2017 Alex Awards

2017 Winners (view the vetted list of nominations)

The Queen of Blood The Regional Office is Under Attack In the Country We Love Buffering Arena



Every Heart a Doorway Romeo And/Or Juliet Die Young With Me The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko

  • The Queen of Blood, by Sarah Beth Durst, published by Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. (9780062413345). Daleina is determined to keep her family safe from vengeance-seeking spirits, placing her in the crossfire of an insecure queen and powerful spirits.

  • The Regional Office is Under Attack!, by Manuel Gonzales, published by Riverhead, an imprint of Penguin Random House (9781594632419). Fraught with explosive action, female assassins, teenage crushes, and even a cyborg, this fast-paced, dynamic story of revenge explores what happens to a group of woman hell-bent on defending the world from evil forces.

  • In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero with Michelle Burford, published by Henry Holt and Co. (9781627795272). After Diane Guerrero returned home from school one day to find her family deported, the 14-year-old went on to combat self-injury and suicidal thoughts, finish her education, and to become a successful actress and citizenship activist.

  • Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded, by Hannah Hart, published by Dey Street an imprint of William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, (9780062457516). Candid and thoughtful, Hart’s memoir details her difficult childhood and rise to internet fame.

  • Arena, by Holly Jennings, published by Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House (9781101988763). Virtual gaming: Kali's team is competing to win, not to die.

  • Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire, a Tor Book published by Tom Doherty Associates (9780765385505). Sometimes kids disappear. Sometimes they come back. And when they come back, they need a place to go. At the Home for Wayward Children, everybody has a story, and some stories have better ending than others.

  • Romeo and/or Juliet: A Choosable-Path Adventure, by Ryan North, published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House (9781101983300). Take the lead in this choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel. Fantastic, dense illustrations draw you into a Romeo and Juliet retelling like none other you’ve ever experienced. Romance isn’t dead and in the end, maybe Romeo and Juliet aren’t either.

  • Die Young with Me: A Memoir, by Rob Rufus, published by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster (9781501142611). A story of punk rock, first love, cancer and the incredible power of music to get us through the hardest times in our lives. Rufus details his brave fight for his life in this tender and contemplative memoir.

  • The Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpilla, by Matt Simon, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House (9780143128687). Simon explores the benefits of evolution, in these odd yet compelling stories that range from creatures adapting to find food to having sex.

  • The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko, by Scott Stambach, published by St. Martin’s Press (9781250081865). He has no arms or legs. She has blood that is betraying her. They are the smartest people in the children’s hospital and the only ones who understand, and they take “star-crossed lovers” to a whole new level.

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