Every year, Chicago Public Library staff members meet to discuss which books of the previous year published for teens we think will win awards. This year we picked our winners of the Mock Morris, Mock Graphic Novels and Manga and Mock Printz Awards before the real American Library Association awards were announced on January 30.
Mock Morris
The Morris Award is given to the best book for teens written by a debut author.
CPL's 2022 Mock Morris Award goes to The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. Yami's sarcastic, hilarious voice will make you laugh out loud in this moving story about finding love and acceptance at school and at home.
We selected two honor books:
This Place Is Still Beautiful tells the story of Margaret and Annalie, Chinese-American sisters with a complicated relationship who disagree about how to confront the people who wrote a racial slur on their garage.
A Magic Steeped in Poison brings gorgeous world-building to a fantasy world where Ning enters a tea brewing contest at the royal palace so she can find a cure for her sister, who was accidentally poisoned by a magical tea.
Mock Graphic Novels and Manga
The Mock Graphic Novels and Manga Award, loosely based on the Eisner Awards, is given to the best graphic novel or manga written for teens.
CPL's 2022 Mock Graphic Novels and Manga Award goes to The Greatest Thing, a charming graphic novel set in the early aughts about Winnie and her new friends Oscar and April who bond while creating a zine.
We selected two honor books:
Victory. Stand! is a powerful graphic novel memoir about Tommie Smith, who bravely protested against racial discrimination after he won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.
A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality is a very informative, yet light-hearted and succinct, introduction to what it means to identify on the ace spectrum.
Mock Printz
The Printz Award is given to the most literary book written for teens.
CPL's 2022 Mock Printz Award goes to Queer Ducks (and Other Animals). This incredibly entertaining nonfiction book will make you chuckle as you learn about the sexual behavior of various animals. Hint: animals don't mate just to reproduce!
We selected two honor books:
Man O' War finds River, a trans Arab-American swimmer, living in a homophobic town in Ohio, on a long journey to find their identity.
In All My Rage, best friends Noor and Sal struggle to build a future for themselves in a California desert town without much help from their neglectful guardians.
Looking for more award-worthy books? Check out the official 2023 YMA Winners for Teens and our Teen Best of the Best titles.
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