2009 Abraham Lincoln Award Nominees 2009

Every year the Illinois School Library Association puts out a list of books that have been selected from a wide audience ranging from students to librarians. Readers read the chosen titles and vote for their favorite book at their school and public libraries. Get a head start on reading them now!

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Kristina Snow's life is turned upside-down, when she visits her absentee father, gets turned on to the drug "crank", becomes addicted, and is lead down a desperate path that threatens her mind, soul, and her life.

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What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles

After his younger brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby decides to exact revenge on the person he holds responsible by buring someone alive.

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Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of a Pakistani village, he promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time--Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.

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The Girls by Lori Lansens

A fictional autobiography of conjoined twins told by Rose and Ruby Darlen, two young women who, nearing the age of thirty, are about to become history's oldest surviving twins to be joined at the head.

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Taken by Chris Jordan

When caterer Kate Bickford's 11-year-old son, Tomas, vanishes after his Little League game in Fairfax, Conn., she races home, hoping to find him. Instead, she discovers a mother's worst nightmare: Tomas has been kidnapped and his kidnapper is Capt. Steve Cutter (former Special Ops), a ruthless liar.

Coming Soon!




Sold by Patricia McCormick

Thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her poor mountain home in Nepal thinking that she is to work in the city as a maid only to find that she has been sold into the sex slave trade in India and that there is no hope of escape.

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It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

New York City teenager Craig Gilner succumbs to academic and social pressures at an elite high school and enters a psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide.

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Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected.

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Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

After learning about his magical ancestry and his own warrior powers, sixteen-year-old Jack embarks on a training program to fight enemy wizards.

Coming Soon!

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, and he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.

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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

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A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel in 1906 where the death of a guest renews her determination to live her own life.

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Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss

Haunted by flashbacks, fifteen-year-old Meredith learns that three years in prison has not changed the abusive father who molested her.

Coming Soon!

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater Rhodes

In a land that has been at war so long that no one remembers the reason for fighting, the shapeshifters who rule the two factions agree to marry in the hope of bringing peace, despite deep-seated fear and distrust of each other.

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Catch by Will Leitch

Teenager Tim Temples must decide if he wants to leave his comfortable life in a small town and go to college.

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After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings and Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates

Blaming herself for the car accident on the Tappan Zee Bridge that killed her mother, fifteen-year-old Jenna undergoes a difficult physical and emotional recovery.

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Jennifer Government by Max Barry

Hack, a corporate employee in a future, extraordinarily capitalist, America, is pressured to commit murder as part of his promotion and is soon chased by a government agent--Jennifer Government

Coming Soon!



Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock

After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

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The Bonemender by Holly Bennett

Gabrielle is a bonemender of extraordinary talent. One day a stranger arrives, desperately seeking help for his injured friend. To Gabrielle's wonder, they are Elves, a people not seen in Verdeau in many years. And they bring news of a coming invasion that threatens the freedom of the entire Krylian Basin, Human and Elvish alike.

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Looking for Alaska by John Green

Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.

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Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

Matt Rydeck, co-captain of his high school football team, endures a traumatic season as he witnesses the rape of a rookie player by teammates and grapples with his own use of performance-enhancing drugs.

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The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

Comic book artist Daniel Stone, a stay-at-home dad with a fourteen-year-old daughter Trixie, and an unfaithful wife, turns a blind eye to Trixie's first broken heart and wife Laura's affair, but the feelings of rage he has buried for years come to the surface when Trixie is raped at a party and accuses her former boyfriend.

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Faeries and Fairy Tales

Did you think that faeries and fairy tales were only for small children? Think again! Discover a new faerie world and revisit old fairy tales with unique twists and turns. Here are our recommendations of books that will make you crave for all things faerie and possibly make you not want to leave the faerie world!

I am Morgan le Fay by Nancy Springer

In a war-torn England where her half-brother Arthur will eventually become king, the young Morgan le Fay comes to realize that she has magic powers and links to the faerie world.

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River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Young Razo travels from Bayern to Tira at war's end as part of a diplomatic corps, but mysterious events in the Tiran capital fuel simmering suspicions and anger, and Razo must spy out who is responsible before it is too late and he becomes trapped in an enemy land.

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Valiant by Holly Black

17 yr old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City and befriends a group of very unusual characters who live in the city's subway tunnels and soon finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus.

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The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks

Allanon, legendary Druid protector of the Races, must seek aid from Brin, a descendant of the Elven king Shannara.
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The Witch's Boy by Michael Gruber

A grotesque foundling turns against the witch who sacrificed almost everything to raise him when he becomes consumed by the desire for money and revenge against those who have hurt him, but he eventually finds his true heart's desire.

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The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Tiffany, a young witch-to-be in the land of Discworld, teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue toughs, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland.

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Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli

A tale of a young tailor who cripples himself while spinning gold thread on a magic wheel to win his beloved's hand. Spurned for his ugliness, he watches her marry the miller and die giving birth to the child he knows is his own. The girl grows up to become a master spinner. Does this sound familiar to you?

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The Complete Brother Grimm Fairy Tales edited by Lily Owen

Look no further when it comes to fairy tales. Find out what the real story behind your favorite Disney movies were really all about. Warning: not for the squeamish.

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The Complete Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales edited by Lily Owens

Revisit your favorite Hans Christian Andersen story like The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and many more!

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The Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

So what was Cinderella really like? Were the stepmother and stepsisters really all that nasty? Find out in this retelling of Cinderella. You may be surprised.

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Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Rebecca Berlin, a young woman who has grown up hearing her grandmother Gemma tell an unusual and frightening version of the Sleeping Beauty legend, realizes when Gemma dies that the fairy tale offers one of the very few clues she has to her grandmother's past.

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Breath by Donna Jo Napoli

The setting is the late 13th century. Hamlen and surrounding towns are inflicted with a terrible, incurable disease. Animals are sick and dying and the fear is that humans may be next. What is causing the disease? Maybe it's the rat infestation, but no one is certain of the cause. Hopefully, the new piper that Salz meets can solve the problem.

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Tithe by Holly Black

16 yr old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.

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The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

17 yr old Imogene decides to reinvent herself after moving to a new town with her family. She hopes to leave behind her tough, rebellious nature, befriend the high school outcast and try her best to avoid trouble. However, when she gets on the wrong side of a gang of malicious fairies, Imogene finds herself in more trouble than ever before.

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Birdwing by Rafe Martin

Prince Ardwin, known as Birdwing, the youngest of six brothers turned into swans by their stepmother, is unable to complete the transformation back into human form, so he undertakes a journey to discover whether his feathered arm will be a curse or a blessing to him.

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Celandine by Steve Augarde

In Somerset, England, during World War I, Celandine becomes involved in the lives of the little people living on a hill near her family's farm, while also coming to terms with her own healing abilities and psychic gifts.

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Beauty by Robin McKinley

How far would you go to save your family? That is the question Beauty, a plain-looking, intelligent young woman has to decide when she's confronted to spend her life in the Beast's castle in this retelling of the beloved fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.

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I was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

A feisty, sexy fairy helps a young woman heal traumas from her past.

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The New Policeman by Kat Thompson

15 yr old musician J.J. Liddy leaves his small, Irish town and travels to the land of the fairies to search for time so he can give it to his busy mother, but when he gets there, he discovers that the inhabitants are in trouble and learns about his family's secret history

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Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block

A collection of post-modern fairy tales that chronicle the interwoven lives of Weetzie Bat, her friend Dirk, and their lovers Duck and My Secret Agent Man. A must read for fans of fantasy!

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Memoirs..Take Two

There are just too many great memoirs that we wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Finding Fish by Antwone Quenton Fisher

Antwone Fisher tells the story of his life, from his birth to a prison inmate to his success as a screenwriter in Hollywood, discussing his childhood and teen years in foster homes, his stint in the Navy, his attempts to find his mother and father, and the determination that led him to create the life of his dreams.
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The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

The author presents his memoirs of growing up without his father and finding himself looking for male role models among the regulars at Publicans, a Manhasset, Long Island, bar.

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Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers

Award winning YA author, Walter Dean Myers, describes his childhood in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s, discussing his loving stepmother, his problems in school, his reasons for leaving home, and his beginnings as a writer.

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Lost in Place by Mark Salzman

You thought you were weird? You've seen nothing yet! This humrous memoir tells the tale of how author, Mark Salzman, who tried to rise above the everyday normalcy of his childhood.

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Soldier by Jordan June

Poet June Jordan chronicles the first twelve years of her life and discusses how her experiences during those years influenced her writing.

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Wasted by Marya Hornbacher

The author reflects on her fourteen-year battle with bulimia and anorexia, discussing how the eating disorders have affected her life from childhood through the present day.

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Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel

A personal memoir of Elizabeth Wurtzel's breakdowns, suicide attempts, hospitalizations, and her battle with depression.

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The Nazi Officier's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer

Edith Hahn tells how she survived the Holocaust, first by going underground, using a Christian friend's identity papers, and eventually marrying Werner Vetter, a Nazi Party member who knew she was Jewish.

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A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind

Follows gifted African-American student Cedric Jennings from his crime-infested high school in Washington D.C. to his junior year at Brown University, discussing the problems he encountered along the road out of the ghetto.

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The Lost Childhood by Yehuda Nir

Describes six years in the life of a daring and resourceful Polish Jewish boy and his family, who survived the Holocaust by using false papers and posing as Catholics.

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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The author recalls her life growing up in a dysfunctional family with an alcohol father and distant mother and describes how she and her siblings had to fend for themselves until they finally found the resources and will to leave home.

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When a Crocodile eats the sun by Peter Godwin

Peter Godwin recounts the experiences he had after returning to his birthplace in Zimbabwe to be with his dying father, and shares his impressions of the country and the political and social changes that have thrown it into a vortex of brutality and hatred.

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Barefoot Heart by Elva Trevino Hart

The author, born in south Texas to Mexican immigrants, provides an account of her life growing up in a family of migrant farm workers, and tells how she overcame the disadvantages of her youth to attend college and earn a master's degree in computer science/engineering.

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Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

Lucy Grealy describes her journey to find physical beauty after surgery left her face disfigured.

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Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl by Renee

A translation from French of the memoir of a young woman named Renee, who began suffering from schizophrenia at age five, and an interpretation of Renee's experiences by her analyst, Marguerite Sechehaye.

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Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

The author chronicles his impoverished childhood in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s, describing his father's alcoholism and talent for storytelling; the challenges and tragedies his mother faced, including the loss of three children; and his early experiences in the Catholic church, and balances painful memories with humor.

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A Long way gone by Ismael Beah

Ishmael Beah describes his experiences after he was driven from his home by war in Sierra Leone and picked up by the government army at the age of thirteen, serving as a soldier for three years before being removed from fighting by UNICEF and eventually moving to the United States.

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My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

The author reflects on his days at a South Carolina military college. He recalls his love of basketball and its value to him as a means of self-expression, and shares experiences that shed new light on his novel "The Great Santini."

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Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Memoir of three Chinese women, Jung Chang, her mother, and her grandmother in twentieth-century China.

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Hello, America by Livia Bitton-Jackson

The author tells the story of how she and her mother came to New York City in 1951 to try to leave the horrors of the Holocaust behind, but found it harder than they expected to fit into this "new world."

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Funny in Farsi by by Firoozeh Dumas

Firoozeh Dumas recounts the experiences she had after her family moved from Iran to Southern California, discussing how her family adapted to life in America.

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My Life in and out of the rough by John Daly

Presents the author's first-hand account of his experiences as a professional golfer, providing information on his family life, his addictions, and his accomplishments.

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Bowman's Store by Joseph Bruchac

A memoir in which the author describes his upbringing in his grandparent's home where he was loved, nurtured, and encouraged, and tells how he came to fully claim his Abenaki heritage in spite of the fact that his grandfather never admitted to being Native American.

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