Annal:2008 Young Reader’s Choice Award Junior Division
From AwardAnnals
Results of the Young Reader’s Choice Award in the year 2008. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
- 2008 YRCA-Junior winner
- Score: 10.58
Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone’s summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must fend for herself, and in the process makes two friends who in very different ways define her fate.
The Day Joanie Frankenhauser Became a Boy
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 4.58
Joanie’s mom wants her to act more “like a girl,” but who can play basketball in a skirt and cute plastic sandals? When Joanie’s family moves to a new town, a typo on the school records makes her “John” instead of “Joan,” and she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself. But how long can she keep pretending? And even if she could keep her identity secret, would she want to? Being a boy is no walk in the park! Francess Lantz seamlessly weaves great sports action, a compelling family drama, and Joanie’s secret stories about SuperKid into a funny, thought-provoking novel about friendship and self-discovery.
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 4.58
As Bethany approaches her thirteenth birthday, her father suddenly hustles the entire family into the car, drives across several state lines—and leaves Bethany with an aunt she never knew existed. Bethany’s only clue is a few words she overheard her father tell her aunt Myrlie: “She doesn’t know anything about Elizabeth.” The mystery intensifies when Bethany gets a package from her father containing four different birth certificates from four states, with four different last names—and thousands of dollars in cash. And when a strange man shows up asking questions, Bethany realizes she’s not the only one who’s desperate to unravel the secrets of her past.
In this exhilarating thriller, Margaret Peterson Haddix crafts a taut story so full of twists and turns, readers will be gripped until the startling conclusion.
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 4.58
Africa is the only home Rachel Sheridan has ever known. But when influenza strikes down her missionary parents, she is left vulnerable prey to her family’s wicked neighbors. Surrounded by greed and lies, Rachel is entangled in a criminal scheme and sent to England, where she is forced into a life of deception. Like the lion, she must be patient and strong, awaiting the moment when she can take control of her own fate—and find her way home again at last.
- 2006 Newbery honor
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 10.56
Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king’s priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year’s time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king’s ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.
Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own…
- 2004 Carnegie shortlist
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 10.54
A tattered scarecrow stands in the middle of a muddy field, taking no notice of the violent thunderstorm around him. But when a bolt of lightning strikes him, fizzing its way through his turnip head and down his broomstick, the Scarecrow blinks with surprise—and comes to life.
So begins the story of the Scarecrow, a courteous but pea-brained fellow with grand ideas. He meets a boy, Jack, who becomes his faithful servant. Leaving behind his bird-scaring duties, the Scarecrow sets out for Spring Valley, with Jack at his side. As the valiant Scarecrow plunges them into terrifying dangers—battles, brigands, broken hearts, and treasure islands—he never realizes he’s being followed by the one family who desperately wishes he’d never sprung to life. Will the Scarecrow discover the secret to his past before the crooked Buffalonis close in on him?
- 2006 Edgar-Juvenile nominee
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 10.56
When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she’s less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she’s sure to suffer because of it. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that’s just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There’s a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there’s Shakespeare. Is it all in keeping with her namesake’s origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out.
Whales on Stilts: M.T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales
- 2008 YRCA-Junior nominee
- Score: 4.58
What sort of madman would unleash an army of stilt-walking, laser-beaming, thoroughly angry whales upon the world? Who cares! All that matters is that his dastardly plan be foiled. Lucky for Lily Gefelty, her two best friends are the intrepid stars of their own middle-grade series novels: Jasper Dash (better know as the Boy Technonaut) and Katie Mulligan (beloved by millions as the heroine of the Horror Hollow series). It’s going to take all their smarts to stop this insane, inane plot from succeeding.
