Holmes Book of the Year
  • Code Talker

    by Joseph Bruchac Year Published: 2005 Historical Fiction

    After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

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  • Nightbooks

    by J.A. White Year Published: 2018 Fantasy

    Imprisoned by Natacha, a witch, in a New York apartment, Alex must tell her a new scary story every night in order to stay alive.

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  • Thornhill

    by Pam Smy Year Published: 2017 Horror

    Parallel plotlines set in different times, one told in text and one in art, inform each other as a young girl unravels the mystery of a ghost next door.

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  • The Traitor's Game

    by Jennifer Nielsen Year Published: 2018 Fantasy

    After three years in exile Kestra Dallisor has been summoned back to Antora by her father, right-hand man of the seemingly immortal king, Lord Endrick, but she is intercepted and kidnapped by the Coracks who want to use her to get the Olden Blade, which they believe can be used to kill the despot--Simon, one of the rebels with his own grudge against the Dallisors, is assigned to accompany her, but Kestra has her own plans and she does not intend to let anyone get in her way.

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  • Parallel Journeys

    by Eleanor Ayer Year Published: 1995 Biography

    An account of World War II in Germany as told from the viewpoints of a former Nazi soldier and a Jewish Holocaust survivor.

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  • The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

    by Leslie Connor Year Published: 2018 Mystery

    Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade and can barely read or write. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny, was found dead in the Buttle family orchard and as the investigation drags on, Mason can't understand why the police won't believe his story about what happened. When Mason and his new friend Calvin make an underground club space in order to escape the neighborhood bullies, Mason finds himself in even more trouble and becomes desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and Benny.

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  • The Journey of Little Charlie

    by Christopher Paul Curtis Year Published: 2018 Historical Fiction

    When his poor sharecropper father is killed in an accident and leaves the family in debt, twelve-year-old Little Charlie agrees to accompany fearsome plantation overseer Cap'n Buck north in pursuit of people who have stolen from him. Cap'n Buck tells Little Charlie that his father's debt will be cleared when the fugitives are captured, which seems like a good deal until Little Charlie comes face-to-face with the people he is chasing.

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  • Alcatraz VS. The Evil Librarians

    by Brandon Sanderson Year Published: 2007

    On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.

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  • Artemis Fowl

    by Eoin Colfer Year Published: 2001 Fantasy

    Twelve-year-old evil genius Artemis Fowl tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, but the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.

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  • Railhead

    by Philip Reeve Year Published: 2016 Science Fiction

    In a world of drones and androids Zen Starling is a human thief, but mostly he just likes to ride the Interstellar Express, the sentient trains that travel through the K gates from planet to planet, something only the Guardians understand--but now the mysterious Raven wants him to steal the Pyxis, an object that could either open up a new gate, challenging the Guardians, or put the entire gate system, and the universe itself in danger.

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  • Amal Unbound

    by Aisha Saeed Year Published: 2018 Realistic Fiction

    In Pakistan, Amal holds onto her dream of being a teacher even after becoming an indentured servant to pay off her family's debt to the wealthy and corrupt Khan family.

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  • Hour of the Bees

    by Lindsay Eager Year Published: 2016 Realistic Fiction

    At first, twelve-year-old Carol is not happy to be spending the summer helping her parents move her grandfather to an assisted living home, but as the summer wears on, she finds herself drawn to him, fascinated by his amazing stories.

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  • Undefeated

    by Steve Sheinkin Year Published: 2017 Biography

    Native American Jim Thorpe became a super athlete and Olympic gold medalist. Indomitable coach Pop Warner was a football mastermind. In 1907 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football," they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work. Sheinkin provides a true underdog sports story -- and an unflinching look at the U.S. government's violent persecution of Native Americans and the school that was designed to erase Indian cultures.

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  • Olivia Twist

    by Lorie Langdon Year Published: 2018 Historical Fiction

    Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can't seem to escape her past ... or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive. Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London's East End to become the adopted "nephew" of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his "aunt" are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.

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  • The Land of Forgotten Girls

    by Erin Entrada Kelly Year Published: 2016 Realistic Fiction

    Abandoned by their father and living in poverty with their heartless stepmother in Louisiana, two sisters from the Philippines, twelve-year-old Sol and six-year-old Ming, learn the true meaning of family.

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  • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

    by Dusti Bowling Year Published: 2017 Realistic Fiction

    Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she'll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It's hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven's about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

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  • Amina's Voice

    by Hena Khan Year Published: 2017 Realistic Fiction

    Amina, a Pakistani American Muslim, has entered middle school. She is happy hanging with her friend, Soojin, a Korean American, but things have started changing, especially when Soojin starts hanging out with popular Emily. When Soojin says she might change her name to something more American, Amina starts to wonder if she will have to change to fit in, too. However, when her local mosque is vandalized, Amina realizes that it is better to be herself.

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  • Scythe

    by Neal Shusterman Year Published: 2016 Dystopian

    In a future world where all hunger, disease, war, misery, and even death have been conquered, to keep the population from exploding and becoming unsustainable, the scythes are the only agents with the legal authority to kill people. Teens Citra and Rowan are chosen to be apprentice scythes, a role neither wants, but they have no choice--if they do not master the "art" of ending life, they might lose their own.

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  • The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge

    by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin Year Published: 2018 Fantasy

    Uptight elfin historian Brangwain Spurge is to be catapulted into goblin territory where he must deliver a peace offering to their dark lord, and in the process, spy on the goblin kingdom. The goblin archivist, Werfel, is happy to show Brangwain around, but through misunderstandings and cultural blunders, these two academics may throw their kingdoms into war.

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  • The Book of Boy

    by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Year Published: 2018 Fantasy

    In 1350, a boy with a large hump on his back becomes the servant of a shadowy pilgrim on his way to Rome, who pulls the boy into a dangerous expedition across Europe to gather the seven precious relics of Saint Peter.

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