YRCA - Intermediate
These are the upcoming Young Reader's Choice Awards Intermediate candidates.
Blackout
2021
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories that shine a bright light through the dark.
The bones of ruin
Raughley, Sarah, author
2021
An African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is a strange sight for leering audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret: she cannot die. She meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives. To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a competition of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion.
Me (Moth)
McBride, Amber, author
2021
"Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted--until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he'll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones."-- From publisher's description.
Six Crimson Cranes
Lim, Elizabeth
2021
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A princess in exile, a shapeshifting dragon, six enchanted cranes, and an unspeakable curse... Drawing from fairy tales and East Asian folklore, this original fantasy from the author of Spin the Dawn is perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone . "A dazzling fairytale full of breathtaking storytelling." —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval Shiori'anma, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted. But it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. A sorceress in her own right, Raikama banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes. She warns Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and uncovers a dark conspiracy to seize the throne. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in a paper bird, a mercurial dragon, and the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to forswear—no matter what the cost. Weaving together elements of The Wild Swans, Cinderella, the legend of Chang E, and the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Elizabeth Lim has crafted a fantasy like no other, and one that will stay with readers long after they've turned the last page. " A stunning remake of a fairytale . Six Crimson Cranes is the perfect blend of whimsy and ferociousness, with twists and turns that will tug at your heartstrings ." — Chloe Gong , New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights " Fast-paced excitement is balanced with a satisfyingly intricate plot that weaves in elements from Western fairy tales and East Asian folklore." — SLJ, starred review “A richly imagined landscape . . . vibrant, fast-paced. ” — Publishers Weekly , starred review
A snake falls to earth
Little Badger, Darcie, 1987- author
2021
Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She's always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he's been cast from home. He's found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake. Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli's best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven't been in centuries. And there are some who will kill to keep them apart
Tokyo ever after
Jean, Emiko, author
2021
After learning that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan, Izumi travels to Tokyo, where she discovers that Japanese imperial life--complete with designer clothes, court intrigue, paparazzi scandals, and a forbidden romance with her handsome but stoic bodyguard--is a tough fit for the outspoken and irreverent eighteen-year-old from northern California.
Too bright to see
Lukoff, Kyle, author
2021
In the summer before middle school, eleven-year-old Bug must contend with best friend Moira suddenly caring about clothes, makeup, and boys; a ghost haunting; and the truth about Bug's gender identity.
Zara Hossain is here
Khan, Sabina, 1968- author
2021
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant Zara Hossain has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family's dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years. But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far--[defacing her locker with a racist message]--and gets suspended.