The Thumbs Up! Award recognizes and promotes an outstanding contribution to teen literature that has both literary quality and teen appeal for those 13 to 18 years of age. The award was established in 1986 by the Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association.
Download the Thumbs Up! Award seals to use at your library! Winner, Honor Book and Top Ten Title award seals are available for download here: (To download, right-click on the seal and save it as an image.)
2023 Thumbs Up! Award Winner
The winner of the 2023 Thumbs Up! Award is I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, published by Philomel Books.
We announced the winners and honor books of the 2023 Mitten, YouPer and Thumbs Up! Awards at the MLA 2023 Youth Literary Awards. The awards selection group members worked throughout the year spending thousands of hours reading, reviewing and ranking hundreds of books to determine the top titles published in 2022. Watch the announcement below!
2023 Thumbs Up! Award Winner
I Must Betray You By Ruta Sepetys
2023 Thumbs Up! Award Top Ten Titles
(Listed in random order)
All My Rage Author: Sabaa Tahir Publisher: Razorbill
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow Author: Zoulfa Katouh Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Getaway Author: Lamar Giles Publisher: Scholastic Press
The Honeys Author: Ryan La Sala Publisher: PUSH
Jumper Author: Melanie Crowder Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
I Kissed Shara Wheeler Author: Casey McQuiston Publisher: Wednesday Books
I Must Betray You Author: Ruta Sepetys Publisher: Philomel Books
Squire Authors: Sara Alfageeh & Nadia Shammas Publisher: Quill Tree Books
The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology #1) Author: Aiden Thomas Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
The Words We Keep Author: Erin Stewart Publisher: Ember
