Alex Awards 2015 Nominees
In addition to the ten winning titles, the Alex Award committee also publishes a vetted list of official nominations. The following titles were official nominees for the 2015 award.
Above the East China Sea, by Sarah Bird
Two girls living in Okinawa in different eras consider suicide. A festival for the dead brings them together across time to heal each other.
Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer
The twelfth expedition is crossing the border into Area-X. Will they successfully navigate this strange territory, or fail like their predecessors?
Bird Box, by Josh Malerman
Malorie tries to save two small children from a nameless evil that, if seen, will lead her to commit murder or suicide—or both.
Book from the Ground: From Point to Point, by Bing Xu
A day in the life of an office worker is recounted entirely in pictograms, from waking to performing daily tasks to evening socializing.
The Book of Unknown Americans, by Cristina Henríquez
In Delaware, several Latin American families from a variety of countries, backgrounds, and prospects meet and mingle in their complicated new lives.
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, by Chris Bohjalian
After her father’s negligence causes a nuclear meltdown, Emily tries to exist on her own, but she makes one heartbreaking choice after another to survive.
Etched on Me, by Jenn Crowell
English teen Lesley turns to social workers for help with sexual abuse and cutting, but she’s stunned when they later try to take her baby.
The Fever, by Megan Abbott
In sleepy Dryden, teenage girls are becoming violently ill. Everyone desperately looks for a cause, but there’s only one thing they have in common: Deenie.
For Today I am a Boy, by Kim Fu
After failing to live up to his Chinese name, which means powerful king, Peter Huang must hide his one true desire: to be a girl.
Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie
Left for dead, outcast, and enslaved, young prince Yarvi must find his own inner strength and purpose to return home and claim his father's throne.
How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
After teen Johanna humiliates herself on local TV, she drops out of school, renames herself Dolly Wilde, and becomes a music critic in 1990 London.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson
A champion for equal justice shows how both racism and discrimination against teens have doomed many people to punishments they did not deserve.
The Lesser Dead, by Christopher Buehlman
Adolescent vampire Joey Peacock recounts events when a group of mysterious child vampires arrives on the scene, which upends the stability of his undead world.
Prison Baby: A Memoir, by Deborah Jiang-Stein
Shocked after discovering her mother gave birth to her in prison, adoptee Stein faced an arduous and ultimately successful road to a creative, giving maturity.
The Queen of the Tearling, A Novel by Erika Johansen
With assassins on her trail, will Queen Kelsea live long enough to right the wrongs that have gone unchecked in her kingdom?
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
After discovering his people have been enslaved under the surface of Mars for generations, 16-year-old Darrow vows to destroy the oppressive ruling class.
Runner, by Patrick Lee
An ex-Special Forces warrior and a twelve-year-old girl with amnesia team up to figure out who she is and why people are hunting her.
Seconds, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Restaurant owner Katie discovers that too many mushrooms in the kitchen spoils a lot more than the broth.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty
Always interested in the end of life, Doughty found her job in a crematory made her consider questions about death, corpses, and life itself.
Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream, by Joshua Davis
The improbable story of four impoverished Latino boys who build a robot out of salvaged parts and compete against teams with unlimited money and equipment.
The Supernatural Enhancements, by Edgar Cantero
Cryptic clues, confounding ciphers, and dark history await "A" and his intrepid mute companion, Niamh, at the newly inherited gothic mansion they now call home.
The Weight of Blood, by Laura McHugh
Seventeen-year-old Lucy seeks her friend’s killer only to find that her death may be related to the disappearance of another teen years earlier—Lucy’s mother.
The Weirdness, by Jeremy P. Bushnell
Billy can’t manage adulthood until Satan offers him a great cup of coffee and a rosy future if he can retrieve a special lucky cat.
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, by Randall Munroe
XKCD's scientist-cartoonist shares answers to some of the very odd questions he's been posed on topics from kissing to random sneeze calls.
