Blue Spruce Award Winner and Nominees

The winner of the 2019 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award is Scythe by Neal Shusterman,  The first book in his Arc of the Scythe trilogy introduces a world where humanity has conquered death. There is no aging, no disease, no poverty, no war.  Earth is ruled by an omniscient "cloud" called the Thunderhead and to deal with overpopulation, a group of humans called Scythes randomly cull the population.  Against their wishes, the main characters, Citra and Rowan, are chosen to train to be scythes. The sequels Thunderhead and The Toll are also available for this thought-provoking and engrossing series.  The 2020 nominees are unusually heavy on historical fiction.  I will review those titles in this month's blog, as well as briefly mention the other nominees.  
Allies by Alan Gratz is a fictionalized account of D-Day, which weaves together individual experiences from six different operations in settings across Europe. The narrative covers a sea invasion, French citizens and Resistance fighters on land, soldiers arriving by air, but focuses repeatedly on Dee, a German fighting on the American side and hiding his identity from his best friend Sid, a Jewish American soldier.  The account is historically accurate, but covers a very diverse cast of main characters.  In the end all the stories come together, showing that it took a great deal of cooperation to defeat the Nazis in WWII.
Like a Love Story by Adi Nazemian is set in NYC in the 80s and examines the AIDS epidemic through the eyes of three teenage friends.  Judy, whose uncle is living with AIDS, has befriended Art and defends him  against homophobic classmates. When Reza, who is questioning his sexuality, arrives, things get complicated.  Reza pairs off with Judy, even though it's Art he's really attracted to.  When Reza finally admits he's fallen for Art, Judy is shattered.  Her uncle, who is not long for this world, helps them navigate this rift in their friendship and what it means to be part of the LBGTQ community during this devastating time. 
Lovely War by Julie Berry blends fact with fantasy. Set in a Manhattan hotel during WWII, Greek God Hephaestus catches his wife Aphrodite with his brother Ares.  To exonerate herself, she weaves a story of love during wartime, which focuses on four different characters.  Aubrey, an African American musician, Colette, a bereaved Belgian singer, Hazel, a British pianist and her lover James.  Alternating between past and present, the story finds Colette and Hazel volunteering in France, where they meet Aubrey, who quickly falls for Colette.  Meanwhile, James is on the front experiencing firsthand the devastation of war.  As the mortals' stories play out, Aphrodite is teaching her husband about the ups and downs of true love.  
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys focuses on Francisco Franco's fascist rule of Spain.  Set in Madrid 1957, the story introduces 18-yr-old Daniel Matheson, who is staying at the luxurious Castellana Hilton with his Texas oil baron dad and Spanish mother.  He meets Ana, a hotel employee, who worries about losing her job, as he pursues a relationship with her.  Trying to find a subject for his entry into a photo competition, Daniel goes out each day and captures disturbing images of local people trying to survive under Franco's regime.  He goes to Ana's village and meets her parentless siblings and becomes aware of a government and church collusion, which involves stolen children.  Ultimately he heads back to the U.S, with his parents and newly adopted sister and submits an award-winning portfolio.  Eighteen years later he returns to Spain with his sister and reconnects with Ana.  Official quotations from academic and foreign service archives are interspersed among the chapters. 
Additional Blue Spruce nominees include
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - 1st in a sci fi series about intergalactic travel
Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau - Graphic novel about about two boys who fall in love over baked goods.
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte - Fantasy about a thief and an upstanding citizen who work to solve a murder mystery, falling in love in the process.
Guts by Raina Telgemeier - Graphic novel about author conquering childhood anxieties.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell - Graphic novel about a girl in a toxic relationship with a popular girl who is using her.
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir - 3rd book in the An Ember in the Ashes series.
To learn more about the Blue Spruce Award go to https://www.coloradobluespruceaward.org/