2026-2027 Golden Sower Bald Eagle Nominees

Diet Soda Club

Hayden, Chaz,


High schooler Reed spends most of his time in and out of the hospital taking care of his 10-year-old sister Beatrice, who has spinal muscular atrophy. Ever since the siblings' father's recent death in an accident, their mother--who used to do all the mom things like bake sales, PTA, and help with my homework--has struggled to manage the household. When her new boyfriend invites her on a weekend getaway, she leaves Reed to care for Beatrice, who's recovering from pneumonia. After days pass and she doesn't return, Reed is forced to get creative to make money. He befriends yearbook president Helena to gain access to the club's ID printer, which he uses to make fake IDs for students in exchange for cash. When Beatrice uncovers his plot, he promises he'll stop making them. But as the hospital bills continue to pile up and there's still no word from Mom, Reed is running out of options.
Date Published:2024

High schooler Reed spends most of his time in and out of the hospital taking care of his 10-year-old sister Beatrice, who has spinal muscular atrophy. Ever since the siblings' father's recent death in an accident, their mother--who used to do all the mom things like bake sales, PTA, and help with my homework--has struggled to manage the household. When her new boyfriend invites her on a weekend getaway, she leaves Reed to care for Beatrice, who's recovering from pneumonia. After days pass and she doesn't return, Reed is forced to get creative to make money. He befriends yearbook president Helena to gain access to the club's ID printer, which he uses to make fake IDs for students in exchange for cash. When Beatrice uncovers his plot, he promises he'll stop making them. But as the hospital bills continue to pile up and there's still no word from Mom, Reed is running out of options.

Date Published:2024

Dragonfruit

Lucier, Makiia,


School Library Journal starred, May 2024. Publishers Weekly, January 2014. Booklist, April 2024. Kirkus Starred, March 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May 2024. "In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow. But as with all things that offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning. Every wish demands a price. Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most: a chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong. Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign, Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time--hope. But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape . . . that of the dragonfruit itself"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2024

School Library Journal starred, May 2024. Publishers Weekly, January 2014. Booklist, April 2024. Kirkus Starred, March 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May 2024. "In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow. But as with all things that offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning. Every wish demands a price. Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most: a chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong. Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign, Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time--hope. But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape . . . that of the dragonfruit itself"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2024

Everything is tuberculosis : the history and persistence of our deadliest infection /

Green, John, 1977-,


School Library Journal starred, April 2025. Publishers Weekly, January 2025. Kirkus Starred, February 2025. Library Journal web only, February 2025. "In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year. In 'Everything is Tuberculosis,' John tells Henry's story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal starred, April 2025. Publishers Weekly, January 2025. Kirkus Starred, February 2025. Library Journal web only, February 2025. "In 2019, John Green met Henry, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone while traveling with Partners in Health. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal and dynamic advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, treatable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing 1.5 million people every year. In 'Everything is Tuberculosis,' John tells Henry's story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2025

Looking for smoke

Cobell, K. A.,


School Library Journal, June 2024. Pub Weekly, March 2024. Booklist, May 2024. Horn Book, May 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2024. "Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation . . . Mara Racette has felt like an outsider. . . . So when a local girl includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet giveawayto honor her missing sister, Mara thinks she'll finally makesome friends. Instead, a girl from the giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered. Because the four members of the giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. . . . The four must now take matters into their ownhands and clear their names. "--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal, June 2024. Pub Weekly, March 2024. Booklist, May 2024. Horn Book, May 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2024. "Since moving to the Blackfeet Reservation . . . Mara Racette has felt like an outsider. . . . So when a local girl includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet giveawayto honor her missing sister, Mara thinks she'll finally makesome friends. Instead, a girl from the giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered. Because the four members of the giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. . . . The four must now take matters into their ownhands and clear their names. "--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2025

Mentirosas y encantadoras

McManus, Karen M.,


Translation of: Such charming liars. Sixteen-year-old Kat's con-artist mom takes on one last heist before going straight for good, but the job takes a deadly turn.
Date Published:2024

Six truths and a lie

Shukairy, Ream,


Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly Starred, School Library Journal Starred, After a explosion off the coast of California destroys an oil rig, six Muslim teenagers are arrested in connection to the crime. Harassed and denied their rights by police, the six suspects are encouraged to inform on one another to protect themselves, but each is hiding secrets that they don't want to get out, and they must decide between protecting their futures or each other.
Date Published:2024

Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly Starred, School Library Journal Starred, After a explosion off the coast of California destroys an oil rig, six Muslim teenagers are arrested in connection to the crime. Harassed and denied their rights by police, the six suspects are encouraged to inform on one another to protect themselves, but each is hiding secrets that they don't want to get out, and they must decide between protecting their futures or each other.

Date Published:2024

Such charming liars

McManus, Karen M.,


Sixteen-year-old Kat's con-artist mom takes on one last heist before going straight for good, but the job takes a deadly turn.
Date Published:2024

Twelfth knight

Follmuth, Alexene Farol,


"A Tor Teen book"--Title page verso. Inspired by Twelfth night / William Shakespeare. School Library Journal, June 2024. Booklist, May 2024. New York Times, June 2024. "Viola Reyes's . . . favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren't exactly kind to girls like her. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego,. . . a knight named Cesario. But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos . . . are surprisingly well-matched. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2025

"A Tor Teen book"--Title page verso. Inspired by Twelfth night / William Shakespeare. School Library Journal, June 2024. Booklist, May 2024. New York Times, June 2024. "Viola Reyes's . . . favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren't exactly kind to girls like her. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego,. . . a knight named Cesario. But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos . . . are surprisingly well-matched. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2025

Twenty-four seconds from now... : a love story /

Reynolds, Jason,


"A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book." In a series of moments spanning two years, seventeen-year-old Neon navigates the progression of his relationship with Aria, culminating in a case of the jitters as the two intend to take the next big step in their relationship.
Date Published:2024