Alex Award

Bad Cree 

By Jessica Johns (nehiyaw/Sucker Creek First Nation), published by Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House 

In this gripping debut tinged with supernatural horror, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. 

Chain-Gang All-Stars

By Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, published by Pantheon Books, a division of Penguin Random House.

Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own. 

Chlorine

By Jade Song, published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 

In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young women and their bodies... a powerful, relevant novel of immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming. 

Fourth Wing

By Rebecca Yarros, published by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros. 

The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph

By Oksana Masters, published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

A memoir from the United States’s most decorated winter Paralympic or Olympic athlete, The Hard Parts is Oksana Masters' account of overcoming extraordinary Chernobyl disaster–caused physical challenges to create a life that challenges everyone to push through what is holding them back. 

I Will Greet the Sun Again

By Khashayar J. Khabushani, published by Hogarth Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House. 

 A searing, heartbreaking debut about the powerful bonds that make and break an Iranian-American family 

Maame

By Jessica George, published by St. Martin's Press, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group.

Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. 

Starter Villian

By John Scalzi, published by Tor Books, an imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. 

The Talk

By Darrin Bell, published by Henry Holt & Company, a divisions of Macmillan Publishing Group

Darrin Bell was six years old when his mother told him he couldn’t have a realistic water gun. She said she feared for his safety, that police tend to think of little Black boys as older and less innocent than they really are.

Whalefall

By Daniel Kraus, published by MTV Books and Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.