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

2019 Thumbs Up! Award

The winner of the 2019 Thumbs Up! Award is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, published by Henry Holt and Co.

Honor books include Sadie by Courtney Summers, published by St. Martin’s Press; and The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang, published by First Second.

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. A teen vote is included in help determine the winner.

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