The 2011-2012
Florida Teens Read Nominees from www.floridamedia.org:
Split by Swati Avasthi
Jace Witherspoon is kicked out of his house after he finally hits back the father who has been abusing the family for years. He shows up on the doorstep of his brother who escaped the abuse five years earlier by running away. They are safe, for now, but their mother is still living with the monster that is their father.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Nailer is trying to survive by taking apart oil tankers that have run aground on the futuristic Gulf Coast when he discovers a clipper ship stranded by a hurricane that is full of riches. Should he make off with his fortune, or rescue the lone survivor, a beautiful girl who is escaping from a traitor in her family?
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Kat Bishop swore that scamming her way into the prestigious Colgan School would be her last con, but she cannot escape from her past. Her father is accused of stealing paintings from a powerful criminal, so Kat assembles a team of teen accomplices, travels across Europe, and plots an impossible art heist to save her dad.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please. Lily has left a red notebook of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept the dares. Is Dash the right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth throughout New York City at Christmas time?
Maze Runner by James Dashner
Thomas awakes in the middle of a maze, with no memory. The other boys have been searching for a way out for two years, and when the first girl to ever arrive bears a strange message, time is running out. Thomas realizes he may hold the answer, if he can ever access his memory.
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Claudia is outside, hoping to escape an arranged marriage; Finn is inside the prison Incarceron hoping to be the first to escape outside. When they both discover a crystal key and realize they can communicate with the other, escape for both seems more likely, but the prison Incarceron refuses to give up its mysteries.
Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
Eunice “Bug” Smoot’s grandfather sold his soul to the devil for a 1958 Cadillac Biarritz, then reneged on the deal from the afterlife. Now a demonic repossession agent is after the car, and Bug’s soul. Bug is about to lose her apartment and her job, wreck her car, deliver a pizza to a dead guy, and fall in love. Will she beat the Devil?
The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin
Three misunderstood teens; Tamika, half-deaf, Jimmi, an eighteen-year-old veteran, and Fatima, an illegal refugee from Africa, become friends and struggle to survive in their racist, violent, and anti-immigrant neighborhood in the Bronx.
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
When Ah-Kim (Kimberly) Chang and her mother arrive from Hong Kong to New York, they are forced to live in a roach infested apartment and work at a sweatshop for hardly any pay. Kim is great at school, but can she succeed without knowing the language or culture?
Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omolulu
Lucy has a secret. Her mother is a hoarder and her house is stuffed with garbage. When her mother dies, Lucy is scared to call 911 because then her secret will be out, but the mess is too big to handle on her own. What can she do in order to return to a “normal” life?
The Miles Between by Mary Pearson
All Destiny wants is “one fair day,” and an unauthorized road trip offers her and three classmates from her exclusive boarding school an opportunity to have just that.
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
Twins Tennyson and Bronte alternate the story of Brewster, a huge misfit of a student who everyone thinks is a menace. Covered in scrapes and bruises, Brewster looks like the poster-child for abused children; but inside lurks the heart of someone who really cares about the people he loves.
Stitches by David Small (Mature reader)
In this affecting graphic memoir, David Small tells the story of his horrific childhood with uncommunicative and neglectful parents, who refused to tell him that the surgery he had when he was fourteen that removed most of his vocal cords was because of cancer.
Borderline by Allan Stratton
Muslim Sami doesn’t get along well with his father, and is very upset when his father doesn’t take him on a promised trip to Toronto. When his father is arrested in the middle of the night for being a terrorist, Sami decides to find out the truth.
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Sixteen-year-old Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency bagging and tagging paranormals, but secretly she longs to be a regular girl. When shape shifter Lend infiltrates the agency, the two of them must discover why paranormals are being murdered, and the truth behind who Evie really is.
