Millikin Medal: 2023

Once Owen meets Lily, his life changes. Previously shy and somewhat solitary, for the next few years he has a girlfriend, a supportive friend group, and works on developing his voice as a writer. Everything is great, until someone reports that he has been sexually assaulted to the school administration, starting a discovery process that Owen wants no part of. Suddenly everyone is pressuring him to reveal the identity of the assailant. The narrative alternates between before, and after the assault, fully exploring the consequences of the assault for Owen, his family, his friends, and Lily.

Members of the committee pointed to the emotional impact of the story, praising how it illuminates a rarely discussed issue in all its complexity and messiness. They loved the character development and dialog and felt this book is something teens and their parents need to read and talk about together.

Her senior year of highschool, Avery and her parents move from DC to rural Bardell, Georgia to care for her terminally ill grandmother. She knows that something happened in her family's past that caused bad blood between her mother and grandmother, but her attempts to dig deeper are rejected and she instead seeks connection with two new friends- Simone, the girl next door (and daughter of her mother's childhood friend), and Jade, a girl from prominent family who owns a local spa hotel. Avery and Simone's friendship takes a turn towards romance, while the past of Avery's family, the unsolved murder of Jade's mother, and the town are gradually revealed.

Members of the committee appreciated the novel's exploration of generational trauma and violence, and the deeper understanding they gained that, for many, these events occurred not in the distant past, but within the lifetimes of living family members. Through these fully realized characters, they were able to see how we each can rewrite our own histories.

A moving depiction of 14 Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) friends and their different, but interconnected experiences in U.S. incarceration camps in World War 2.

Members of the committee were impressed that, though the chapters were each narrated by a different member of the friend group, there was still a connected, overarching story. Each character was a distinct voice with their own experience, thoughts, and feelings. They felt the novel would be especially valuable as a classroom text, used as a way to illuminate personal experiences while learning the history of Japanese incarceration during WW2.

Shortlist

Shortlist

Shortlist

Shortlist

Shortlist

Shortlist