Introducing the 2018 Lincoln Award Nominees

This past year at the Illinois School Library Media Association conference, a discussion was held in regards to changing the name of the high school readers' choice award name.  Calling it the Abe Award has sometimes been confusing... So I'm pleased to announce the new readers' choice award name: the Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Reader's Choice award!

​And now... the 2018 Lincoln Award Nominees!*

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely
"Rashad is absent again today."

That's the sidewalk graffiti that started it all...
Well, no, actually, a lady tripping over Rashad at the store, making him drop a bag of chips, was what started it all.  Because it didn't matter what Rashad said next--that it was an accident, that he wasn't stealing--the cop just kept pounding him.  Over and over, pummeling him into the pavement.  So then Rashad, an ROTC kid with mad art skills, was absent again...and again...stuck in a hopsital room.  Why?  Because it looked like he was stealing.  And he was a black kid in baggy clothes.  So he must have been stealing.

And that's how it started.

And that's what Quinn, a white kid, saw.  He saw his best friend's older brother beating the daylights out of a classmate.  At first Quinn doesn't tell a soul... He's not even sure he understands it.  And does it matter?  The whole thing was caught on camera, anyway.  But when the school--the nation--start to divide on what happens, blame spreads like wildfire fed by ugly words like "racism" and "police brutality."  Quinn realizes he's got to understand it, because, bystander or not, he's a part of history.  He just has to figure out what side of history that will be.

​Rashad and Quinn--one black, one white, both American--face the unspeakable truth that racism and prejudice don't die after the civil rights movement.  There's a future at stake, a future where no one else will have to be absent because of police brutality.  The just have to risk everything to change the world.

Cuz that's how it can end.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Laia is a slave.  Elias is a soldier.  Neither is free.

Under the Marital Empire, defiance is met with death.  Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.  

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother.  The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets.  They do not challenge the Empire.  They've seen what happens to  those who do.

But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision.  In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier--and secretly, its most unwilling.  Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce.  He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined--and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic.  He hasn't left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she's being realistic).  But is ambition alone enough to get her in?

Enter Lisa.

Determined to "fix" Sol, Lisa steps into his world, along with her charming boyfriend, Clark, and soon the three form an unexpected bond.  But, as Lisa learns more about Sol and he and Clark grow closer and closer, the walls they've built around themselves start to collapse and their friendships threaten to do the same.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy.  Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vandetta.  As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc.  Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenlion and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimonia's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past.  And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
"This is East Texas, and there's lines.  Lines you cross, lines you don't cross.  That clear?"

New London, Texas.  1937.  Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone.  They know the signs that mark them.

"No Negroes, Mexicans, or dogs."

They know the people who enforce them.

"They all decided they'd ride out in their sheets and pay Blue a visit."

But sometimes the attraction between two people is so powerful it breaks through even the most entrenched color lines.  And the consequences can be explosive.

"More than grief, more than anger, there is a need.  Someone to blame.  Someone to make pay."

Ashely Hope Perez takes the facts of the 1937 New London school explosion--the worst school disaster in American history--as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Winter, 1945.  Four teenagers.  Four secrets.

Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies...and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Grey) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II.  An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
Sierra Santiago was looking forward to a fun summer of making art, hanging out with her friends, and skating around Brooklyn.  But then a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season.  Sierra's near-comatose abuelo begins to say "No importa" over and over.  And when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep.... Well, something stranger than the usual New York mayhem is going on.

Sierra soon discovers a supernatural order called the Shadowshapers, who connect with spirits via paintings, music, and stories.  Her grandfather once shared the order's secrets with an anthropologist, Dr. Jonathan Wick, who turned the Caribbean magic to his own foul ends.  Now Wick wants to become the ultimate Shadowshaper by killing all the others, one by one.  With the help of her friends and the hot graffiti artist Robbie, Sierra must dodge Wick's supernatural creations, harness her own Shadowshaping abilities, and save her family's past, present, and future.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
Jo Montfort is beautiful and rich, and soon--like all the girls in her class--she'll graduate from finishing school and be married off to a wealthy bachelor.  Which is the last thing she wants.  Jo secretly dreams of becoming a writer--a newspaper reporter like the trailblazing Nellie Bly.

Wild aspirations aside, Jo's life seems perfect until tragedy strikes: her father is found dead.  Charles Montfort accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver.  One of New York City's wealthiest men, he owned a newspaper and was partner in a massive shipping firm, and Jo knows he was far too smart to clean a loaded gun.

The more Jo uncovers about her father's death, the more her suspicions grow.  There are too many secrets.  And they all seem to be buried in plain sight.  Then she meets Eddie--a young, brash, infuriatingly handsome reporter at her father's newspaper--and it becomes all too clear how much she stands to lose if she keeps searching for the truth.  Only now it might be too late to stop.

The past never stays buried forever.  Life is dirtier than Jo Montfort could ever have imagined, and the truth is the dirtiest part of all.

When We Collided by Emery Lord
We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing.  We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know...

Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn't know Jonah would light up her world.

Neighter of them expected a summer like this...a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee
A rising star in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, Carr "the Raptor" Luka dreams of winning the championship title.  Recognizing his talent, the Zero Gravity Fighting Association assigns Risha, an ambitious and beautiful Martian colonist, to be his brandhelm--a personal marketing strategist.  It isn't long before she's made Carr into a popular celebrity and stolen his heart along the way.  

As his fame grows, Carr becomes an inspirational hero on Earth, a once-great planet that's fallen into the shadow of its more prosperous colonies.  But when Carr discovers a far-reaching criminal scheme, he becomes the keeper of a devastating secret.  Not only will his choices place everything he cares about in jeopardy, but they may also spill the violence from the sports arena into the solar system.

Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin
Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die.  For Denton, that's in just two days--the day of his senior prom.

Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts.  First hangover.  First sex.  First love triangle--as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's hostile sister.  (Though he's not totally sure--see, first hangover.)  His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body.  Is this what will kill him?  And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton's long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters... Suddenly Denton's life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.

Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy
From the author of the acclaimed WORDS IN THE DUST: an action-packed YA novel set in a frighteningly plausible near future, about what happens when the States are no longer united.

Danny Wright never thought he'd be the man to bring down the United States of America.  In fact, he enlisted in the National Guard because he wanted to serve his country the way his father did.  When the Guard is called up on the Idaho governor's order to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine crowd--control mission...but then Danny's gun misfires, spooking the other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the smoke clears, twelve people are dead.

The president wants the soldiers arrested.  The governor swears to protect them.  And as tensions build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the unthinkable: a second American civil war.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn't mean what you think it means.  At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team--the pride and joy of a tiny town.  The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of...she's not sure what.  She does know this season could make her a legend.  But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink.  And it all goes black.

In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl.  They're never supposed to be the same person.  Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on.  The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end.  She won't be anyone's cautionary tale.

March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell
Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement.  His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American President.
...
March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation.  Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story."  Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik
You can't spell truth without Ruth.
Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg can judge me.
The Ruth will set you free.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame--she was just trying to make the world a little better and a little freer.  But along the way, the feminist pioneer's searing dissents and steely strength have inspired millions.  Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, created by the young lawyer who began the Internet sensation and an award-winning journalist, takes you behind the myth for an intimate, irreverent look at the justice's life and work.  As America struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stays fierce.  And if you don't know, now you know.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
What if you aren't the Chosen One?

The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you're like Mikey?  Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school.  Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week's end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions...

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia.  But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him.  Dill's only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share.  Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning.  But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams.  But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist: 
Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached)
Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done--and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer.  Together, they just might be unstoppable--if they don't kill each other first.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
To All the Boys I've Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed.  But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, ever her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh.  As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
One Life to One Dawn.
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family.  Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster.  Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning.  When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last.  But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she imagined him to be.  This monster is a boy with a tormented heart.  Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love.  How is this possible?  It's an unforgivable betrayal.  Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone.  She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen.  Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

*All summaries from Goodreads.com