YALSA has announced their picks for the finalists for the 2015 Morris Award.  The award is given to the year’s best books written for teens by a debut author.  Here are the five finalists:

  

The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley

Gabi: A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

 

The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

The shortlist for the 2015 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults have been announced.  The award honors the best nonfiction books for teens written between Nov 1, 2013 and October 31, 2014.  Here are the finalists:

  

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business – and Won! by Emily Arnold McCully

Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

 

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin