Volunteer State Book Award

1
Volunteer State Book Award

• 2002-03 Young Adult Nominees

2
Feverby Laurie Halse Anderson

• In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda
  Cook is separated from her Mother.
• Matilda learns about perseverance and
  self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the
  horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

3
Cosmos Coyote and William the Niceby Jim Heynen

• When sent to live on a farm in Iowa as an
  alternative to juvenile detention,
  seventeen-year-old Cosmos falls in love with a
  religious girl and reconsiders his values and
  beliefs.

4
When Zachary Beaver Came to Townby Kimberly
Willis Holt

• During the summer of 1971 in a small Texas town,
  thirteen-year-old Toby and his best friend Cal
  meet the star of a sideshow act, 600-pound
  Zachary, the fattest boy in the world.

5
Safe at Secondby Scott Johnson

• Paulie Lockwoods best friend Todd Bannister is
  destined for the major leagues until a line drive
  to the head causes him to lose an eye.
• Now they both must find a new future for
  themselves.

6
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordonby Stephen King

• Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland becomes lost in
  the woods after she wanders off to escape the
  bickering between her Mom and her brother.
• Trisha boosts her courage by imagining that her
  hero, Boston Red Sox, relief pitcher Tom Gordon,
  is with her, helping her survive an unknown enemy.

7
Silent to the Boneby E. L. Konigsburg

• When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring
  his baby half-sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell
  loses his power of speech.
• Only his friend Connor is able to reach him and
  uncover the truth about what really happened.

8
Hidden Talentsby David Lubar

• When thirteen-year-old Martin arrives at an
  alternative school for misfits and problem
  students, he falls in with a group of boys with
  psychic powers and discovers something surprising
  about himself

9
A Year Down Yonderby Richard Peck

• During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old
  Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty,
  larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois
  and comes to a better understanding of his
  fearsome woman.

10
The Body of Christopher Creedby 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.

11
Imani All Mineby Connie Porter

• Tasha, a fifteen-year-old-mother, is proud of her
  baby girl and is determined to be a good parent
  to her child.
• When tragedy strikes, she must draw on her new
  found faith in order to continue her life.

12
Esperanza Risingby Pam Munoz Ryan

• Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave
  their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to
  go to work in the labor camps of Southern
  California.
• They must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing
  Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great
  Depression.

13
Stargirlby Jerry Spinelli

• Stargirl, a teen who animates quiet Mica High
  with her colorful personality, suddenly finds
  herself shunned for her refusal to conform.

14
Calling the Swanby Jean Thesman

• When Skylar goes to summer school and tentatively
  begins to make some friends, she finally starts
  to get over the loss of her older sister and its
  terrible effects on the whole family.

15
Stuck in Neutralby 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.

16
Its Not Easy Being BADby Cynthia Voigt

• Two unpopular girls try to break into the seventh
  grade clique system, even though theyre not
  really sure they want to be popular at all.

17
The Killers Cousinby Nancy Werlin

• After being acquitted of murder,
  seventeen-year-old David goes to stay with
  relatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• He finds himself forced to face his past as he
  learns more about his strange young cousin Lily.

18
Miracles Boysby Jacqueline Woodson

• Twelve-year-old Lafayettes 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.

19
Beastby 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.

20
Blizzard the Storm that Changed Americaby Jim
Murphy

• Presents a history, based on personal accounts
  and newspaper articles, of the massive snow storm
  that hit the Northeast in 1888, focusing on the
  events in New York City.

21
Dreamlandby Sarah Dressen

• After her older sister runs away,
  sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs
  to make a major change in her own life.
• Caitlin begins an abusive relationship with a boy
  who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous.

22
Keeping the Moonby Sarah Dressen

• Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends
  the summer working as a waitress in a beachside
  restaurant, staying with her overweight and
  eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her
  sense of self.

23
Enders Shadowby Orson Card

• Bean must overcome his past and prove to the
  recruiters at the Battle School that he can help
  save the planet from an alien invasion.

24
The Princess Diariesby 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.

25
Two Suns in the Skyby Miriam Bat-Ami

• Against her fathers wishes, Chris befriends Adam
  Bornstein, a Jewish refugee, near the end of
  World War II.

26
Kissing Tennesseeby Kathi Appelt

• Graduating eighth graders relate their stories of
  love and heartbreak that have brought them to
  Dogwood Junior Highs magical Stardust Dance.