Young Hoosier Book Awards Winners
 6th - 8th Grades
1993 - 1999

Twisted Summer by Wilo Davis Roberts YA AWARD Roberts, W.

When Cici and her family arrive at Crystal Lake, where they have spent every summer except the previous one, they hear terrible news. Brody is in prison for the murder of Zoe, a flirt and tease. His younger brother, Jack, his mother and Cici don't believe Brody could have murdered Zoe. Cici decides to do some investigating on her own. She learns more about her family and friends than she'd like to know. This keeps you turning the pages, until the truth and real killer are exposed.

The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel

Something monstrous, mysterious and murderous is going on at ancient Stonehenge, and even the army has no clue. Fifteen-year-old Jackson and his new friend Alma have to solve this seemingly endless stone puzzle before it is too late.

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen YA AWARD Paulsen, G. & YA PLAYAWAY PAU

An escaped slave, Nightjohn returns to the South to teach other slaves how to read. This is against the law, but Nightjohn does not care. Even after he is caught and made a slave again, he continues to teach his fellow slaves. At the Waller plantation he meets Sarny, a young slave girl, and begins teaching her the letters of the alphabet. When Master Waller sees Sarny tracing some letters in the dirt, Nightjohn is beaten and taken away. Sarny is left behind to carry on his legacy.

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen YA AWARD Paulsen, G.

Sent to spend the summer with some distant relatives on their farm, the eleven year old narrator meets his cousin Harris. Life on the farm is anything but boring. Together the two cause a lot of mischief, mostly caused by Harris’s outrageous dares.

Whispers From the Dead by Joan Lowery Nixon YA AWARD Nixon, J.

Sarah, after nearly drowning and a near death experience, has contact with the spirit world. She then moves with her parents to Houston to a house where a murder has been committed. After receiving otherworldly messages, she helps to solve the murder.

Strider by Beverly Cleary YA AWARD Cleary, B. & J CLE

Leigh Botts is fourteen years old and feels like everything in his life is changing. He is still adjusting to his parents divorce, to his new high school and to his feelings about girls. His life begins to change for the better when he and his best friend, Barry, find a dog on the beach. They both adopt him, working out a joint custody arrangement, and the adventures begin.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney YA AWARD Cooney, C. & LARGE PRINT COO & YA PLAYAWAY COO

Sitting in the cafeteria one day, Janie glanced at a picture of a missing child on a milk carton and recognized the face as her own. Janie knew it was impossible that her wonderful, loving parents had kidnapped her, but she remembers wearing that dress and having her hair braided like the girl in the picture. The conviction that something was terribly wrong started Janie on a confusing, frightening search for her real identity.