Grace James Academy of Excellence: Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominees 6-8

When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone-left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie's most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day.

Inspired by Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’. Ana Dakkar, a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world, makes astounding discoveries about her heritage and puts her leadership skills to the test against deadly enemies from a rival school.

When a tight-knit group of middle school friends discover a trap door in the woods that leads to a completely intact bomb shelter, they vow to keep the place a secret while sharing their individual secrets to build the safest space possible.

Born into the middle of World War II, Gary Paulsen's turbulent childhood provided plenty of subject matter for his bestselling novels, and the librarians in his life gave him the inspiration and support to explore the world through books. As a soldier himself, his storytelling technique developed, and for the first time he shares his own.

Ever since Cooper’s father left their family three years ago, he has become distant from friends, constantly annoyed by his little sister, Jess, and completely fed up with the pale, creepy rich girl who moved in next door and won't stop staring at him. So when Cooper learns of an unsolved mystery his sister has discovered online, he welcomes the distraction. It's the tale of a deadly train crash that occurred a hundred years ago, in which one young boy among the dead was never identified. The only distinguishing mark on him was a strange insignia on his suit coat, a symbol no one has seen before or since. Jess is fascinated by the mystery of the unknown child -- because she's seen the insignia. It's the symbol on the jacket of the girl next door.

Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There's George: the brain, Sara: the loner, Dayara: the tough kid, Nico: the rich kid, and Miguel: the athlete. And they're stuck together when they're forced to complete their school's community service hours. Although they're sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same--just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help--or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.

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.

Twelve-year-old Wren, who is learning special effects makeup, is thrilled to be makeup artist for her new school's production of Wicked, but her parents' divorce is seriously affecting her mother.

A twenty-year-old crime, an accelerated death penalty, and an elitist family cover-up forces eighteen-year-old Nyla to race against the death row clock to save her mother's best friend. This twisty mystery is set in Kentucky and written by a Kentucky author!

Determined to stand up for their rights, eleven-year-old Rufus, a Black boy, and his friends participate in the 1963 civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama. Rufus and his buddies join thousands of other students to peacefully protest in a local park. There they are met with policemen and firemen who turn their powerful hoses on them, and that's where Rufus realizes that they are the fire and they will not be put out.