2021 Winner:
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen Tundra Books, 2018  978-0735262751
Interest Level: Grades 6 & up

12 year old Felix has a great school, good friends and a pet gerbil named Horatio. What nobody knows is that Felix and his mother, Astrid, have been living in a camper van, struggling to make ends meet. Trying to sneak in showers and finding enough food for the day are realities that Felix is having a hard time hiding from his friends, especially when Astrid is in her ‘slumps’.


2021 Honour Book:
Fake Blood
by Whitney Gardner 
Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2018
9781481495578
Interest level: Grades 6  up.

6th grader AJ wants desperately to impress his long-time crush, Nia Winters, but what can he do when she only has an eye for vampires? When they get paired up to work on a Transylvania project for school, AJ thinks he finally has the opportunity he’s been waiting for. Things take a turn when Nia’s love of vampires becomes more than AJ bargained for.


A World Below by Wesley King Simon & Schuster, 2018, 9781481478229
Interest Level: Grade 7 & up

Mr. Baker’s eighth grade class is ending the school year with a trip to the Carlsbad Caverns. When an earthquake collapses the tunnels during the trip, the class is sent careening into the abyss. Mr. Baker is missing, and the students are separated in a terrifying, unknown world below. Can they survive and make it back to the surface?


Don’t Tell the Enemy
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch  Scholastic Canada 2018
978-1-4431-2839-1
Interest level grades 6 & up

How far will she go to save her friends? The Nazis have come to Ukraine where twelve year old Krystia lives with her family. Conditions are hard, but when a mass grave of Soviet prisoners is found things get even worse, as the Nazis start starving and killing people. Krystia must choose between protecting herself or risking her life to help others



Ebb & Flow by Heather Smith Kids Can Press 2018 
978-1771388382
Interest level: grades 7 & up

Eleven year old Jett used to be a good kid, but not anymore. Things are tough; his father is in jail, his friends won’t hang out with him anymore, and he’s angry and lonely. With Junior he finds a new friend and a new motto: “No regrets”. When their pranks end up hurting someone Jett cares about, he wants to make things right, but how?


The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis Scholastic Press, 2018  1443142638
Interest Level: Grades 6 & up

Little Charlie Bobo is only 12 when he loses his dad in a freak accident. Threatened with eviction by the violent Cap’n Buck, Charlie sees no choice but to go north with the Cap’n to pay his debt. What will Charlie do when he realizes that he’s helping to capture escaped slaves? It’s an impossible choice – his freedom or theirs.


Pulse Point by Colleen Nelson & Nancy Chappell-Pollack Great Plains Publications 2018
9781927855973
Interest Level: Grades 7 & up

After climate change has made the Earth uninhabitable, humans can no longer live anywhere but the City. Running on energy provided by the inhabitants, the people of the City provide energy in exchange for safety. When Kaia’s microchip malfunctions, dark secrets are revealed and Kaia learns there’s more to the City than she realizes.


Sanctuary  by Caryn Lix Simon Pulse, 2018,
978-1534405332
Interest Level: Gr. 7 & up

Kenzie has spent her entire 17 years believing in Omnistellar Concepts culture, the most powerful corporation in the solar system. Kenzie’s mother is the Commanding Officer of Sanctuary, a space station prison for extremely dangerous teens with super powers. After a catastrophe in the prison, Kenzie starts to question the motivations of Omnistellar, the real purpose of Sanctuary and family loyalty.


The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Gray
by E. Latimer
Tundra Books 2018 
978-1101919286
Interest level grades 6 & up

After being abandoned by her mother, 13 year old Bryony Gray is forced to live with her cruel Aunt and Uncle, who keep her locked in the attic and force her to paint portraits to earn her keep. Bryony plots a way to escape, but her plans are thwarted when her portraits begin to come to life and wreak havoc.
Surviving the City
by Tasha Spillett 
Portage and Main Press 2018  9781553797845
Interest level: grades 7 & up

Teens Dez and Miikan have shared a lot of experiences in their lives, both good and bad. But when Dez’s grandmother becomes ill, Dez is unable to cope, even with the help of her best friend. When Dez runs away from home, Miikan and the rest of the community do their best to help, but will it be enough to bring Dez home?