2010 Nutmeg Nominees
The 2010 Nutmeg Award Nominees are here! Click the book covers to find our copies or to order from another library.
Intermediate Titles:
Archer’s Quest by Linda Sue Park
Facing another evening of dreary homework, Kevin Kim is startled by an unusual intruder. Standing before him is Koh Chu-Mong, an ancient Korean archer from the 1st century B.C. Kevin’s quest is to return this brave stranger to his own time within 24 hours or history will be changed forever.
Attack of the Turtle by Drew Carlson
Living on the Connecticut shoreline during the Revolutionary War, fourteen-year-old Nathan secretly helps his cousin, inventor David Bushnell, build the first submarine. Nathan must overcome his fears and Tory spies to help the Patriots fight the British.
A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin
Everything is comfortable in Squirrel’s world until her mother and brother disappear. Left on her own, she is forced to face many challenges from humans, other animals, and the elements. As days pass, Squirrel learns that her life will never be the same, but with all these obstacles, can she survive?
Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
What would you do if your parents dropped you off at an unknown aunt’s house in the middle of the night, in an unknown town, where everyone you met looked at you as if they just saw a ghost? This is Bethany’s living nightmare, and it takes all her courage to slowly unravel the truth.
Drita, My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard
Drita emigrates to New York City from Kosovo.During a social studies project, she meets Maxie, a native New Yorkerwho can’t seem to stay quiet in school. What can two girls from such different worlds possibly have in common? More than you think.
The Ghost’s Grave by Peg Kehret
When twelve-year-old Josh apprehensively spends the summer in Washington state with his eccentric Aunt Ethel, he encounters the ghost of a one-legged coal miner. After stumbling upon a metal box of buried treasure, he solves the mystery of the box and finds out more about himself and his family.
Paint the Wind by Pam Munoz Ryan
Maya lives secluded in her grandmother’s overprotective care until an unexpected event sends her to Wyoming to meet her mother’s family. Maya learns about the mother she hardly remembers, and she encounters a wild herd of horses including a mare that her mother once rode.
Rules by Cynthia Lord
If you have to tell your autistic brother “to keep his pants on in public,” how can you hope for a normal life? Catherine discovers that her own behavior with new neighbor Kristi and wheelchair-bound Jason make her look again at what “normal” really means.
The Stumptown Kid by Carol Gorman and Ron Findley
Eleven-year-old Charlie Nebraska learns about friendship, heroism and racism when he meets a former Negro-league baseball player. Luther Peale ends up coaching Charlie’s team. Will this be the change they need to win against the premier team?
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
Taiwanese-American Grace, has high hopes that the Year of the Dog will bring her great luck. During Grace’s funny experiences throughout the year, she figures out what makes her unique and how she fits in with her family, friends, and classmates.
Teen Titles:
Accidental Love by Gary Soto
Boy meets girl (accidentally), girl falls for boy (love). But they’re from two different schools, two different neighborhoods, and truly two different worlds. The odds of them making it are slim to none in this well-crafted story of young love.
Code Orange by Caroline Cooney
While completing his infectious disease report for science class, Mitty fears he may have contracted smallpox. When he searches the internet for information about this disease, he alerts a terrorist group who plans to kidnap him and use him as a biological weapon against the people of New York City.
Crackback by John Coy
Miles can’t remember why football was fun after being sidelined by a new coach, criticized by his father, and shunned by his best friend for avoiding performance enhancing drugs.
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
What is the most annoying thing in the world? For Steven, the answer is obvious; his little brother Jeffrey. When Steven finds out that Jeffrey is sick, however, he must use all of his skills as a drum-playing, girl-crushing, friend-finding, parent-manipulating teenager to help his family keep laughing through this heartbreaking year.
Epic by Conor Kostick
Epic is a fantasy role-playing game that is more than just a game—it’s New Earth’s government and economy. Everyone has always played Epic the same way, by slowly accumulating wealth, but no one can rival the Committee, the world’s tyrannical ruling group. But Erik, a risk taker, thinks he and his friends may be able to change all that.
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
It is 1941. Eddy Okubo is 16 years old, a Japanese American, and enlists in the US Army to protect the country he loves. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and suddenly Eddy is the enemy. He and 24 other Japanese American soldiers are sent on a terrifying secret mission that will test their loyalty and courage.
Jeremy Fink and The Meaning of Life by Wendy Maas
If before your 13th birthday, you received a quadrupled-locked, mysterious box engraved “The Meaning of Life”, lovingly handcrafted by your dead father, what do you do? You run around all of Manhattan with your best friend, trying to find the missing four keys.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Miranda, a sixteen year old high school sophomore, is looking forward to getting her license, junior year, and just being a teenager. She doesn’t give a second thought to the news of a meteor speeding towards the moon, until it hits. Life as she knew it will never return.
Pieces of Georgia by Jen Bryant
Artistic loner Georgia McCoy writes a series of letters to her dead mother in the hope of understanding her father’s sadness, her friend’s curiosity about drugs, and her own feelings of loneliness. When she receives an anonymous membership to the local art museum, Georgia’s life changes dramatically.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
When Stephenie’s uncle dies and includes her in his will, she meets Skulduggery Pleasant and quickly enters a world of secrets, magic, and danger. Can Stephenie and Skulduggery work together to defeat the evil powers of Serpine?