Morris Award

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. Bill Morris left an impressive mark on the field of childrens and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.

2012 Winner
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, published by Atheneum Books for Young
Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. ISBN 978-0-4424-1333-7

2012 Finalists
The Girl of Fire and Thorns written by Rae Carson, published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of
HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-202648-4. Elisa bears the Godstone. She is a chosen one. What she is chosen to do is unclear, but perhaps her journey to marry the king of a neighboring country in the midst of war will provide some of the answers. Carson weaves together religion, politics, prophecy, and more in this fast-paced fantasy that brings Elisa to a destiny no one could have anticipated. Paper Covers Rock written by Jenny Hubbard, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books. ISBN 978-0-385-74055-5. Alex, a junior at an exclusive boarding school, uses his journal (neatly hidden inside a copy of Moby Dick) to relate the disturbing events that led to the drowning of a classmate. Hubbards literary references, her creation of Alexs poems and journal entries, and her storytelling skills combine in a story about the code of silence that often compromises the code of honor. Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, published by Lee and Low Books. ISBN 978-1-60060-429-4. This novel in verse tells the story of Lupita, the oldest of eight children. When Lupitas mother is diagnosed with cancer, it is up to Lupita to step into a role she never considered taking in her drama class: surrogate parent. McCalls chapters are exquisite poems with language that sings and stings. Finding hope amidst despair, finding the chance to laugh, and finding the incredible power of family make this a memorable reading experience. Between Shades of Gray written by Ruta Sepetys, published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group USA. ISBN 978-0-399-25412-3.

2011 Winner
The Freak Observer
By Blythe Woolston, published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group Loa, a strong, intelligent, hardworking sixteen-year-old girl experiences a year of loss. While trying to take care of her family and make it through school, she ponders the laws of physics as she tries to understand what can never make sense. With insightful humor and an impressive economy of language, Woolston brings a fresh voice to teen fiction that will challenge and delight readers, said Morris Award Chair Summer Hayes.

2011 Finalists
Hush by Eishes Chayil, published by Walker Publishing Company, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing.
Growing up in her insular Chassidic Jewish community has always made Gittel feel secure and given her a sense of belonging. But when her best friend, Devory, hangs herself after being sexually abused, her faith in the group is challenged and only gradually does she find ways to express her desire for the community to deal with the issue. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, published by Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group Seventeen-year-old Ellie Spencer is just trying to make it through her last year of high school, but a chance interaction with the school's weirdo, Mark Nolan, puts her on a very different path filled with Maori legends come to life. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride, published by Henry Holt Sam thinks his life working in a fast food restaurant is awful. But when he's confronted by a powerful necromancer, he learns that everything he thought was true about his life isn't. Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber, published by Margaret McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division In the 1920s, Iris' emotionally distant father sends her to rural Missouri to act as a companion to an elderly woman while he heads to Kansas City with his fiance. Iris' mother died when she was five, and it takes her some time to learn to care for Mrs. Nesbitt and see her own future with optimism.

2010 Finalists
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan, published by Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
(9780547194899). Blakes life is way too complicated. Hes a sophomore in high school with a girlfriend and a friend who is a girl. One of them loves him. One of them needs him. Can he please them both? Ash by Malinda Lo, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316040099). Consumed with grief after the death of her father, Ash's only escape from her harsh life and cruel stepmother comes from re-reading the fairy tales that her mother once told her and hoping against hope that the fairies will appear to her. When the fairy Sidhean appears, Ash hopes that he will steal her away to his enchanted world; but when she meets the King's Huntress, Kaisa, she realizes that staying in her own realm can also lead to beauty, romance, and perhaps even love. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316042673). Sixteen-year-old Ethan has lived all his life in Gaitlin, South Carolina, a town that hasnt changed much since the Civil War. While coping with the loss of his mother, a father who spends all of his time in his study, and high school, his world turns upside down with the arrival of Lena, a new girl with whom he seems to share a psychic connection. As they grow closer, Ethan discovers that Lena and her family share a dark secret and that she is headed for doom on her sixteenth birthday. The Everafter by Amy Huntley, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (9780061776793). Maddy is a ghost, surrounded by things she lost when she was alive. By touching these objects, she relives the episodes in her life where she lost them. Even though Maddys dead, she explores the lessons these objects hold and why are they still important. Hold Still by Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Childrens Books, a Division of Penguin Young Readers Group. (9780525421559). After Caitlin's best friend Ingrid commits suicide, Caitlin has a hard time making sense of the loss. She finds Ingrid's journal and slowly allows herself to read it and learn about why Ingrid felt the need to end her life. Caitlin also grapples with allowing herself to find another friend, to let in a boyfriend, and to understand why her favorite teacher is ignoring her. It is the haunting story of dealing with loss, moving on, and finding peace and hope.

2009 Winner
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. This supernatural novel retells the story of
Rumpelstiltskin, setting it at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and centering it around the life of Charlotte Miller. When the bank wants to repossess her mortgaged mill, Charlotte strikes a bargain with the mysterious Jack Spinner, (a creature who knows the art of turning straw into gold), but then discovers she must free her loved ones from a generations-old curse. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, Charlotte Miller strikes a bargain with the malevolent Jack Spinner, who can transform straw into gold, to save her familys mill. With masterly writing and vivid characterization and setting, Bunce weaves a powerfully seductive tale of triumph over evil.

2009 Finalists
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. In the Seven Kingdoms, those born with eyes of two different colors are
Gracelings who develop intense and powerful skills. Katsas Grace is killing, and she serves as King Randas enforcer until she and Prince Po join forces to solve the riddle of his grandfathers kidnapping. The closer they get to the answer and to each other, the more dangerous their quest becomes. Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne. When Phoebes flamboyant, effeminate cousin, Leonard, moves to her New Jersey town, he brings a confusing mix of beauty and irritation as he inserts himself into the day-to-day running of her mothers beauty parlor business and Phoebes life at school. When Leonard disappears, seemingly without a trace, Phoebe embarks on a mission to uncover the truth, and confronts first-hand the price Leonard paid for being different. Madapple by Christina Meldrum. Fifteen-year-old Aslaug was raised in isolation by a mother who was both strange and ill. Her mothers death brings an onslaught of new experiences as Aslaug must learn to cope with the unwanted attention of the police, relatives she never knew she had, and multiple charges of murder. Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine. Sixteen-year-old Londoner Lucas Swain, on a whim, decides to take a cab home and happens upon an urn with the ashes of Violet Park in the taxi office. He feels the spirit of Violet leading him through a maze of layered clues, as he bit by bit solves the puzzle of his fathers disappearance more than five years ago.