2010 Young Reader's Choice Award Nominees

The Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award is the oldest children's choice award in the U.S. and Canada. The award was established in 1940 by a Seattle bookseller, the late Harry Hartman, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives her or him pleasure.

Nominations are taken only from the children, teachers, parents and librarians of the Pacific Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta.

Nominated titles were published three years previously, printed in the U.S. or Canada and are already favorites with readers. Only 4th to 12th graders in the Pacific Northwest are eligible to vote. Read at least three books in your grade category and vote for your favorite in March 2010.

Nominees for the 2010 award are:

Junior Division, Grades 4-6

	No Talking by Andrew Clements	The noisy fifth grade boys of Laketon Elementary School challenge the equally loud fifth grade girls to a "no talking" contest.
	Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis	In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
	Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke	The daughter of two magicians, twelve-year-old Igraine wants nothing more than to be a knight, and when their castle is attacked by a treacherous neighbor bent on stealing their singing magic books, Igraine has an opportunity to demonstrate her bravery.
	Marley: A Dog Like No Other by John Grogan	Follows the life story of an exuberant Labrador retriever who gets into perpetual trouble and experiences a range of inspiring adventures.
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney	Greg records his sixth-grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship.
	The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull	When fifth-graders Nate, Summer, Trevor, and Pigeon meet the owner of the new candy store in town and are given a magical candy that endows them with super powers, they find that along with its benefits there are also dangerous consequences.
	The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick	When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.
	The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart	After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

Intermediate Division, Grades 7-9

	The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci	When transfer student Jane is forced to move from the big city to suburbia, she thinks that her life is over until she meets three other girls named Jane who decide to form a secret art gang and turn the town and high school upside down.
	Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale	Fifteen-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her sixteen-year-old mistress, the Lady Saren, shares Saren's years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids.
	Schooled by Gordon Korman	After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
	Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy	When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones.
	The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex	Twelve-year-old Gratuity Tucci has a hard time writing an essay on "The True Meaning of Smekday" due to her complex life after Earth was overtaken by aliens and her mother was kidnapped and taken to Happy Mouse Kingdom in Florida.
	The Alchemyst by Michael Dylan Scott	While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life. First in a series.
	Peak by Roland Smith	A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.
	Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick	When thirteen-year-old San Lee moves to a new town and school for the umpteenth time, he is looking for a way to stand out when his knowledge of Zen Buddhism, gained in his previous school, provides the answer--and the need to quickly become a convincing Zen master.

Senior Division, Grades 10-12

	Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah	Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith -- without losing her identity or sense of style.
	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie	Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
	Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson	After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.
	Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks	After Odella's mother leaves her, her sisters, and their father in Manitoba and moves to Iceland with another man, she then dies there, and the family finally learns some of the many secrets that have haunted them for two generations.
	City of Bones by Cassandra Clare	Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster. First in a series.
	Enter Three Witches by Caroline Cooney	When her father betrays the Scottish king and is hung as a traitor, Lady Mary's future is bleak after she loses her only true protector and ends up locked away in the tower by the powerful and deadly Lord and lady Macbeth.
	Deadline by Chris Crutcher	Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos."
	Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr	Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and the Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance. First in a series.