(E)Merging Literacies IATE Conference Crystal Lake, IL Ruth Gheysen, Rebecca Caudill Selection Committee Deborah Will, Abraham Lincoln High School Book Award Nomination Committee

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool  Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets, and extraordinary encounters

Legend by Marie Lu  In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen  In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman Gifted musician Seraphina is drawn into a murder mystery as tensions between humans and dragons intensify. “it’s troubling how similar the skill of performing is to lying. Maybe lying is itself a kind of art.”

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal  The wedding festivities of Scandinavian Princess Sophia are thrown into turmoil by an illness plaguing the royal family and a courtier's plot that places a seamstress and a royal nursemaid at the center of an epic power struggle.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau  Sixteen-year-old Malencia (Cia) Vale is chosen to participate in The Testing to attend the University; however, Cia is fearful when she figures out her friends who do not pass The Testing are disappearing.

Unstoppable by Tim Green  Upon going to the doctor for a routine knee injury, foster child and aspiring NFL athlete Harrison learns that he has bone cancer.

Second Impact by David Klass and Perri Klass  When Jerry Downing, star quarterback in a small football town, gets a second chance after his drunk driving had serious consequences, Carla Jensen, ace reporter for the school newspaper, invites him to join her in writing a blog, mainly about sports.

Never Say Die by Will Hobbs  Fifteen-year-old half-Inuit Nick meets and shares an adventure on the Firth River in the Canadian Arctic with his white brother, Ryan. They have to face white water, wild animals, and fierce weather as Ryan documents the effects of climate change on caribou for National Geographic magazine.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Strapped to a chair and tortured, this World War II pilot writes a defiant story of friendship with humor, hope, and surprises.

Ungifted by Gordon Korman  When one of Donovan's thoughtless pranks accidentally destroys the school gym during the Big Game he knows he's in for it. But through a strange chain of events, his name gets put on the list for the local school for gifted students. Donovan knows he's not a genius, but he can't miss this chance to escape. Now, he has to figure out a way to stay at ASD and fit in with the kids there.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell  Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin  Recounts the scientific discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey  Cassie Sullivan, the survivor of an alien invasion, must rescue her young brother from the enemy with help from a boy who may be one of them.

A Diamond in the Desert By Kathryn Fitzmaurice  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, thirteen- year-old Tetsu and his family are sent to the Gila River Relocation Center in Arizona where a fellow prisoner starts a baseball team, but when Tetsu's sister becomes ill and he feels responsible, he stops playing.

Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick  Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited-- throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate  When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus- themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith Arriving four minutes earlier would have changed everything. “Is it better to have had a good thing and lost it, or never to have had it?” - was this her dad’s apology?

The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin  As ten-year-old Oona and younger brother Fred conspire to break their sick cat Zook out of the veterinary clinic, Oona tells the story of Zook's previous lives.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner  Following a stray football to the other side of a wall where there is a secret, Standish Treadwell discovers astonishing truths about a moon landing that the overseeing Motherland, a ruthless regime, is determined to hide.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park  When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand A true story of a World War II prisoner of war that asks - how much catastrophe can one person defy? “The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them...”

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern  Jess knows she's growing apart from her best friends, Char and Bizza, a situation made much worse when Bizza goes poseur- punk in order to pursue Jess' long- time crush. When Jess, who loves math, sewing, and audiobooks, is invited to play Dungeons and Dragons by class nerd Dottie, she discovers that embracing life as a nerd isn't so bad -- especially when there's a cute boy involved who loves role-playing games, too.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King Imagining that she is sending love to passengers in airplanes flying overhead, Astrid Jones, a teen from a small town torn by gossip and narrow-mindedness, struggles with her family's dysfunction and hides her love for another girl.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider Does everything happen for a reason? “Everyone has a tragedy waiting... a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen.” "She tasted like buried treasure and swing sets and coffee. She tasted the way fireworks felt, like something you could get close to but never really have just for yourself."

DJ Rising by Love Maia Marley breathes music like oxygen. He hopes his heroin- addicted mother will not threaten his prep school scholarship.

Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden Shin’s mother was only a competitor for food; he betrayed her and watched her die. This North Korea survival story is full of grisly horrors.

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd Is her father a scientist or a monster? Dr. Moreau’s experiments on animals are horrific... and brilliant? “As a surgeon, blood had been his medium like ink to a writer.”

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Conor is haunted. The monster comes to his bedroom at midnight. And the monster wants something from him. Stories are the wildest things of all, the monster rumbled. Stories chase and bite and hunt. “That’s what teachers always say,” Conor said. “No one believes them either.”

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys She dreams of college but a murder keeps Josie, daughter of a New Orleans escort, in the clandestine underworld awhile longer. “Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin’ we’re goin’ one place and we end up another. But that’s okay. The important thing is to start.”

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater If Blue kisses her true love, he will die. This year she falls in love. “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve, Blue. Either you’re his true love,” Neeve said, “or you killed him.”

The Selection by Kiera Cass America is one of 35 girls competing for the prince’s heart. Her heart belongs, however, to Aspen. “True love is usually the most inconvenient kind.”

Stolen by Lucy Christopher He stole her away, and now she’s trapped. Why does she think she loves him? “How long will you keep me?” I asked. You shrugged. “Forever, of course.”

Swim the Fly by Don Calame Matt thinks Kelly is as hot as a girl can get. “She’s like a pebble in my shoe. But in a good way.” How will he get her to notice him?

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Celaena is known as the best assassin - and now the king wants her. She must fight to prove her worth and earn her freedom. “I wasn’t nearly as skilled at swordplay with my left hand. So he gave me a choice: either he could break my right hand, or I could do it myself.”

Winger by Andrew Smith Through humor, doodling, and rugby, Ryan Dean navigates life with his boarding school’s troublemakers - maybe Annie, his crush, can help?