Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards: Fiction & Poetry Winners

(1) 4-6 Narrator Caleb and older brother Bobby Gene meet Styx Malone, a mysterious, lanky, smooth-talking teenager who adds excitement to their otherwise humdrum summer in small-town Indiana. The boys embark on a journey that encompasses rule-breaking, laugh-out-loud humor, and nail-biting adventure, while exploring the importance of family ties and deep friendships. Spending time with Styx, Caleb, and Bobby Gene is an experience no reader will soon forget.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(1) YA Fifteen-year-old Xiomara, a self-described "brown and big and angry" Dominican girl from Harlem, finds peace in writing poetry. The slow-burning suspense of what will transpire when devout Catholic Mami discovers Xiomara's clandestine relationship with a classmate is eclipsed only by the devastation that occurs when Mami reads Xiomara's candid poetry journal. Acevedo's debut verse novel is an arresting portrait of a young poet coming into her own.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(1) YA African American sixteen-year-old Starr Carter lives a life caught between her rough, predominantly black neighborhood and the "proper," predominantly white prep school she attends. This precarious balance is broken when Starr witnesses the shooting of her (unarmed) childhood friend Khalil by a police officer. Debut author Thomas is adept at capturing the voices of multiple characters in her powerful, in-your-face novel.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(1) YA Everything in this audacious novel is on the cusp or in limbo, setting up delicious tensions and thematic riches. The time is nineteenth-century England; the setting is a fictional island; the main character is a fourteen-year-old girl caught between society's expectations and her fierce desire to be a scientist. Hardinge maintains masterful control of the whole complex construct. A stunner.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(2) YA Wilhelmina, daughter of William Silver, white foreman of the Two Tree Hill Farm in Zimbabwe, leads a "wildcat" life. This idyll ends abruptly and tragically with her father's death from malaria, after which she's shipped off to boarding school in England. Rundell's finely drawn etchings of the people in Will's sphere and rich descriptions of African colonial farm life sprawl across the pages.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(3) YA Unfortunate coincidences involving sixteen-year-old Austin and his best friend Robby lead to the unleashing of gigantic, ravenous praying mantises related to a diabolical scientist's decades-old experiments. Austin's love for and attraction to both his girlfriend and to Robby is the powerful emotional backbone of this intricate, grimly comedic apocalypse story, in which Smith proves himself a daring and original wordsmith.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(1) YA It's the start of a new school year in 1986 Omaha when sophomores Eleanor and Park meet on the bus. She's an ostracized "big girl"; he's a skinny half-Korean townie who tries to stay out of the spotlight. Their slowly evolving relationship is life-changing for them both. Rowell imbues the novel with rich character development for a heart-wrenching portrayal of imperfect but unforgettable love.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(1) YA Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Opened at the end of the Great Depression, Michaux's National Memorial African Bookstore became a central gathering place for African American writers, artists, intellectuals, and political figures. In this extraordinary, inspiring book, short chapters are written in thirty-six different voices--mostly of Michaux himself and other historical people. Reading list. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2012

(2) YA Street kid Blink happens upon a high-profile kidnapping in progress--or is it a fake? Blink's story, told in compelling second-person narration, alternates and then intersects with that of another runaway, Caution. The tale has enough suspense and action to keep readers interested while they forge a connection with the main characters, whose relationship deepens as they help each other survive.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2011