2010 Sequoyah Book Award Winners

Last Updated on Monday, 09 August 2010 14:25

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The Sequoyah Committees have announced the 2010 Sequoyah Book Award Winners. They also announced the winner of the Donna Norvell Award, Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris.

Thank you to everyone who read at least three books and voted for your favorite one. If you want to start reading the 2011 Sequoyah Award nominees, take a look at the masterlists:
2011 Children's Masterlist (grades 3-5)     2011 Intermediate Masterlist (grades 6-8)     2011 High School Masterlist (grades 9-12)

Children's Sequoyah Award:

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

One day I was twelve years old and broke. I set out to mow some lawns with Grandpa's old riding mower. One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about: the beauty of capitalism. Supply and demand. Diversifying labor. Distributing the wealth. "It's groovy, man," Arnold said.
The grass grew, and so did business. Arnold invested my money in many things. One of them was a prizefighter. All of a sudden I was the sponsor of my very own fighter, Joey Pow. That's when my twelfth summer got really interesting.
Gary Paulsen's comic story about a summer job becomes a slapstick lesson in business as one boy turns a mountain of grass into a mountain of cash.

Intermediate Sequoyah Award:

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them.
Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

High School Sequoyah Award:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier.  On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.