YRCA - Junior

Here are the 2025 Junior Nominees for the Young Reader's Choice Awards!

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The Clackity

The Clackity

Senf, Lora, author
2022

To rescue her aunt from the ghost of a serial killer, twelve-year-old Evie Von Rathe embarks on a journey into a strange world filled with hungry witches, ghosts, and a story thief, all while trying to fulfill her deal with the Clackity.

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The last mapmaker

The last mapmaker

Soontornvat, Christina, author
2022

Joining an expedition to chart the southern seas, twelve-year-old mapmaker's assistant Sai, posing as a well-bred young lady with a glittering future, realizes she's not the only one on board harboring secrets when she discovers the ship's true destination.

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The Marvellers

The Marvellers

Clayton, Dhonielle, author
2022

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts. Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy--some Marvellers mistrust her magic. Eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit and Jason. When a dangerous criminal escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjuror's aid, Ella becomes the target of suspicion. Worse, Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears while away on a research trip. With the help of her friends and her own growing powers, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her mentor before it's too late.

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New from here

New from here

Yang, Kelly, author
2022

Knox works to keep his family together as they move from Hong Kong back to northern California during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

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Odder

Odder

Applegate, Katherine, author
2022

Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself--and about the humans who hope to save her.

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The ogress and the orphans

The ogress and the orphans

Barnhill, Kelly Regan, author
2022

The once-lovely town of Stone-in-the-Glen has fallen on hard times. After relentless fires, floods, and other calamities, they've lost their library, their school, their park, their prosperity. Even their neighborliness is lost. Only the wise and clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress who lives quietly at the edge of town see clearly how dire things are. The people of Stone-in-the-Glen have put their faith in their Mayor, a dazzling fellow with a bright shock of yellow hair and white teeth, who promises that he alone can solve their problems. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer! At least, no one has ever seen a dragon in the Mayor's presence. One terrible day, a child goes missing from the Orphan House, and the townspeople vow to find her. Thanks to the Mayor's insidious suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The Orphans know this can't be: it's the Ogress, assisted by a particularly excellent flock of crows, who secretly delivers much-needed gifts to the suffering humans. But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress's goodness to people who listen only to themselves? And how can they make their enraged, deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?

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A rover's story

A rover's story

Warga, Jasmine, author
2022

Built to explore Mars, Resilience begins to develop human-like feelings as he learns from the NASA scientists who assembled him, and as he blasts off and explores Mars, Resilience must overcome different obstacles as he explores the red planet.

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Swim team

Swim team

Christmas, Johnnie, author, illustrator
2022

Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees-until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta's training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school's failing team around. But that's easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap-for good?

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