ALA Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Updated December 13, 2024
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1

The nickel boys : a novel
Whitehead, Colson
Paper Book
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * This follow-up to The Underground Railroad brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. * "One of the most gifted novelists in...

2

The hard parts : a memoir of courage and triumph
Masters, Oksana
Paper Book
A 2024 Christopher Award Winner "A gut-wrenching, wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity, sheer will, and a great big dose of motherly love." --Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of<...

3

Fourth wing
Yarros, Rebecca
Paper Book
A #1 New York Times bestseller * TV series in development at MGM Amazon Studios with Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society * Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 * Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 * Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 * NPR "Books We Love" 2023 * Audible Best Books of...

4

Educated : a memoir
Westover, Tara
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University ...

5

Babel : or the necessity of violence : an arcane history of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
Kuang, R. F.
Paper Book
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War "Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial...

6

Chef's kiss
Melendez, Jarrett
Paper Book
"A perfect mix of romance and self-discovery." -- Publishers Weekly 2023 Alex Award Winner 2023 Eisner Award Nominee 2023 GLAAD Award Nominee 2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens 2022 New York Public Library Best...

7

The high desert
Spooner, James
Paper Book
Winner of a 2022 ALA Alex Award Winner of the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Graphic Novels of the Year * One of NYPL's Best Books of the Year * A Publishers Weekly "Best Book of the Year"  A...

8

Solito : a memoir
Zamora, Javier
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * Read With Jenna Book Club Pick as seen on Today * Winner of the Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiography * Winner of the American Library Association Alex Award * A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century

9

True biz : a novel
Nović, Sara
Other
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A "tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged" (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the...

10

Fine : a comic about gender
Ewing, Rhea
Paper Book
Washington Post * 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2022 A vibrant and informative debut with "great documentary power" (Alison Bechdel), Fine is an elegantly illustrated celebration of the transgender community. As graphic artist Rhea Ewing neared college...

11

I'm glad my mom died
McCurdy, Jennette
Paper Book
* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD! A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating...

12

Peach blossom spring
Fu, Melissa
Paper Book
A "beautifully rendered" novel about war, migration, and the power of telling our stories, Peach Blossom Spring follows three generations of a Chinese family on their search for a place to call home (Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author).<...

13

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow : a novel
Zevin, Gabrielle
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Sam and Sadie--two college friends, often in love, but never lovers--become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It...

14

Circe : a novel
Miller, Madeline
Paper Book
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times). In the house of Helios,...

15

The one hundred years of Lenni and Margot : a novel
Cronin, Marianne
Paper Book
"A beautiful debut, funny, tender, and animated by a willingness to confront life's obstacles and find a way to survive. . . . It celebrates friendship, finds meaning in difficulty and lets the reader explore dark places while always allowing for the possibility of light. Lenni and Margot are...

16

Crossing the line : a fearless team of brothers and the sport that changed their lives forever
Rosser, Kareem
Paper Book
"A marvelous addition to the literature of inspirational sports stories." - Booklist (Starred Review) "This remarkable and inspiring story shines." - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Crossing the Line will not just leave you with hope,...

17

The rose code : a novel
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
Don't miss the thrilling new novel from Kate Quinn, The Briar Club "The reigning queen of historical fiction" -- Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue   The New York Times<...

18

Black sun
Roanhorse, Rebecca
Paper Book
NOMINATED FOR THE 2021 HUGO AWARDS AND THE 2020 NEBULA AWARDS FOR BEST NOVEL From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian...

19

The impossible first : from fire to ice--crossing Antarctica alone
O'Brady, Colin
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Colin O'Brady's awe-inspiring memoir spans his triumphant recovery from a tragic accident to his gripping 932-mile solo crossing of Antarctica. Prior to December 2018, no individual had ever crossed the landmass of Antarctica alone,...

20

Gender queer : a memoir
Kobabe, Maia
Paper Book
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall -- Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was...

21

The kids are gonna ask
Anthony, Gretchen
Paper Book
A 2021 Alex Award Winner! "A sparkling tale about fame and family... Fans of Elizabeth Berg and J. Ryan Stradal will relish the novel's humor, spark, and verve." --Booklist "Smart yet surprisingly sweet, this meditation on family and media is as...

22

Riot baby
Onyebuchi, Tochi
Paper Book
Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbour's son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven't happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated,...

23

We ride upon sticks
Barry, Quan
Paper Book
In the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, home of the original 1692 witch trials, the 1989 Danvers Falcons will do anything to make it to the state finals--even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers. Against a background of irresistible 1980s iconography, Quan Barry...

24

The girl who smiled beads : a story of war and what comes after
Wamariya, Clemantine
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The plot provided by the universe was filled with starvation, war and rape. I would not--could not--live in that tale."   Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to...

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