Alex Awards 2016 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 2016 award.

Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee, Peter David and Colleen Doran

The man behind the Marvel Universe tells the story of his life, from childhood poverty to creating superheroes, in this comic-book-style memoir.

Armada by Ernest Cline

Zack has always preferred the online world of his favorite video game, Armada, until the familiar alien attack ships show up outside his classroom window.

asapSCIENCE: Answers to the World’s Weirdest Questions, Most Persistent Rumors, and Unexplained Phenomena by Mitchell Moffit and Greg Brown, illustrated by Jess Carroll

YouTubers Moffit and Brown answer weird questions through humorous cartoons.

Babe edited by Petra Collins, foreword by Tavi Gevinson

This collection of artwork peeks into the minds of a new generation of feminists and will help shape the vision of those who follow.

Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter

Called witch by some, angel by others, Mouse needs all her special gifts to survive the royal court and the ghosts who follow her there.

Boo by Neil Smith

Oliver is at his locker one minute and in an afterlife populated only with other 13-year-olds the next. Can they help him discover what happened?

The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard

A boyhood spent in the Warsaw Ghetto is vividly realized through a story combining both fictional and historic characters.

The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy by Michael F. Patton and Kevin Cannon

Take an adventure-filled ride down the river of Western philosophy's ideas about logic, free will, and other big concepts, guided by 2600-year-old Heraclitus.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Four parallel magical worlds connect in London, but contact between them can be dangerous—something Kell realizes far too late.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

When a boy accidentally finds the buried notebooks of a murdered author, he attracts the wrath of an obsessed fan searching for this lost treasure.

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

In a future where everyone shares their lifeline with a fraternal twin, a seer becomes a reluctant pawn in the war between Alphas and Omegas.

The Fold by Peter Clines

Secretive scientists have created a device that could make teleportation a reality, but one man with his own secret believes the device endangers them all.

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells

Avery survives an airplane crash but learns that her rescue is only the first step on the long road to recovery and unexpected love.

The Girl Who Slept with God by Val Brelinski

Thirteen-year-old Jory is forced to navigate the secular world for the first time when she and her pregnant older sister are banished from the house.

Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due

Fifteen horror stories explore disturbances in African American history and culture, from ghosts unfortunately hunted down to a student-eating teacher fish.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

When teenager Marjorie acts oddly, her parents decide she needs an exorcism and make the fateful decision to show it on reality television.

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science—And the World by Rachel Swaby

Routinely overlooked because they were women, these 52 scientists shaped the world we know through their boldness, ingenuity, and determination.

How to Write a Novel by Melanie Sumner

Twelve-year-old Aris wants to write a novel about her family. Unfortunately they fail to deliver the betrayal, love story, andfamily secret every best-seller needs.

How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy by Stephen Witt

This comprehensive look at the music industry’s evolution moves from CDs to Spotify and is packed with big personalities, music, technology, business, and criminal activity.

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

An orphaned prostitute and a legendary U.S. Marshall team up to foil a plot involving murder and mind control in steampunk Seattle.

life.love.beauty by Keegan Allen

Allen uses photography, illustrations, and poetry to inspire creativity. Through his art he explores life, love and beauty.

Martin Marten by Brian Doyle, illustrated by Katrina Van Dusen

Oregon teenager Dave and pine marten Martin experience ups and downs on the road to adulthood and learn that nature shapes us all.

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

Hilarious and insightful, Misadventures is autobiography, social commentary, historical snapshot and pop-culture manual in one highly entertaining and edifying book.

Mort(e) by Robert Repino

An ordinary housecat turns apocalyptic war hero, but a rescue mission causes the feline to question his motivations and challenge the ants now ruling the world.

Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse

Sherlock Holmes’ smarter brother sails to Trinidad to solve the horrifying mystery of children being lured to their deaths by supernatural beings.

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Sharia Knizhnik

This biography takes a playful, informative look at groundbreaking legal icon and cultural phenomenon Ginsburg, utilizing interviews, photos, and annotated legal documents.

Orphan #8 by Kim van Alkemade

Rachel's childhood in a New York orphanage included medical experiments. Now, she's assigned as nurse to the physician who consigned her to a fatal cancer.

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller

Taken to an isolated forest by her survivalist father, Peggy grows up believing that they are the last two people on Earth.

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson

Treasure hunters and expert divers Chatterton and Mattera embark on a thrilling search for a golden-age pirate ship, The Golden Fleece.

Positive by David Wellington

After being exiled from New York for potentially carrying the zombie virus, Finn discovers there is something far more dangerous than the walking dead: humans.

Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Meche, returning to the Mexico City of her youth, runs into old friends and must confront the magic and memories that caused their estrangement.

Slade House by David Mitchell

Every nine years, someone is lured into Slade House, the mysterious lair of vicious twins who never die—although their guests do.

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

England needs its fading magic, but the royal magicians are reluctant to believe that only a former slave and a teenage girl can save them.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Montgomery explores the heart and soul of one of the ocean's most elusive and feared creatures.

Speak by Louisa Hall

Four hundred years in the making, dolls with artificial intelligence dominate this story aboutthe struggle for meaningful connection in a future world.

Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe

Using only drawings, the most common 1,000 words in English, and a great sense of humor, Munroe explains how interesting things work.

Updraft by Fran Wilde

Amongst towers of living bone, all Kirit wants is to earn her wings. The Singers have different plans for her skills.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

The Dragon protects the valley, but when Agnieszka becomes his servant she learns that the danger—and her power—is greater than she'd ever imagined.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

A mysterious pocket watch saves Nathaniel’s life and introduces him to the magical world of a man who can remember the future.

You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day

Day takes readers on a funny, insightful journey from unusual kid to "queen of the geeks."