Celebrating Language ArtsWheaton, Illlinois

Ruth Gheysen, Rebecca Caudill Selection CommitteeDeborah Will, Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award Nomination Committee

Navigating Earlyby Clare Vanderpool Odyssey-like adventure

of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters

Legendby Marie Lu In a dark future, when

North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The Testingby Joelle Charbonneau Sixteen-year-old

Malencia (Cia) Vale is chosen to participate in The Testing to attend the University; however, Cia is fearful when she figures out her friends who do not pass The Testing are disappearing.

The False Princeby Jennifer A. Nielsen In the country of

Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

The Kingdom of Little Woundsby Susann Cokal The wedding festivities

of Scandinavian Princess Sophia are thrown into turmoil by an illness plaguing the royal family and a courtier's plot that places a seamstress and a royal nursemaid at the center of an epic power struggle.

Never Say Dieby Will Hobbs Fifteen-year-old half-Inuit

Nick meets and shares an adventure on the Firth River in the Canadian Arctic with his white brother, Ryan. They have to face white water, wild animals, and fierce weather as Ryan documents the effects of climate change on caribou for National Geographic magazine.

Midwinter Bloodby Marcus Sedgwick Seven linked

vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant

Unstoppableby Tim Green Upon going to the

doctor for a routine knee injury, foster child and aspiring NFL athlete Harrison learns that he has bone cancer.

Second Impactby David Klass and Perri Klass When Jerry Downing,

star quarterback in a small football town, gets a second chance after his drunk driving had serious consequences, Carla Jensen, ace reporter for the school newspaper, invites him to join her in writing a blog, mainly about sports.

Ungiftedby Gordon Korman

When one of Donovan's thoughtless pranks accidentally destroys the school gym during the Big Game he knows he's in for it. But through a strange chain of events, his name gets put on the list for the local school for gifted students. Donovan knows he's not a genius, but he can't miss this chance to escape. Now, he has to figure out a way to stay at ASD and fit in with the kids there.

Eleanor and Parkby Rainbow Rowell Set over the course of

one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Bombby Steve Sheinkin Recounts the scientific

discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.

Maggot Moonby Sally Gardner Following a stray

football to the other side of a wall where there is a secret, Standish Treadwell discovers astonishing truths about a moon landing that the overseeing Motherland, a ruthless regime, is determined to hide.

A Diamond in the DesertBy Kathryn Fitzmaurice After the bombing of

Pearl Harbor, thirteen-year-old Tetsu and his family are sent to the Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona where a fellow prisoner starts a baseball team, but when Tetsu's sister becomes ill and he feels responsible, he stops playing.

The Fifth Waveby Rick Yancey Cassie Sullivan, the

survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.

The One and Only Ivanby Katherine Applegate

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

Into the Wild Nerd Yonderby Julie Halpern Jess knows she's growing apart

from her best friends, Char and Bizza, a situation made much worse when Bizza goes poseur-punk in order to pursue Jess' long-time crush. When Jess, who loves math, sewing, and audiobooks, is invited to play Dungeons and Dragons by class nerd Dottie, she discovers that embracing life as a nerd isn't so bad -- especially when there's a cute boy involved who loves role-playing games, too.

A Long Walk to Waterby Linda Sue Park When the Sudanese civil war

reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

The Five Lives of Our Cat Zookby Joanne Rocklin As ten-year-old Oona

and younger brother Fred conspire to break their sick cat Zook out of the veterinary clinic, Oona tells the story of Zook's previous lives.