10 titles are on this list. Which five will advance to be the finalists? Let the speculation begin! We have a whole month to read and compare.
A few initial observations. As it stands now, the real firmly trumps the fantastic. The ten titles are from six publishing houses no stranger to awards and accolades. (I am combining Penguin and Random House here.) Six titles are by female authors. One book is set in Africa. Three others feature African American characters, stories, or history. One of the ten authors is non-white.
* The Impossible Knife of Memory
* Girls Like Us
* Skink—No Surrender
* Greenglass House
* Threatened
* The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
* 100 Sideways Miles
* Noggin
* Revolution: The Sixties Trilogy, Book Two
* Brown Girl Dreaming
Fairrosa Cyber Library 