Kirkus Prize: 2015 Young Readers' Literature Finalists

Shadowshaper, by Daniel José Older

The 2015 Finalists for the Kirkus Prize have been announced!

The Young Readers’ Literature contenders are:

Shadowshaper, by Daniel José Older:

Sometimes she has to pause, to psych herself up, and to actively remind herself about who she is and what she’s capable of—to remind herself that she loves herself as she is. You’d think that the climax of the story, with the magic-slinging and so on, would be when Sierra exhibits the most badassery, but for me, it was those questioning, heart-breaking moments that were the most empowering. Because she is accepting and owning and giving voice to her vulnerabilities, and then she is making the choice to set them aside and keep moving forward—fighting those quiet, insistent internal monsters is harder than fighting a Big Bad on any day of the week. (Full review.)

The Game of Love and Death, by Martha Brockenbrough:

You’d think that a story about immortals using human beings as playthings would highlight our own insignificance in the world, in history, in the universe. But it does just the opposite: it puts the story of Flora and Henry on a par with the stories of Love and Death themselves. It makes the story of two ‘regular’ mortals into an epic; serves as a reminder that gone is not necessarily forgotten; that even when someone is eventually forgotten, that doesn’t mean that they never were. (Full review.)

Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova

The New Small Person, by Lauren Child

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, by Duncan Tonatiuh, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Click on through for the other lists!