THUMBS UP! AWARD

The Thumbs Up! Award recognizes and promotes an outstanding contribution to teen literature that has both literary quality and teen appeal for those 13 to 18 years of age. The award was established in 1986 by the Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association. Thumbs Up! Award Guidelines (pdf)

2024 Thumbs Up! Award

Collectively, the 2024 Thumbs Up! Award workgroup considered more than 120 titles, reading, evaluating, reviewing, and deliberating more than 2,000 hours to select the top titles for teens aged 13-18 published in 2023.

The winner of the 2024 Thumbs Up! Award is Warrior Girl Unearthed, by Angeline Boulley, published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

In Warrior Girl Unearthed, #1 New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley takes us back into the world of Firekeeper's Daughter in this high-stakes mystery about the power of discovering your stolen history.

Honor books include All the Fighting Parts: A Novel, by Hannah V. Sawyerr, published by Harry N. Abrams; America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History by Ariel Aberg-Riger, published by Balzer + Bray; Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); and The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa published by Random House.

2024 Thumbs Up! Top Ten Titles

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
All the Fighting Parts: A Novel by Hannah V. Sawyerr
America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History by Ariel Aberg-Riger
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
All That’s Left to Say by Emery Lord
Waxways #1, A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

Award Seals

Download the Thumbs Up! Award seals to use at your library! Winner, Honor Book and Top Ten Title award seals are available for download here: (To download, right-click on the seal and save it as an image.)