2017 Oregon Book Award Nominees

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll Through the Woods by Emily Carroll is not for the faint of heart. It’s creepy, disgusting, and will keep you up late at night because you’re too afraid to close your eyes. It includes five frightening tales—a neighbor who isn’t a man, the ghost of a dead corpse, a murdered brother who turns out to still be alive, a friend who’s haunted by a ghost, and a monster who takes over bodies. Don’t read this book too late—you just might be unable to fall asleep.

Girls Like Us by Gail Giles “Quincy: always angry and ready for a fight. Biddy: gentle and eager to please everyone. They’ve graduated from their high school’s special ed program and are now living together, which proves to be...difficult, to say the least. They’re living in their own apartment, working for an older woman, Elizabeth, who needs help getting around her house. Biddy cleans, Quincy cooks, and Quincy always takes a job at the local grocery store. Everyone struggles with the changes, but as circumstances shift and change, disaster strikes, and lives are forever changed.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Everyone in the Sinclair family looks forward to their idyllic summers spent on their own island off of Cape Cod. Summers spent playing tennis and board games, sipping lemonade and whiling away the hours in a seemingly perfect sequence of endless summer days. But this summer, everything feels different to Cadence. Suffering from a traumatic accident, she is plagued with headaches and memory loss. Where once she spent every waking hour with her cousins sharing everything, this summer she finds herself spending time alone and apart. Every family has secrets. But when Cadence remembers what happened last summer, this secret proves to be one that turns everything upside down. And reveals an ending you will never see coming.

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon A story ripped from the headlines: a 16-year old African-American boy, Tariq, is shot and killed on the sidewalk. The killer is white. What exactly happened? Only the shooter knows, and he’s in hiding. The stunned community grapples with the ripples that spread in the wake of the senseless tragedy. Narrated by 17 different community members, the story takes readers into the lives of others affected by the shooting: family, friends, neighbors, gang members, a preacher… they all struggle with the question of what happened. Was Tariq a gang member? A smart kid in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was he holding a gun, or was it really a chocolate bar? And where can justice be found?

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson “I gave up practically the whole world for you,” I tell him. “The sun, stars, ocean, trees, everything, I gave it all up for you.” Polar opposites, twins, Noah and Jude, love each other so much they express it by offering each other impossible gifts - the sun and the stars, and protect each other above all else. But when a devastating tragedy comes to their family, their grief takes precedence over loyalty and love. Betrayal and anger take over. Will Noah and Jude be able to forgive each other and find their way back to the love and trust that they once knew?

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero There is a lot going on in Gabi’s life, and her journal is a place where she can lay down some of what she has to carry: her dad is a meth addict, her best friend just told her she’s pregnant, her other best friend just came out to his parents and they kicked him out of his house, her mom has different rules for her little brother just because he’s a boy, her “Mexican-ness” is called into question because she’s got pale skin, and people somehow think it’s ok to comment on her body and call her fat. That’s a lot to carry. Luckily for Gabi, in her senior year of high school she discovers not only that she loves poetry, but also that she’s got a talent for writing it. Iit might be the thing that helps her get into college at Berkeley, if she can just get through this year. Luckily for us, we get to read Gabi’s journal as she calls it as she sees it, and calls out stuff that needs calling out. Her humor, groundedness and honesty make her diary a must-read. .

Jackaby by William Ritter It’s 1892, Abigail Rook has just moved to New England, and she’s looking to get a job—any job. She quickly finds herself employed by R.F. Jackaby, a young man who can see supernatural creatures and investigates seemingly impossible crimes. Jackaby is strange, and the job isn’t exactly the safest, but at least it pays, right? A fantastic mix of Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes, William Ritter’s Jackaby will keep you on your toes.