The House of the Scorpion is a 2002 science fiction young adult novel by Nancy Farmer. It is set in the future and mostly takes place in Opium, a country which separates Aztlán and the United States. The main character Matteo Alacrán, or Matt, is a young clone of a drug lord of the same name, usually called "El Patrón". It is a story about the struggle to survive as a free individual and the search for a personal identity.
Jonathan Anthony Stroud is a British writer of fantasy fiction, best known for the Bartimaeus young adult sequence and Lockwood & Co. children's series. His books are typically set in an alternative history London with fantasy elements, and have received note for his satire, and use of magic to reflect themes of class struggle. The Bartimaeus sequence is the recipient of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire and Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. Stroud's works have also been featured on ALA Notable lists of books for children and young adults. In 2020, Netflix announced a TV series based on Lockwood & Co., with filming initiated in July 2021.
Nancy Farmer is an American writer of children's and young adult books and science fiction. She has written three Newbery Honor Books and won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The House of the Scorpion, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2002.
Adele Griffin is the author of over thirty highly acclaimed books across a variety of genres, including Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, both National Book Award finalists. Her debut adult novel The Favor explores themes of friendship, surrogacy, and nontraditional family building.
Darcy S. Pattison is an American writer of fiction and nonfiction children’s literature, a blogger, writing teacher, and indie publisher. Her books have been translated into nine languages. Although she is best known for her work in children’s literature, she is also a writing teacher traveling across the nation presenting her Novel Revision Retreat. She has been featured as a writer and writing teacher in prestigious publications such as Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, and 2012 Writer's Market. Pattison is also an independent publisher of ebooks for adults in the educational market.
Elvira Woodruff is an American children's writer known for books that include elements of fantasy and history.
Amy Plum is an American and French young-adult fiction writer, best known for her Die for Me series.
This Is Not My Hat is a 2012 American children's picture book by the author and illustrator Jon Klassen. The story is told through the unreliable narration of a little fish, who has stolen a hat from a big fish and how the big fish reacts to the theft. It is a thematic follow-up to I Want My Hat Back (2011) and was meant to be a more literal sequel until Klassen took a suggestion to change which animals were in the story. The book was well received by critics who praised its dark or ironic humor which could only be understood by comparing the words of the little fish's narration against the events of the illustrations. In addition to several positive reviews, Klassen received the 2013 Caldecott Medal and the 2014 Kate Greenaway Medal becoming the first book to win both awards. This is Not My Hat was also a commercial success.
From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess is a 2015 children's novel written and illustrated by Meg Cabot and a spinoff of the author's young adult fiction series, The Princess Diaries. The book, released on May 19, 2015 through Feiwel & Friends, is the first in the series of the same name From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess. It follows Olivia, a biracial 12-year-old who finds out she is the paternal younger half-sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis.
Dumplin' is a 2015 young adult novel and the second book by the American author Julie Murphy. It was first published in hardback in the United States on September 15, 2015 through Balzer + Bray. An audiobook adaptation, narrated by Eileen Stevens, was released through Harper Audio. The book focuses on Willowdean "Dumplin'" Dickson, a plus-size teenager who finds love, but also realizes that she is more insecure about herself than she initially thought.
Burn Baby Burn is a 2016 young adult novel written by Cuban-American author Meg Medina. It was first published in March, 2016 through Candlewick Press and follows a young woman growing up during the summer of 1977, when the Son of Sam began targeting young women.
We Found a Hat is a 2016 children's picture book by the Canadian author and illustrator Jon Klassen. It is about two turtles that come across a hat and what occurs when they decide to leave it be. In October 2019, Candlewick Press, the book's publisher, released a boxed set featuring We Found a Hat along with its two companion books, calling it Jon Klassen’s Hat Box. In 2018, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. made an animated version of this book, narrated by Johnny Heller and Christopher Curry.
Flame in the Mist is a 2017 young adult novel by Renee Ahdieh. It is a historical fantasy, based loosely on feudal Japan, about the betrothed daughter of a prominent samurai, Hattori, who having survived an assassination attempt disguises herself as a boy and infiltrates the clan responsible.
The Poet X, published March 6, 2018 by HarperTeen, is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo. Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, also known as "X" or "Xio," works through the tension and conflict in her family by writing poetry. The book, a New York Times bestseller, was well received and won multiple awards at the 2019 Youth Media Awards.
Kekla Magoon is an American author, best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated young adult novel The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, The Season of Styx Malone, and X. In 2021, she received the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her body of work. Her works also include middle grade novels, short stories, and historical, socio-political, and economy-related non-fiction.
Joy McCullough is an American author of young adult fiction. She is best known for her verse novel Blood Water Paint. She lives in Seattle, Washington. She attended Northwestern University.
With the Fire on High is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Acevedo, published May 7, 2019 by Quill Tree Books.
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team is a 2020 nonfiction children's book by American author Christina Soontornvat. It describes the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue. The book received positive reviews from critics and was awarded a Newbery Honor and a Sibert Honor in 2021.
X: A Novel is a young adult novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon, published January 6, 2015 by Candlewick Press.
When Stars Are Scattered is a nonfiction young adult graphic novel written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy, and published April 14, 2020, by Dial Books.
