THUMBS UP! AWARD

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. Since 2001, the selection process has also included a teen vote.

Thumbs Up! Award Guidelines (pdf)

Submit a nomination for the 2020 Thumbs Up! Award using the online form:

2020 Thumbs Up! Award Nomination Form

Teen Vote for 2019 Thumbs Up! Award is Open Now Through May 31

We are pleased to announce the top ten titles for the 2019 Thumbs Up! Award. A group of youth and teen librarians worked throughout the year to read from a list of more than 150 titles to identify the top selections using the following criteria: story, setting, theme, voice, accuracy, style, characters and design.

Now it's time for the teens to vote! Through May 31, teens aged 13 to 18 can vote online for their favorite book from the top ten titles. Distribute the top ten list to your teen patrons and encourage them to vote! Download the top ten list(pdf).

Please also consider posting a direct link to the survey on your own library website (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019ThumbsUpTeenVote). Voting can be done online from home or from the library through May 31, 2019. The winner of the Thumbs Up! Award and honor books will be announced at the MLA 2019 Annual Conference in Novi this October.

2019 Thumbs Up! Award Top Ten Titles

In no particular order:

Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1) by Justina Ireland
I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall
I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope by Chessy Prout and Jenn Abelson
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo