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Watch us on YouTubeThe Grand Canyon Reader Award is a reader award program for students in Arizona.
Students vote annually on their favorite book in the following categories: Picture Books, Non-Fiction, Intermediate, Tween and Teen.
The Tween category started in 2008.
Becoming Muhammad Ali: a Novel
by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
Published in 2020 by Jimmy Patterson Books
ISBN: 9780316498166
A biographical novel tells the story of Cassius Clay, the determined boy who would one day become Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time.
2023 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
New Kid
by Jerry Craft
Published in 2019 by Harper
ISBN: 9780062691200
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
2022 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The Perfect Score
by Rob Buyea
Published in 2017 by Delacorte Press
ISBN: 9781101938256
Told from different viewpoints, five sixth-graders, facing various challenges and under pressure to do well on statewide assessment tests, agree to a plan for acing the tests.
2021 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Published in 2017 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545880831
Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence and destruction, embark on harrowing journeys in search of refuge, discovering shocking connections that tie their stories together.
2020 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Backlash
by Sarah Darer Littman
Published in 2015 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545651264
When Christian, a boy she knows only through Facebook, posts a lot of nasty comments on her page, fifteen-year-old Lara tries to kill herself--but that is only the beginning of the backlash for her sister, Sydney; her former friend Bree; and her classmates.
2019 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Orbiting Jupiter
by Gary D. Schmidt
Published in 2017 by Andersen Press
ISBN: 9781783445042
Jack, 12, tells the gripping story of Joseph, 14, who joins his family as a foster child. Damaged in prison, Joseph wants nothing more than to find his baby daughter, Jupiter, whom he has never seen. When Joseph has begun to believe he'll have a future, he is confronted by demons from his past that force a tragic sacrifice.
2018 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Echo
by Pam Munoz Ryan
Published in 2015 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439874021
Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.
2017 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Prisoner B-3087
by Alan Gratz
Published in 2013 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545459013
Based on the life of Jack Gruener, this book relates his story of survival from the Nazi occupation of Krakow, when he was eleven, through a succession of concentration camps, to the final liberation of Dachau.
2016 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Drama
by Raina Telgemeier
Published in 2012 by Graphix/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545326988
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier! Following the success of SMILE, Raina Telgemeier brings us another graphic novel featuring a diverse set of characters that humorously explores friendship, crushes, and all-around drama!
2015 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The False Prince
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Published in 2012 by Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545284134
In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.
2014 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The Red Pyramid
by Rick Riordan
Published in 2010 by Disney / Hyperion Books
ISBN: 9781423113386
After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest which brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
2013 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The Maze Runner
by James Dashner
Published in 2009 by Delacorte Press
ISBN: 9780385737944
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.
2012 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Published in 2008 by Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN: 9780439023481
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
2011 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Schooled
by Gordon Korman
Published in 2007 by Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786856923
Homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television, tasted a pizza, or even heard of a wedgie. But when his grandmother lands in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dyeing and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school.
2010 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie
by Jordan Sonnenblick
Published in 2004 by Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN: 9780439755207
When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.
2009 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan
Published in 2006 by Miramax Books
ISBN: 9780786856299
After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
2008 Grand Canyon Reader Award - Tween
