We are pleased to announce the 2021 Association for Mormon Letters Awards finalists in Young Adult Novel, Middle Grade Novel, and Picture Book. The winners will be announced and presented on July 23, as part of the Association for Mormon Letters Virtual Conference. We will be announcing the other category finalists over the coming week. The finalists and winners are chosen by juries of authors, academics, and critics. The announcements include book blurbs and author biographies, usually adapted from the author and publisher websites.
Young Adult Novel
Sheena Boekweg. A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions. Feiwel & Friends
The Society started with tea parties and matchmaking, but now in 1926 it is a countrywide secret. Gossips pass messages in recipes, Spinsters train to fight, and women work together to grant safety to abused women and children. The Society is more than oaths–it is sisterhood and purpose. Elsie is dropped off in a new city with four other teenage girls. All of them have trained together since childhood to become the Wife of a powerful man. But when they learn that their next target is earmarked to become President, their mission becomes more than just an assignment; this is a chance at the most powerful position in the Society. All they have to do is make one man fall in love with them first.
Sheena Boekweg, author of Glitch Kingdom, grew up reading books with tree branches peeking over her shoulder. Her novels feature plus-size girls with ambitions, love stories, and sometimes battle axes. She is a contributor to the body-positive anthology Every Body Shines, and believes that beauty is intrinsic, worth is unquestionable, and that you can’t solve every problem with food, but it can always help.
Rosalyn Eves. Beyond the Mapped Stars. Knopf
Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Bertelsen dreams of becoming an astronomer, but she knows such dreams are as unreachable as the stars she so deeply adores. As a Mormon girl in 1878, her duty is to her family and, in a not too far away future, to the man who’ll choose to marry her. When she unexpectedly finds herself in Colorado, she’s tempted by the total eclipse of the sun that’s about to happen–and maybe even meeting up with the female scientists she’s long admired. Elizabeth must learn to navigate this new world of possibility: with her familial duties and faith tugging at her heartstrings, a new romance on the horizon, and the study of the night sky calling to her, she can’t possibly have it all…can she?
Rosalyn Eves teaches English at Southern Utah University and writes young adult novels in her spare time. She earned a PhD in English from Penn State in 2008, where she wrote about Women’s spatial rhetorics in the nineteenth-century American West. She has written a young adult historical fantasy trilogy, set in 1848 Austria-Hungary, starting with Blood Rose Rebellion, which won a Whitney Award for best YA Fantasy. Her newest novel, Beyond the Mapped Stars, won Whitney Awards for Novel of the Year-Youth and YA General Novel.
Marcia Mickelson. Where I Belong. Carolrhoda Lab
Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros Millie Vargas has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby. Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she’s needed. She is disturbed by what’s happening to asylum-seekers at the border, but she doesn’t see herself as an activist or a change-maker. Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie’s achievements in a campaign speech about deserving immigrants. It doesn’t take long for people to identify Millie’s family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheelers’ good intentions, Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.
Marcia Mickelson was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States as an infant. She attended high school in New Jersey and then graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in American Studies. She is the author of five novels including Star Shining Brightly and The Huaca, and she is the winner of the Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor. She lives in Texas with her husband and three sons.
E. B. Vickers. Fadeaway. Knopf
Thousands of people watched as Jake Foster secured the state title for his basketball team with his signature fadeaway. But by the next morning, he’s disappeared without a trace. Nobody has any idea where he is: not his best friend who knows him better than anyone else, not his ex-girlfriend who may still have feelings for him, not even his little brother who never expected Jake to abandon him. Was he abducted? Did he run away to try to take his game to the next level? Or is it something else, something darker–something they should have seen coming? Told from the points of view of those closest to Jake, this gripping, suspenseful novel reminds us that the people we think we know best are sometimes hiding the most painful secrets.
E.B. (Elaine) Vickers grew up in a small town in the Utah desert, where she spent her time reading, playing basketball, and exploring. Several years and one PhD later, she found her way back to her hometown, where she now spends her time writing, teaching college chemistry, and exploring with her husband and three kids. She is the author of Like Magic and Paper Chains. Fadeaway is her first novel for young adults.
Jeff Zentner. In the Wild Light. Crown Books
Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He’s been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen. But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he has to leave behind. Jeff Zentner’s new novel is a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.
Jeff Zentner is the author of YA novels The Serpent King (2016 AML Award, Whitney Award), Goodbye Days (2017 AML Award), and Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee. He has won the William C. Morris Award, Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award, International Literacy Association Award, Westchester Fiction Award, been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and UKLA, and was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize and Indies Choice Award. Before becoming a writer, he was a musician who recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry. He lives in Nashville with his wife and son.
Middle Grade Novel
Sarah Allen. Breathing Underwater. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Olivia is on the road trip of her dreams, with her trusty camera and her big sister Ruth by her side. Three years ago, before their family moved from California to Tennessee, Olivia and Ruth buried a time capsule on their favorite beach. Now, they’re taking an RV back across the country to uncover the memories they left behind. But Ruth’s depression has been getting worse, so Olivia has created a plan to help her remember how life used to be: a makeshift scavenger hunt across the country, like pirates hunting for treasure, taking pictures and making memories along the way.
Sarah Allen is the author of What Stars Are Made Of (AML MG Award finalist, Whitney Book of the Year (Youth) Award, 2020), and has also been published in The Evansville Review and Cicada. She earned an MFA in fiction at BYU, and she’s now at work on an MFA in poetry at the University of South Florida.
P.J. Gardner. Horace & Bunwinkle: The Case of the Rascally Raccoon. Illustrated by Dave Mottram. Balzer + Bray
Horace is flying high after solving the pet-tectives’ first mystery. But Bunwinkle just hasn’t been herself–she’s scared all the time and is too embarrassed to tell anyone. Before they can work on getting Bunwinkle’s confidence back, a new case lands in their laps–well, actually their trash cans–when Shoo the raccoon asks for help. The neighborhood humans think he’s behind a series of garbage upheavals and home break-ins–but he swears he’s innocent. Just because people call him a trash bandit doesn’t mean he is one.
P.J. Gardner has a MA in art history from Rutgers University. She lives in Southern California with her husband and sons, as well as her Boston Terriers, Rosie and Rocky.
Shannon Hale. Friends Forever. Illustrated by Leuyen Pham. First Second.
Shannon is in eighth grade, and life is more complicated than ever. Everything keeps changing, her classmates are starting to date each other (but nobody wants to date her!), and no matter how hard she tries, Shannon can never seem to just be happy. As she works through her insecurities and undiagnosed depression, she worries about disappointing all the people who care about her. Is something wrong with her? Can she be the person everyone expects her to be? And who does she actually want to be? The third volume in the graphic novel/memoir series.
Shannon Hale lives in Utah with her husband, four kids, and two cats where she writes award-winning novels like The Goose Girl, Book of a Thousand Days, Dangerous, and the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy, and pens other books with her husband Dean, including Diana, Princess of the Amazons (illustrated by Victoria Ying), Rapunzel’s Revenge(illustrated by Nathan Hale), and two novels about Marvel’s unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Shannon has received AML Awards for Emma Burning and Princess Academy, and Shannon and LeUyen shared the 2017 AML Comics Award for Real Friends.
Celesta Rimington. Tips for Magicians. Crown Books for Young Readers
Harrison Boone used to sing. His mom was a famous soprano who performed in all the great theaters. But when she died unexpectedly last year, the music stopped for Harrison too. He finds comfort in practicing magic tricks to become a master magician. If only Harrison knew the right magic to stop his dad from hitting the road for a new job and sending him to live with his aunt Maggie in an art village named Muse in the southern Utah desert. The residents of Muse believe in a magical entity that used to grant wishes to the winner of the town’s annual art contest, but the muse hasn’t been seen in years. Can Harrison connect with his inner artist, find the missing muse, and win the wish that will give him back a normal life?
Celesta Rimington is the author of the middle-grade novel The Elephant’s Girl (2020 AML Middle Grade Award finalist). She is a graduate of BYU and The Institute of Children’s Literature. She is a musical theater performer and an active participant in her local writing community. She lives in Utah with her husband and two children, where they have a miniature railroad with a rideable steam train.
Kaela Rivera. Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls. HarperCollins
Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous, especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits roam the desert and threaten humankind. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas, much to her family’s disapproval. After all, only brujas–humans who capture and control criaturas–consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime. When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil’s Alley, though, she’ll have to become a bruja herself–while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her on her journey.
Kaela Rivera was raised to believe in will-o’-the-wisps and el chupacabra, but even scary stories couldn’t stop her from reading in the isolated treetops, caves, and creeks of Tennessee’s Appalachian forests. She still believes in the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents, but now she writes about them from the mountains of the Wild West. When she’s not crafting stories, she’s using her English degree from BYU-I as an editor for a marketing company. Her biggest hope is to highlight and explore the beauty of cultural differences–and how sharing those differences can bring us all closer.
Picture Book
Camile Andros and Amy June Bates. The Boy and the Sea. Abrams
In this lyrical picture book, readers follow one boy through his life as he returns to the seashore beside his home. The boy likes to think, and his thoughts turn into questions. He brings these questions to the sea. At times, he thinks he can hear the sea whisper to him: Dream. Love. Be. So he does. He dreams–a young boy imagining all that he might do. He loves–a teenager, reaching out from a lonely place to make friends. He allows himself to just be–now grown, sharing the seashore with his daughter.
Camille Andros has made her home in Israel, Utah, Arizona, California, Ohio, Nevada, and, now, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She has a BA in health science, is an EMT, and danced ballet for 14 years. She is the author of many books for young readers, including The Dress and the Girl (2018 AML Picture Book Award). Amy Bates is the illustrator of many books for children, including Gittel’s Journey, Minette’s Feast, and The Dog Who Belonged to No One.
Chantel Bonner, Mauli Bonner, and Morgan Bissant. A Child of God. Shadow Mountain/Ensign Peak
A rhyming, read-aloud book with warm illustrations conveys a comforting, faith-filled message from a Black father and mother to their children who see visual representations of their Christian faith, but question what it means when they don’t see their skin color, their physical features, or their gender portrayed. In soothing verse, the father assures his children that everyone looks like Jesus and the angels by the things they do. As the family walks through their neighborhood, the father points out the beauty in God’s creations, from flowers, all unique and different, to all the children in their community “each with skin a different shade.” He encourages his children to draw their own pictures so angels look like all of us.
Chantel Bonner is a University of Southern California alumni and works as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist providing trauma-informed care to children in foster care. Mauli Bonner is a songwriter and film director from Las Vegas, Nevada. His film, This is Green Flake is a 2021 AML Film Award finalist. The Bonners are married and live in Southern California with their two children. They are dedicated to ensuring equality and justice among marginalized communities. In their spare time, they provide economic resources and musical outlets to underserved and disabled children through their nonprofit, Lift Up Voices. Illustrator Morgan Bissant is based in New Orleans. She received a degree in Fine Arts at Louisiana State University.
Annie Poon. We Believe: Illustrated Articles of Faith. Covenant
Annie Poon brings to life each verse of the Articles of Faith with spectacular illustrations and bite-sized text designed to aid in understanding and memorization. To make it even easier for young children to grasp the meaning of these important concepts, the memory tips section at the back of the book will take learning a step further.
Annie Poon grew up in the woods of New Canaan, Connecticut. She earned a BFA in drawing and painting from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has created 40 short animations in addition to painting, prints, sculpture and music. Her short autobiographical film The Split House won the 2016 AML Film Award. She also illustrates children’s books with Covenant Communications.
Elaine Vickers and Samantha Cotterill. Thankful. Paula Wiseman Books
I am thankful for a home where I am safe and warm.
Thankful for parents who read me stories and comb my hair gently, gently.
Who whisper the same poem every night when they tuck me in.
Stunning, diorama illustrations bring to life this lullaby of a picture book about celebrating everyday things that make life wonderful.
Elaine Vickers grew up in a small town in the Utah desert. Several years and one PhD later, she found her way back to her hometown, where she now spends her time writing, teaching college chemistry, and exploring with her husband and three kids. She is the author of the middle grade novels Like Magic and Paper Chains, the YA novel Fadeaway, and the picture book How to Make a Memory. Samantha Cotterill has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including the Little Senses series.
Sierra Wilson. 10 Little Disciples. Ambassador-Emerald Intl
Learn to count and give Christ-like service while following ten little disciples on their journey to see Jesus. Ten Little Disciples is an engaging, rhyming picture book for children that teaches simple subtraction along with examples of how to be a true disciple.
Sierra Wilson started talking early and has been a storyteller ever since. She loves to teach and work with children, and this love has shaped her life from working as a high school English and history teacher and children’s art teacher to serving as a church children’s leader and a mother. Sierra is passionate about writing, art, hiking, family, and eating entirely too much chocolate. She currently lives with her husband, four kids, two cats, two fish, and a bearded dragon in Alberta, Canada.