The National Book Award for Young People's Literature
The National Book Award is awarded by the National Book Foundation. Listed here are the winners in the Young People's Literature category. Other categories include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
2008
 What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
Publisher Comments
When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes... (read more)
2007
 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Powells.com Staff Pick
Although based (mostly) on his own experience growing up on an Indian reservation, this seemingly depressing tale is anything but. Hilariously funny, lighthearted but wholly sobering, Alexie's story kept me absorbed through the night.
Recommended by Jill S., Powells.com (read more)
2006
 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson
Powells.com Staff Pick
I'll say right out that The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing is disturbing on a number of levels: it makes historical America seem shockingly contemporary (or, perhaps, futuristic); it explores theories of scientific experimentation and whether the end (a chance at a supposedly "better" world) always justifies the means; and it portrays the frightening isolation of individuals in a so-called free society. But it is also like no other young adult novel I've ever read, written with such wit and precision that I still think about some of the images and characters. Recommended by Alexis, Powells.com (read more)
2004
 Godless by Pete Hautman
Review
"Anyone who has questioned his or her religion, especially as a teenager, will respond to Jason's struggles with belief. Many individuals, upon reading this, will consider their own questions once more." Booklist (Starred Review) (read more)
2003
 The Canning Season by Polly Horvath
Review
"Offbeat, slapstick humor is mitigated by poignancy in Horvath's distinctive rollicking style....Readers are in for a wise and wacky ride when they open this novel." School Library Journal (read more)
2002
 The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Review
"The novel's well-described, exotic setting is a background for imaginative science fiction that looks at the social implications of technological advances. The multilayered story raises many issues, and doesn't always resolve them in obvious ways." School Library Journal (read more)
2001
 True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Review
"[O]ffers readers insights into the institutions and social relationships that shape the lives of inner-city teens....Though there's a heap of teen problems here, Wolff is adroit at expressing both the comic and tragic feelings of her young protagonist...." School Library Journal (read more)
2000
 Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Synopsis
In this novel set in contemporary India, 13-year-old Koly takes part in an arranged marriage. However, her new husband is sickly and quickly dies, leaving Koly a widow with no place in society after she is deprived of her inheritance and abandoned by her mother-in-law. Now on her own for the first time in her life, Koly must decide how to proceed... (read more)
1999
 When Zachary Beaver Came To Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Synopsis
Zachary Beaver, known as the fattest boy in the world, moves to Antler, Texas, where life is just plain ordinary. He meets Cal, a boy who has a brother fighting in Vietnam, and another kid named Toby, whose mother abandoned him and his father to make it in show business. The three of them become fast friends and learn lessons that will change their lives forever... (read more)
1998
 Holes by Louis Sachar
Review
"Sachar inserts humor that gives the suspense steep edges....[N]othing is quite what it seems in this wildly inventive novel." New York Times Book Review (read more)
1997
 Dancing on the Edge by Han Nolan
Review
"...[A]n intense, exceptionally well-written novel....The shadows of truth, suffering, self-expression and repression are examined without psychobabble in this sad, funny, and tender story." Kirkus Reviews (read more)
1996
 Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez
Review
"Reading this book is so intimately revelatory it's like moving into someone's house. Martinez' deceptively straightforward prose is rich with poetic turns of phrase, and his ability to communicate the environment and dynamics of this family — their struggles with poverty, racism, and violence — make his writing startlingly visceral." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (read more)
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