Smash YA hit The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas took home a handful of awards at American Library Association Youth Media Awards, a few months after winning the Boston Globe Horn Book Award. The hype is real, you guys, it's THAT GOOD.
Starr, a black teen that lives in a low income neighborhood but attends a fancy private school, watches her worlds collide, clash, and come crashing down after she witnesses the shooting death of a friend at the hands of a nervous police officer. Starr's voice soars, even when she's at her lowest, and the entire cast--Starr's family, neighborhood folks, school friends-- are fully realized, relatable, and (unexpectedly for a book tackling such a heavy topic) hilarious.
The Hate U Give won the William C. Morris award for debut novel (the shortlist, and past winners are worth checking out, the awards committees consistently recognize some of the best writing in YA fiction, and a lot of it is under the radar stuff), and also took home a Printz Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and the audio version won the Odyssey award. Outstanding.