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GARDEN STATE TEEN BOOK AWARD
NOMINATIONS 2003
First you read. Then you vote. The
GSTBA is voted on by the teens, and only the teens, of New Jersey.
Fiction Grades 6-8
Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun
In the magical kingdom of Windward, thirteen-year-old Cerinthe arrives at the Royal Dancing School, where she finds herself torn between the two careers of dancer and healer.
Crossing Jordan by Adrian Fogelin
Twelve-year-old Cass meets her new African-American neighbor,
Jemmie, and despite their families' prejudices, they build a strong friendship around their mutual talent for running and a pact to read Jane Eyre.
Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell
When accused of murder in her North Carolina mountain town in 1928, Dovey Coe, a strong-willed twelve-year-old girl, comes to a new understanding of others, including her deaf brother.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.
The Girls by Amy Goldman Koss
Each of the girls in a middle-school clique reveals the strong, manipulative hold one of the group exerts on the others, and the hurt and self-doubt that it causes them.
Holding Up the Earth by Dianne E. Gray
Fourteen-year-old Hope visits her new foster mother's Nebraska farm and, through old letters, a diary, and stories, gets a vivid picture of the past in the voices of four girls her age who lived there in 1869, 1900, 1936, and 1960.
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it.
Kissing Tennessee and Other Stories from the Stardust Dance by Kathi Appelt
Graduating eighth graders relate their stories of love and heartbreak that have brought them to Dogwood Junior High's magical Stardust Dance.
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
A thousand years in the future, an earthquake destroys much of the planet, and an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to Earth.
Matilda Bone by Karen Cushman
Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval England, tries to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and practical.
Memories of Summer by Ruth White
In 1955, thirteen-year-old Lyric finds her whole life changing when her family moves from the hills of Virginia to a town in Michigan and her older sister Summer begins descending into mental
illness.
Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother.
Night Flying by Rita Murphy
As the time for her solo flight on the sixteenth birthday approaches, Georgia begins to question the course of her life and her relationships with the other women in her unusual family.
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of
Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne.
Send One Angel Down by Virginia Frances Schwartz
A young slave tries to hide the horrors of slavery from his younger cousin, a light-skinned slave who is the daughter of the plantation owner.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him.
Torn Thread by Anne Isaacs
In an attempt to save his daughter's life, Eva's father sends her from Poland to a labor camp in Czechoslovakia where she and her sister survive the war.
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.
Fiction Grades 9-12
145th Street: Short Stories by Walter Dean Myers
Ten stories portray life on a block in Harlem.
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
Elaborates on the tale of "Beauty and the Beast," told from the point of view of the beast and set in Persia.
Being with Henry by Martha Brooks
When a confrontation with his latest stepfather turns violent, 16-year-old Laker is kicked out of the house, boards the first bus bound for anywhere else, and ends up panhandling on the street.
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Torey Adams, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.
Borrowed Light by Anna Feinberg
A sixteen-year-old feels alienated from her family while struggling with the difficult decisions surrounding her unplanned pregnancy.
Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin
When serial killer Hank Miller is killed in a shoot-out with police, his abused son Cameron adopts the identity of one of his father's victims in order to find a better life.
Cut by Patricia McCormick
While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
A beautiful retelling of the Celtic "Swans" myth.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
After her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life and begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous.
Forgotten Fire by Adam Bagdasarian
Based on the true story of an Armenian boy who survives the near-extermination of his race.
Harley, Like a Person by Cat Bauer
Fourteen-year-old Harley, an artistic teenager living with her alcoholic father and angry mother, suspects that she is adopted and begins a search for her biological parents.
Jade Green: A Ghost Story by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
While living with her uncle in a house haunted by the ghost of a young woman, recently orphaned Judith Sparrow wonders if her one small transgression causes mysterious happenings.
Life is Funny: A Novel by E.R. Frank
The lives of a number of young people of different races, economic backgrounds, and family situations living in Brooklyn, New York, become intertwined over a seven-year period.
Meets the Eye (A Body of Evidence thriller) by Christopher Golden
The Boston area is experiencing a crime wave that includes both major theft and murder. The problem is, each of the criminals is someone that Somerset Medical Center has declared legally dead-and who has been buried.
Night Hoops by Carl Deuker
While trying to prove that he is good enough to on his high school's varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents' divorce and erratic behavior of a troubled classmate who lives across the street.
No Condition is Permanent by Cristina Kessler
When shy fourteen-year-old Jodie accompanies her anthropologist mother to live in Sierra Leone, she befriends a local girl but encounters a cultural divide that cannot be crossed.
Tom Strong, Book 1 by Alan Moore
A graphic novel about a man who wants to make his son a perfect human being by educating him in the far-off island of Attabar
Teru, away from society's influence.
When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams
Shayla, an aspiring writer growing up in a poor section of Houston, can't figure out the new girl next door, Kambia Elaine, who tells fantastic stories. She slowly realizes that Kambia Elaine needs help, but Shayla doesn't know where to find it.
Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
When Elda, the griffin daughter of the great Wizard Derk, arrives for schooling at the Wizards' University, she encounters new friends, pirates, assassins, worry, sabotage, bloodshed, and magic misused.
Nonfiction Grades 6-12
Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found by Jennifer Lauck
Writing from her young self's perspective, the author describes being left alone to care for her once beautiful, cancer-ravaged and suicidal mother at age 5, and her descent into near homelessness by age 11.
Bobbi Brown Teenage Beauty: Everything You Need to Look Pretty, Natural, Sexy & Awesome by Bobbi Brown
Tips on grooming and personal beauty.
CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse by Juan Felipe Herrera
After his father leaves home, sixteen-year-old Cesar Garcia lives with his mother and struggles through the painful experiences of growing up as a Mexican American high school student.
Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews by Ellen Levine
An account of people in Denmark who risked their lives to protect and rescue their Jewish neighbors from the Nazis during World War II.
Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley
In this unforgettable chronicle, the author has captured the glory, the triumph, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six men who raised the flag at Iwo
Jima.
Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet out of Idaho by Jon Katz
A tale of triumphs over adversity and self-acceptance that delivers two irresistible heroes for the digital age and reveals the very human face of technology.
The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and how it Changed the World by Jere Longman
On July 10, 1999, the world of women's sports changed forever as the U.S. defeated China in the Women's World Cup soccer final in front of 90,000 spectators at the Rose Bowl-and millions more watching on television around the world.
Hawk: Occupation, Skateboarder by Tony Hawk
An inside look at the molding of a great role model.
Hidden Evidence: 40 True Crimes and how Forensic Science Helped Solve Them by David Owen
A thought provoking look at the role of forensic science in criminal investigations.
In the Line of Fire: President's Lives at Stake by Judith St. George
Focuses on the four slain presidents, giving ample coverage to their assassinations, assailants, and successors in office.
Katie.com: My Story by Katherine Tarbox
An honest, eye-opening account of teen life from a young woman who was bitterly betrayed by the information age.
Learning to Swim: A Memoir by Ann Turner
A series of poems convey the feelings of a young girl whose sense of joy and security at the family's summerhouse is shattered when an older boy who lives nearby sexually abuses her.
The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936 by Susan D. Bachrach
Recounts the story of the Olympics held in Berlin in 1936, and how the Nazis attempted to turn the games into a propaganda tool for their cause.
Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned by Judd Winick
In graphic art format, describes the friendship between two roommates on the MTV show "Real World," one of whom died of AIDS.
The Real Rules for Girls by Mindy Morgenstern
Irreverent advice for young women on work, life, love and impossible parents.
The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Amaru Shakur
Newly discovered, here are Tupac's most honest and intimate thoughts conveyed through the pure art of poetry-a mirror into his enigmatic life and its many contradictions.
Soldier: A Poet's Childhood by June Jordan
A profoundly moving childhood memoir by a noted poet, essayist, teacher, and journalist.
Spellbinder: The Life of Harry Houdini by Tom Lalicki
This biography ably traces his success as an illusionist, escape artist, and debunker of spiritualism.
Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self by Lori Gottlieb
A first person account of the author's struggle with anorexia nervosa.
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
The definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse.
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Compiled by L. Baldwin, Librarian
Brick & Upper Shores
January 200 2
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County Library : Teen Zone > Teen
Reads > GSTBA
