2023-2024
SCJBA
Nominees
Carrie Courtney
Librarian
Marrington Middle School of the Arts
2
365 Days to Alaska
The wilderness of Alaska doesn’t prepare 11 year old Rigel for life in suburban Connecticut. Rigel and her sisters move from Alaska to Connecticut to live with their grandma when their parents divorce. Rigel’s plan is to survive for 365 days in Connecticut with the hope of returning to Alaska. Does Rigel make it back to Alaska–back to home, or does Rigel discover home is where you make it?
3
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Family/Divorce, Animals
Across the Desert
Ever since a car accident severely injured her mother and caused her to slide into opioid addiction, Jolene takes refuge from the Phoenix heat in the library, where she follows livestreamer Addie Earhart's aerial adventures. When her hero, a girl known as the Desert Aviator, crashes during her livestream, 12-year-old Jolene, armed with a hand-drawn map and a stolen cell phone, races against time across the treacherous Arizona desert to save her.
4
Genre: Adventure
Topics: Survival, Family/Addiction
Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year
Ahmed Aziz has quite a 6th grade year as he moves to a new school in Minnesota, the same school his uncle and father attended, and learns more than he ever imagined. Ahmed gets picked on by a few bullies and has to figure out how to deal with this. In the midst of all these struggles, Ahmed makes some great friends and learns some surprising facts about his father and his uncle.
5
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Bullying, Muslim US Fiction
An Occasionally Happy Family
The only thing worse than a mandatory family vacation is a mandatory family vacation camping at the worst national park in the country. Instead of the fun, relaxing time Theo expected, he is stuck hiking, camping, and hanging out with his family. As if this isn’t bad enough, Theo quickly realizes the whole thing is a set-up to meet his dad’s new girlfriend. He didn’t even know his dad was dating! Will Theo survive this family vacation in one piece?
6
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Grief/Loss, Family Life
Cuba in My Pocket
“There are worse things to be afraid of now than stolen cookies, stray cats, and the boogeyman. The bullet-marked walls and marching prisoners remind me every time I walk to and from school.” These words are now Cumba’s reality after Castro has taken over the Cuban government. Cumba’s parents want to send him to the US before he is forced to join the Young Rebels, a military group that prepares young boys to join the army. To do that he will have to leave his family and face a whole new set of challenges by himself in a strange country. Can he do it? Will he see his family again?
7
Genre: Historical Fiction, Realistic
Fiction
Topics: Immigration/Emigration
Eddie Whatever
To complete his bar mitzvah service project, thirteen year old Eddie volunteers at the Silver Brook Pavilion retirement home. Instead of a boring retirement home, Eddie soon learns there are long-hidden secrets, a possible ghost, and a suspected thief at Silver Brook Pavilion. When Eddie becomes the main suspect for the thefts, he has to join forces with Tessa to clear his name and solve the mystery.
8
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Topics: Multigenerational Fiction
Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown
Have you ever wondered how close the world actually came to using nuclear weapons after WWII or how the world averted a nuclear disaster when the US and the Soviet Union were threatening war and were close to using their nuclear bombs? Read Fallout to learn about the spies on both sides who met in the dead of night and about how the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a competition to build more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race… all in an effort to “win” the Cold war.
9
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction
Topics: Cold War, World History
Fast Pitch
Shenice ``Lightning” Lockwood has baseball in her blood. Her great grandfather, grandfather, and father all played the sport, but had their careers cut short. Shenice’s fastpitch softball team, the first all-black team in their league, has loads of talent. Shenice, the captain, is sharply focused on leading her team into history, but when she meets her Uncle Jack, she diverts her attention from the state championship to solving a family mystery.
10
Genre: Mystery, Sports Fiction
Topics: Discrimination
Flight of the Puffin
Libby comes from a long line of bullies. She wants to be different, but sometimes that doesn’t work out. To bolster herself, she makes a card with the message, “You are amazing.” That card sets off a chain reaction that ends up making a difference in the lives of some kids who could also use a boost—be it from dealing with bullies, unaccepting families, or the hole that grief leaves. Receiving an encouraging message helps each kid summon what they need most, whether it’s bravery, empathy, or understanding.
11
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: LGBTQIA+
Lines of Courage
As World War I rages across Europe, the lives of five teenagers from different nations and backgrounds become entwined. While facing the possibilities of hunger, Jewish deportation, imprisonment, and other challenges of war, these teens become connected through a series of coincidences that result in friendships and a test of courage.
12
Genre: Historical Fiction
Topics: Survival Story, WWI, Multiple POV
Linked
A small town in Colorado is shocked when a swastika is painted on the wall of the community’s middle school. As more swastikas appear, everyone becomes a suspect. In an effort to bring unity to the town and to honor the six million Jewish Holocaust victims, students begin creating a paper chain with six million links. The project is not as easy as it seems, and the students are forced to examine their motives and their families’ pasts.
13
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Mystery
Topics: Discrimination
The Lion of Mars
Bell has lived on Mars his entire life; it’s all he knows. He’s always been a happy, successful kid until he really starts to think about his life. Why is Mars so dangerous? Why can’t they take the rover off the base? And why can’t they communicate with the other countries based on Mars? Bell has pushed these questions to the back of his mind until a virus breaks out on the American base on Mars affecting only the adults, and the kids are the only ones left to make the decisions. Can they keep everything running smoothly? Will they make contact with the others? Is there a reason for all this secrecy?
14
Genre: Adventure, SciFi
Topics: Self-Management
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
In Last Chance, Minnesota, while visiting family, Maizy spends her time at the Golden Palace, the restaurant that's been in her family for generations. The Golden Palace has lots of secrets. Someone is targeting their family restaurant with racial attacks, Maizy’s grandfather’s health continues to decline, and Maizy is homesick. Will Maizy uncover her family’s secrets AND figure out who is racially targeting her family’s restaurant?
15
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Immigration/Emigration
Now You Say Yes
After the unexpected death of their mother, Mari and her brother Conor set off on a cross country trip in their mom’s car in hopes of finding a home with their grandmother. Neither one is old enough to drive, Conor is on the autism spectrum, and they are not sure they will be welcomed if they make it to their grandmother’s house. Now You Say Yes is a story of a brother and sister learning to trust each other and taking a risk on family.
16
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Foster Care, Diverse Families, Autism
Playing the Cards You’re Dealt
Anthony "Ant" Joplin, 10, is now old enough to participate in the big annual spades tournament, a tradition in his SC family. Ant’s hoping to continue the legacy even though last year was a bust. When his best friend gets grounded, Ant begins secretly working with Shirley, a girl with mad card skills. Ant’s father won't approve of Shirley because she's a girl. As his father's alcoholism deteriorates and a gambling addiction surfaces, Ant begins to question his father's notions about masculinity and decide for himself what makes a man.
17
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Family, Self-Management
Rivals
The rivalry between Walthorne MS Cougars and the Walthorne South MS Panthers follows the team captains and the struggles they face to be the best basketball players for their school and to leave a legacy of greatness. The story is told through flashbacks, newspaper clippings, text messages, and message boards. Alfie Jenkins, a school reporter, discovers some behind-the-scenes scandals. Discover how the captains and the schools deal with the scandals and the pressures of being the best basketball team.
18
Genre: Sports Fiction
Topics: Social Media
Stowaway (Icarus Chronicles #1)
After their ship is attacked, Leo stows away on a strange ship of mercenary space pirates and must decide who to trust— human or alien—to stay alive and save his father, a Coalition scientist protecting a precious resource. Leo’s mother was killed in the war and he doesn’t want to lose his father too.
19
Genre: Adventure, SciFi
Topics: Relationship Skills
What Lives in the Woods
Ginny, a blossoming mystery writer, wants to spend her summer at a writing workshop. Unfortunately, her dad, a restoration expert, has been asked to tackle a house in Michigan. Woodmoor Manor is creepy, isolated, and has been uninhabited for years. Ginny can sense that something isn’t right with Woodmoor Manor. Filled with unexplained happenings and nail-biting suspense, Ginny must figure out the cause before this house ruins her father’s career.
20
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Topics: Relationship Skills
Wild River
Daniel and four other teens are on a wild water rafting trip with their counselors in the Montana wilderness. Their first day goes fine, but that night the dam upriver fails and they are awoken to screams as the river is surging. They must get to higher ground before their camp is flooded. It's a mad scramble. All the kids make it out of the raging river’s path, but the counselors do not. Now, five kids are struggling to survive. If nature doesn’t kill them, their disagreements might.
21
Genre: Adventure
Topics: Survival Story
Worst-Case Collin
Collin has been living in a state of emergency preparedness since his mother unexpectedly died two years ago. He carries around his trusty book with various scenarios of disaster and survival. The only problem? Not one of the scenarios can help him avoid disaster in his own life. The pressure of living with his brilliant dad who has turned to hoarding, navigating middle school bullies, and falling for one of his best friends, Collin is constantly waiting for the house of cards to fall.
22
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Topics: Grief/Loss, Novel in Verse
Voting takes place in February.
All media specialists should review all titles and add them to their collection only if the titles meet the criteria established by District Board Policy and Library Media Center Policy & Procedure guidelines.
South Carolina Association of School Librarians, PO Box 2442, Columbia, SC 29202
23