Lincoln Award - Illinois Teen Readers' Choice

Online voting is underway through mid-March for the 2021 Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award. Each year, we publish a libguide with information on the nominees; here is the link for the 2021 nominees.  AND the 2022 list has just been released. Taking this opportunity to comment on a couple of the newer titles:

WE ARE NOT FROM HERE by Jenny Torres Sanchez is an absolutely stunning read which received multiple starred reviews and numerous accolades, including being named a Pura Belpré 2021 Young Adult Author Honor Book. The action-packed story focuses on the lives of three young people who are fleeing Guatemala.  As they follow the infamous train known as La Bestia north through Mexico, Pulga, Chico, and Pequena face a dangerous, brutally difficult journey. Kirkus describes WE ARE NOT FROM HERE as “a gripping, heart-wrenching, and thrilling tale of survival.” The short chapters will keep students reading and relevance to current headlines will further enrich discussions.

One of the selections from the student nominated committee for the Lincoln Award, PUNCHING THE AIR by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam is an #OwnVoices novel told in verse, like this:

On the day of my conviction

I memorize

              my inmate number

              my crime

              my time

              On the day of my conviction

              I forget

              my school ID number

 my top three colleges

 my class schedule

Amal’s wrongful conviction and incarceration are eloquently described by Zoboi (American Street) and prison reform activist Salaam. The unjust treatment, physical intimidation, and solitary confinement drive the rage, confusion, and deep sadness which Amal feels. His art – painting and poetry – provide an outlet in this powerful, thought-provoking work which highlights the school-to-prison pipeline and other issues of systemic injustice. Reminiscent of earlier books by Walter Dean Myers (Monster) or Paul Volponi (Black and White), PUNCHING THE AIR received universal starred reviews (Kirkus: “a must-read”) and is recommended especially for fans of Jason Reynolds and Elizabeth Acevedo. 

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

THE EXILES by Christina Baker Kline (The Orphan Train) is another wonderful work of historical fiction, offering the story of the beginnings of Australia through the eyes of two convicts, Evangeline and Hazel, and those of Mathinna, daughter of an indigenous chief. The novel begins in London with Evangeline, a young, naïve governess, who is unfairly sent to Newgate Prison and weaves in the story of Hazel, sentenced for stealing a spoon. The two are exiled to Australia and much of the novel concerns their difficult ocean passage, circa 1840. Readers will feel both anger and compassion for the young women who are transformed by their circumstances. Kline describes Evangeline by saying, “She’d learned that she could withstand contempt and humiliation – and that she could find moments of grace in the midst of bedlam.” Mathinna, too, struggles with separation from her tribe and draws on inner strength and memories of her deceased mother who told her, “You carry the people and places you cherish with you. Remember that and you will never be lonely, child.” Kline does an excellent job of drawing in readers – not just to the time and place, but also to issues of women’s rights and social justice.  In the author’s notes, she explains, “three disparate strands of my own life history [helped] to tell the story: a transformative six weeks in Australia in my mid-twenties; the months I spent interviewing mothers and daughters for a book about feminism; and my experience teaching women in prison.” THE EXILES received a starred review from Kirkus.