Winner: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Honor: Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskovitz

It’s a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig’s crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him… and if he’ll do it again… and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he’s with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable…and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

Honor: Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie by S. J. Adams

A sixteen-year-old lesbian tries to get over a crush on her religious best friend by embarking on a “holy quest” with a couple of misfits who have invented a wacky, made-up faith called the Church of Blue.