LibGuides: Thriller Awards: Best Young Adult Novel (2013- )

International Thriller Writers Awards

Best Young Adult Novel

2020-2029

WINNER

Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan

Keep This to Yourself by Ryan, Tom
Call Number: YA F RYA-T (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9780807541517
Publication Date: 2019-05-21
Last summer the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him-- easier said than done since Mac's best friend Connor was the murderer's final victim. When Mac finds a cryptic message from Connor, he realizes the killer might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody is beyond suspicion, and Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth.

FINALISTS

Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry by Jen Conley
Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer
We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Catfishing on CatNet (Catnet novel #1) by Kritzer, Naomi
Call Number: YA F KIR-N C1 (Young Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9781250165084
Publication Date: 2019-11-19
Because her mother is always on the move, sixteen-year-old Steph hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months. Her only constant is an online community called CatNet, a social media site where users upload cat pictures and the admin is CheshireCat, a sentient AI who loves cat pictures. When a threat from Steph's past catches up to her and CheshireCat's existence is discovered, it's up to Steph and her friends, both online and IRL, to save them. A near-future thriller about online privacy and out-of-control technology and the importance of making connections in an increasingly fragmented society.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Call Number: YA F RIB-R (Young Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780525554912
Publication Date: 2019-06-18
Jay Reguero learns that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened. He travels to the Philippines, hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death. Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth -- and the part he played in it. -- adapted from jacket.
Patron Saints of Nothing [E-Book] by Randy Ribay
Call Number: YA F RIB-R Ebook (OverDrive
ISBN: 9780525554936
Publication Date: 2019
http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=584&titleID=4312058

WINNER

Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos

FINALISTS

Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky
I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick
Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks
The Distant Dead by Heather Young

The Distant Dead by Young, Heather
Call Number: Fiction Y68d (Adult Fiction)
ISBN: 9780062690814
Publication Date: 2020-06-09
A body burns in the high desert hills. A young boy walks into a fire station, pale with the shock of a grisly discovery. A middle school teacher worries when her colleague is late for work. By day's end, when the body is identified as new math teacher Adam Merkel, a small Nevada town will begin its reckoning with a brutal and calculated murder. Adam Merkel left a university professorship to teach middle school math in Lovelock seven months before he died. A quiet, seemingly unremarkable man, he spoke little about his past and connected with only one of his students: Sal Prentiss, an orphaned sixth grader who lives on a remote ranch in the hills with his uncles. The two outcasts developed a tender, trusting friendship that brought each of them hope in the wake of tragedy. But it is Sal who finds Adam's body, and Sal who must carry his darkest secret. Nora Wheaton is the middle school's social studies teacher. Twelve years ago she abandoned her dream of being an archaeologist to care for her disabled father, a man she loves but can't forgive for her brother's death. As she delves into Adam's past for clues to who killed him she draws closer to Sal, unearths difficult truths about her relationship with her father, and finds an unexpected chance to -- perhaps -- live the life she thought she'd lost. Over the course of one fateful school year, all three of these kindred spirits must wrestle with the burden of remorse, the price of forgiveness, and the debts they owe their dead. The very questions, it turns out, that also haunt Adam's killer. Weaving together the last months of Adam Merkel's life and Nora's search for answers after his death, this literary thriller crafts a taut web of suspense that builds relentlessly to its shattering, unexpected conclusion.

WINNER

The Project by Courtney Summers

FINALISTS:

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
Calculated by Nova McBee
Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

The Box in the Woods [E-Book] (Truly Devious #4) by Maureen Johnson
Call Number: YA F JOH-M T4 Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9780063032620
Publication Date: 2021-06-15
Amateur sleuth Stevie Bell needs a good murder. After catching a killer at her high school, she’s back at home for a normal (that means boring) summer. But then she gets a message from the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls—the site of the notorious unsolved case, the Box in the Woods Murders. Back in 1978, four camp counselors were killed in the woods outside of the town of Barlow Corners, their bodies left in a gruesome display. The new owner offers Stevie an invitation: Come to the camp and help him work on a true crime podcast about the case. Stevie agrees, as long as she can bring along her friends from Ellingham Academy. Nothing sounds better than a summer spent together, investigating old murders. But something evil still lurks in Barlow Corners. When Stevie opens the lid on this long-dormant case, she gets much more than she bargained for. The Box in the Woods will make room for more victims. This time, Stevie may not make it out alive.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Call Number: YA F SUT-K (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9780593110348
Publication Date: 2021-04-06
Iris and Vivi work to uncover their dark, dangerous, and possibly magical past when their older sister Grey goes missing.

WINNER

Daughter by Kate McLaughlin

FINALISTS

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Sugaring Off by Gillian French
What's Coming to Me by Francesca Padilla
I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Call Number: YA F ALB-M (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9781250826367
Publication Date: 2022-06-28
Told in alternating voices, years after it began, seventeen-year-old Ivy and her mom Dana's shared story comes down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should have messed with.
Sugaring Off by Gillian French
Call Number: YA F FRE-G (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9781643752709
Publication Date: 2022-11-01
Left partially deaf by an early childhood tragedy that ended in her father's incarceration, seventeen-year-old Owl is now a tracker, explorer, and wildlife enthusiast, always her freest self while hiking the steep forested acres surrounding her aunt and uncle's maple sugar farm, now her home. Owl and her aunt and uncle never speak of the brutal attack that brought her to them. Owl's sheltered existence is blown wide open by Cody -- the magnetic, dangerous young man hired to help with the sugaring off. Cody seems to see her, the real her, in a way no one else does. Together, they challenge each other, learn to question their preconceptions, and risk a romance their families are desperate to stop. But when Owl learns that some part of Cody is compelled toward self-destruction, she must make a difficult decision about their relationship just as she's grappling with her father's recent release from prison. And when a seemingly motiveless murder draws local eyes to Cody, Owl realizes that Cody is in far more serious trouble than anyone knows -- and it's followed him to her mountain.
What's Coming to Me by Francesca Padilla
Call Number: YA F PAD-F
ISBN: 9781641293358
Publication Date: 2022-08-02
After the ice cream stand where she works is robbed, seventeen-year-old Minerva Gutiérrez plans to get revenge on her predatory boss while navigating grief, anger, and dreams of escape from her dead-end hometown.

FINALISTS:

Red As Blood by Sorboni Banerjee & Dominique Richardson
Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein

2013-2019

WINNER

False Memory by Dan Krokos

FINALISTS

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
If We Survive by Andrew Klavan
Crusher by Niall Leonard
Dark Eyes by William Richter

If We Survive [E-Book] by Andrew Klavan
Call Number: YA F KLA-A Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9781401688127
Publication Date: 2013-08-20
High schooler Will Peterson and three friends journeyed to Central America to help rebuild a school. In a poor, secluded mountain village, they won the hearts of the local people with their energy and kindness. But in one sudden moment, everything went horribly wrong. A revolution swept the country. Now, guns and terror are everywhere—and Americans are being targeted as the first to die. Will and his friends have got to get out fast. But streets full of killers . . .hills patrolled by armies . . . and a jungle rife with danger stand between them and the border. Their one hope of escape lies with a veteran warrior who has lost his faith and may betray them at any moment. Their one dream is to reach freedom and safety and home.

WINNER

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

FINALISTS

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Scorched by Mari Mancusi
Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader
Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Scorched [E-Book] (Scorched #1) by Mari Mancusi
Call Number: YA F MAN-M S1 Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9781402284601
Publication Date: 2014-08-05
Saving the dragons could save the world...or start the apocalypse. Trinity Foxx is used to her grandfather's crazy stories, so she doesn't believe the latest treasure he brought home to their failing West Texas museum is a real dragon's egg. Not until Connor Jacks, a dragon hunter from the future, tells Trinity that the world is about to be wiped out by a fiery dragon war—unless they find a way to stop it. But Connor's not the only one after the egg. His twin brother Caleb believes dragons have the power to save mankind and must be protected. Caleb has seen too many dragons destroyed in the war-scorched future—he'll do whatever it takes to save this one. With a host of enemies hot on her heels, Trinity must decide who to believe. Connor the brave solider? Caleb the cocky rebel? Or the baby dragon that's starting to whisper to her...saying they are destined? The fate of the world may depend on her choice.

WINNER

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

FINALISTS

Tabula Rasa by Kristen Lippert-Martin
The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle
The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
Wicked Little Secrets by Kara Taylor

WINNER

Pretending to be Erica by Michelle Painchaud

FINALISTS

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
The Forgetting by Nicole Maggi
Half in Love With Death by Emily Ross
The Dogs by Allan Stratton

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
Call Number: YA F GRA-A (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9780545695190
Publication Date: 2015-08-25
When Iranian-American Kamran Smith learns that his big brother, Darius, has been labelled a terrorist, he sets out to piece together the codes and clues that will save his brother's life and his country from a deadly terrorist attack.

The Forgetting [E-book] by Nicole Maggi
Call Number: YA F MAG-N Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9781492603580
Publication Date: 2015-02-03
When Georgie Kendrick wakes up after a heart transplant she feels...different. The organ beating in her chest isn't in tune with the rest of her body. Like it still belongs to someone else. Someone with terrible memories...memories that are slowly replacing her own. Georgie discovers her heart belonged to a teenage girl who lived a rough life on the streets. Everyone thinks she committed suicide, but only Georgie knows the truth. And now Georgie has to catch a killer--before she loses herself completely.

WINNER

Steeplejack by A. J. Hartley

FINALISTS

Morning Star by Pierce Brown
Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano
Thieving Weasels by Billy Taylor
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

Morning Star (Red Rising Saga #3) by Pierce Brown
Call Number: FIC BROWN PIE R3 (Adult fiction)
ISBN: 9780345539847
Publication Date: 2016-02-09
Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society's mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied -- and too glorious to surrender.
Morning Star [E-Book] (Red Rising #3) by Pierce Brown
Call Number: YA F BRO-P R3 Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9780345539854
Publication Date: 2016

The Darkest Corners [E-Book] by Kara Thomas
Call Number: YA F THO-K Ebook (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9780553521474
Publication Date: 2016
There are secrets around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about what happened there that last summer. She and her childhood best friend Callie never talked about what they saw. Not before the trial. And certainly not after. But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette—to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth. Only the closer Tessa gets to what really happened, the closer she gets to a killer—and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away.

WINNER

The Rains by Gregg Hurwitz

FINALISTS

The Boy She Left Behind by Gregg Olsen
To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough
The Delphi Effect by Rysa Walker
Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

WINNER

Girl at the Grave by Teri Baily Black

Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black
Call Number: YA F BLA-TB (Young adult fiction)
ISBN: 9780765399489
Publication Date: 2018-08-07
As a child, Valentine saw her mother murder the wealthiest man in their Connecticut town and then hang at the gallows. Neglected by her father, she's learned to fend for herself, living in a crumbling estate that feels haunted by the past. Now a top student at Drake Academy, she's determined to prove herself and overcome her mother's crime. But like all small towns, Feavers Crossing has a stiflingly long memory, and when a new string of murders occurs, all signs point to the daughter of a killer as the most likely suspect. Outcast and isolated, Valentine finds an unlikely ally in Rowan Blackshaw, the son of the man her mother murdered all those years ago. Vowing to finally clear her family name, Valentine hunts for the real killer. Her search leads her to dangerously powerful families, the graveyard nestled behind her home, and even her own psyche - where must finally face the dark secrets hidden there.

FINALISTS

The Lies They Tell by Gillian French
Warcross by Marie Lu
People Like Us by Dana Mele
The Perfect Candidate by Peter Stone

The Lies They Tell [Streaming audiobook] by Gillian French; Caitlin Davies (Read by)
Call Number: YA F FRE-G Audiobk (OverDrive)
ISBN: 9780062841681
Publication Date: 2018-05-01
Everyone in Tenney's Harbor knows about the Garrison tragedy. How an unexplained fire ravaged their house, killing four of the five family members. But what people don't know is who did it.All fingers point at Pearl Haskins' father, who was the caretaker of the property, but Pearl just doesn't believe it. Leave it to a town of rich people to blame "the help."With her disgraced father now trying to find work in between booze benders, Pearl's future doesn't hold much more than waiting tables at the local country club, where the wealthy come to flaunt their money and spread their gossip. This year, Tristan, the last surviving Garrison, and his group of affluent and arrogant friends have made a point of sitting in Pearl's section. Though she's repulsed by most of them, Tristan's quiet sadness and somber demeanor have her rethinking her judgments.Befriending the boys could mean getting closer to the truth, clearing her father's name, and giving Tristan the closure he seems to be searching for. But it could also trap Pearl in a sinister web of secrets, lies, and betrayals that would leave no life unchanged...if it doesn't take hers first.

Warcross [OverDrive E-Book] by Marie Lu
Call Number: OverDrive E-Book
ISBN: 9780399547980
Publication Date: 2017
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Thriller Awards

2020-2029

WINNER

Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan

FINALISTS

Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry by Jen Conley

Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

WINNER

Throwaway Girls by Andrea Contos

FINALISTS

Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky

I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick

Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks

The Distant Dead by Heather Young

WINNER

The Project by Courtney Summers

FINALISTS:

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

Calculated by Nova McBee

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

WINNER

Daughter by Kate McLaughlin

FINALISTS

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

Sugaring Off by Gillian French

What's Coming to Me by Francesca Padilla

I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers

FINALISTS:

Red As Blood by Sorboni Banerjee & Dominique Richardson

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah

Stateless by Elizabeth Wein

2013-2019

WINNER

False Memory by Dan Krokos

FINALISTS

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan

Crusher by Niall Leonard

Dark Eyes by William Richter

WINNER

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

FINALISTS

The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston

Scorched by Mari Mancusi

Escape from Eden by Elisa Nader

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

WINNER

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

FINALISTS

Tabula Rasa by Kristen Lippert-Martin

The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

Wicked Little Secrets by Kara Taylor

WINNER

Pretending to be Erica by Michelle Painchaud

FINALISTS

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz

The Forgetting by Nicole Maggi

Half in Love With Death by Emily Ross

The Dogs by Allan Stratton

WINNER

Steeplejack by A. J. Hartley

FINALISTS

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano

Thieving Weasels by Billy Taylor

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

WINNER

The Rains by Gregg Hurwitz

FINALISTS

The Boy She Left Behind by Gregg Olsen

To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough

The Delphi Effect by Rysa Walker

Proof of Lies by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

WINNER