration in a Juvenile Detention facility. With its evocative details of cell life, GED classes, "free" time, other inmates, administrators, and family visitations, the novel allows the reader to vividly experience Amal’s life for a short time. Because Amal is black and wrongfully accused, this novel raises important and difficult questions about the juvenile justice system, while reminding all readers of the role of words and art in keeping our hopes alive.
Novel in Verse/African American/Youth Incarceration/Racial Injustice