Staff Picks
SC Junior Book Award Nominees 2024-2025
- Ashley S.
- Wednesday, January 31
Collection
Check out the 2024-2025 SC Junior Book Award nominees!
Camp Famous
Published in 2022
When eleven-year-old Abby learns she will be attending summer camp, she is excited at the idea of a fresh start, but when she discovers she is going to Camp Famous, a place exclusively for famous kids like pop stars, princesses, and geniuses, her enthusiasm turns to apprehension.
Dream, Annie, Dream
Published in 2022
"In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams. As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she's channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play. So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she's thrilled ... until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it's an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they'll let her have -- one that they can tear down or use race to belittle? Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she's made of. Waka T. Brown, author of While I Was Away, delivers an uplifting coming-of-age story about a Japanese American girl's fight to make space for herself in a world that claims to celebrate everyone's differences but doesn't always follow through."-- Provided by publisher
Rain Rising
Published in 2022
Thirteen-year-old Rain, who struggles with low self-esteem, must overcome sadness after her older brother Xander is severely beaten up at a frat party, but through the help of an after-school circle group, Rain finds the courage to help herself and her family heal.
Where the Sky Lives
Published in 2022
Struggling with grief over her uncle's death, twelve-year-old amateur astronomer Tuesday Beals makes a discovery that could save her favorite astronomy spots in Zion National Park from the threat of a new housing development.
Meet Me Halfway
Published in 2022
When seventh-grade classmates Mattie GЃomez and Mercedes Miller realize they have the same Colombian father, they hatch a plan to run away from a school field trip to meet him for the first time.
Sweet and Sour
Published in 2022
Eleven-year-old Mai has been contemplating revenge on her former best friend Zach ever since he humiliated her two years ago, but while spending time together for the summer, Mai has noticed a change in Zach, forcing her to decide if she can forgive him, even if she can never forget.
A Duet for Home
Published in 2022
"It's June's first day at Huey House, and as if losing her home weren't enough, she also can't bring her cherished viola inside. Before the accident last year, her dad saved tip money for a year to buy her viola, and she's not about to give it up now. Tyrell has been at Huey House for three years and gives June a glimpse of the good things about living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door. Can he and June work together to oppose the government, or will families be forced out of Huey House before they are ready?"--Author's website
The Bluest Sky
Published in 2022
"There are two versions of Héctor: the public and the private. It's the only way to survive in communist Cuba--especially when your father was exiled to the U.S. and labeled an enemy of the people. Héctor must always be seen as a fierce supporter of the regime, even if that means loudly rejecting the father he still loves. But in the summer of 1980, those two versions are hard to keep separate. No longer able to suppress a public uprising, the Cuban government says it will open the port of Mariel to all who wish to leave the country--if they can find a boat. But choosing to leave comes with a price. Those who want to flee are denounced as traitors by family and friends. There are violent acts of repudiation, and no one knows if they will truly be allowed to leave the country or not. In a summer of heat and upheaval, danger and deadly consequences, Héctor's two worlds are on a collision course. Will the impact destroy him and everything he loves?"-- Amazon.com.
The Whispering Fog
Published in 2022
For twelve-year-old Neve, it's always been her and her older sister against the world, their lives entwined just like sisters in a fairy tale. If Rose loves tennis, Neve will play it too--even if secretly she'd rather be home turning cardboard boxes into offbeat art projects. Not even being moved to the piney woods outside Etters, South Carolina, can change what they are to each other--until a mysterious fog seems to swallow up Rose before Neve's eyes. Naturally, the adults don't believe that something supernatural is at play. So, with the help of Piper, a classmate with a tomato fixation; Sammy, a boy with memories of an otherworldly stranger; and a stray dog that seems to belong to the woods, Neve discovers that her sister has been taken by a swamp-dwelling witch with a terribly wicked plan. It will be up to Neve to save her sister. Otherwise, she'll be separated from Rose . . . forever."-- Front jacket flap
Those Kids from Fawn Creek
Published in 2022
The twelve kids in the seventh grade at Fawn Creek K-12 have been together all their lives so when graceful Orchid Mason arrives, with exotic clothes and glorious hair, the other seventh graders do not know what to think.
Attack of the Black Rectangles
Published in 2022
When sixth-grader Mac discovers several words of his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic are blacked out he is outraged, so he, his friends, and his eccentric family set out to do something about the censorship imposed by one teacher and the school board.
Playing Through the Turnaround
Published in 2022
Fifth period is hands down the best time of day in Connor U. Eubanks Middle School, because that's when Mr. Lewis teaches Jazz Lab. So his students are devastated when their beloved teacher quits abruptly. Once they make a connection between budget cuts and Mr. Lewis's disappearance, they hatch a plan: stop the cuts, save their class. Soon, they become an unlikely band of crusaders, and their quest quickly snowballs into something much bigger--a movement involving the whole middle school. But the adults in charge seem determined to ignore their every protest. How can the kids make themselves heard?
Hummingbird
Published in 2022
When twelve-year-old Olive, who suffers from brittle bone disease and has been homeschooled all her life, finally attends school in person she soon discovers fitting in is not that easy, but if she can find the magical wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives nearby, and prove herself worthy, maybe her deepest wish will be granted.
We Were the Fire
Birmingham 1963
Published in 2022
Determined to stand up for their rights, eleven-year-old Rufus, a Black boy, and his friends participate in the 1963 civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
Black Bird, Blue Road
Published in 2022
"Pesah has lived with leprosy for years, and the twins have spent most of that time working on a cure. Then Pesah has a vision: The Angel of Death will come for him on Rosh Hashanah, just one month away. So Ziva takes her brother and runs away to find doctors who can cure him. But when they meet and accidentally free a half-demon boy, he suggests paying his debt by leading them to the fabled city of Luz, where no one ever dies--the one place Pesah will be safe."-- Adapted from front jacket flap.
Ellen Outside the Lines
Published in 2022
"Ellen, an autistic thirteen-year-old, navigates a new city, shifting friendships, a growing crush, and her queer and Jewish identities while on a class trip to Barcelona, Spain"-- Provided by publisher.
The Last Mapmaker
Published in 2022
A high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. This is the story of a young woman's struggle to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. As assistant to Mangkon's most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman - and in a kingdom where the status of one's ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn't the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands - a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining - she must weigh the cost of her dreams. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as intricate as the maps of old.
Yonder
Published in 2022
"Danny Timmons has looked up to Jack Bailey ever since Jack saved two small children from drowning during the Great Flood of 1940. Now, with his father away fighting in World War II and his mother about to have a new baby, Danny relies on Jack’s friendship and guidance more than ever. So when Jack goes missing without a trace from their small Appalachian town, Danny is determined to find him. He wonders if Jack’s abusive father could be behind his disappearance, or if it has anything to do with Yonder—a hidden magical town Jack once spoke of, where flocks of rainbow birds fly through the sky and they’ve never heard of war. As answers elude him, Danny begins to fear that he didn’t know Jack as well as he thought. Ultimately, Danny’s investigation forces him to reckon with even larger questions: What is America fighting for in this war? What role do each of us play in stopping injustices, big and small? And is there such thing as a true hero?"--Amazon.
What Happened to Rachel Riley?
Published in 2023
"Thirteen-year-old new girl Anna Hunt decides to make an investigative podcast about how fellow classmate Rachel Riley went from being the most popular girl in school to the most hated"-- Provided by publisher.
A Song Called Home
Published in 2022
Receiving a mysterious guitar the night before she leaves the city to live with her mom and new stepdad, Lou believes that if she learns how to play it, she can bring a piece of her old life home.