National Book Award Finalists

The National Book Award Finalists have been announced this week and the Young People’s Literature list has a number of great books.  I personally haven’t gotten a chance to read them all, but I have read Benjamin Ali’s The Truth About Jellyfish and Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona.  Which I think is a feat in and of itself because it’s a graphic novel and that’s not my typical go-to genre.  I’m also familiar with Steve Sheinkin and Neal Shusterman, although I haven’t gotten a chance to read these books yet.  And I’ve seen a lot of buzz (no pun intended, the cover has a bee on it) about Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap.  I’m excited to see what direction they go in for the winner as these books are very different from middle grade fiction to informational text to a graphic novel.  It’s going to be a very difficult decision and I don’t envy the judging process at all.
Young People’s Literature
Ali Benjamin, The Thing About Jellyfish
Laura Ruby, Bone Gap
Steve Sheinkin, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep
Noelle Stevenson, Nimona