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Morris Award Finalists Announced

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. Here are this year's finalists:

The Carnival at Bray written by Jessie Ann Foley
In 1993, the grunge movement is at its height and Maggie Lynch is living comfortably in Chicago, near Nanny Ei and Uncle Kevin, her musical guru. After her impulsive mother marries and moves the family to a tiny Irish village, Maggie struggles to adjust to the changing world around her. 


The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim written by E.K. Johnston
Owen is training to be a dragon slayer, a crucial job in a world where dragons bring death and destruction. With help from their friends and family, Owen and his bard Siobhan seek the source of a growing dragon threat.


Gabi, a Girl in Pieces written by Isabel Quintero,
Aspiring poet Gabi Hernandez is having a complicated senior year: One of her best friends is pregnant, and the other just came out. Even as her mother worries that she will become a "bad” girl, Gabi adds romance and the quest for college to her already full plate.

The Scar Boys written by Len Vlahos
In a college admission essay, Harry Jones reveals the physical and psychological scars of his childhood and the solace and self-confidence he found in friendship and punk music.


The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender written by Leslye Walton

Born with a pair of wings, sixteen-year-old Ava Lavender inherits a rich family history and a legacy of heartbreak. After a young man becomes convinced she is an angel, can Ava survive his obsession intact?

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