2024 Award Winners

The MCTBA Committee is pleased to announce that this year's winner is The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz!

Our three honor titles are Promise Boys by Nick Brooks, The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson, and Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino.

This year's teen vote went to The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich and The Weight of Blood.

Congratulations to all our winners!

Thanks to all who promoted, voted, and participated in this year's award. We'll be back in December with our slate of 2025 MCTBA nominees!

Hungry Ghost

Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying

Valerie Chu tries so hard to be a good daughter and friend. She is a good student, listens to her parents, doesn’t have big outbursts, and most importantly, to her mother, is thin. But after years of counting calories and denying herself, Valerie is learning that you can’t be yourself if you only listen to other’s rules. It’s time to open up, stop hiding the truth, and be her own person. In the end, simple colors and expressive panels make readers really connect to Valerie’s experiences and emotions. Victoria Ying’s debut novel Hungry Ghost is a beautiful and almost haunting view into the reality of life when one struggles with physical, emotional, and mental demons. 

Give Me a Sign

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Seventeen-year-old Lilah is tired. Tired of relying on friends and devices to help her hear, and, at the same time, tired of being considered not “deaf enough.” Wanting to be seen, to be understood, means a trip down memory lane. To a summer of working as a counselor at a camp for the deaf and hard of hearing. The same camp she herself attended as a child. What follows is a season full of learning, struggles, friendship, and more. A story does not have to be dark and depressing to tackle serious subjects. Highlighting the struggles that those in the Deaf community face, Anna Sortino’s debut novel is not to be missed.

Reviewer's Note: The audiobook for this novel is FANTASTIC! It makes the experience that much more real. You really get a sense of the struggles Lilah goes through and how hearing loss, no matter the severity, impacts everyone’s lives.

I’d Rather Burn than Bloom

I’d Rather Burn than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers

Marisol knows she is a terrible Filipina daughter. After her mother’s tragic death, the anger that fueled her endless fights with her mom needs another outlet, so she turns against herself and all she loves, including her terrible sister and best friend. 

Told through chapters alternating between flashbacks and present day, author Shannon Rogers brings readers on a journey of healing. Themes of loss, substance abuse, self-love, generational trauma, and the pressures of being a first generation American are handled with an honesty and tenderness that will have readers rooting for Marisol. In the end, Marisol discovers what readers knew all along: that Marisol is deserving of love and forgiveness from her friends and family, but most importantly, from herself.

Man Made Monsters

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

Man Made Monsters is a collection of interlinked short horror stories grounded in history and Cherokee tradition. Though the story collection’s pieces can be read individually, author Andrea L. Rogers rewards readers who follow the Wilson family’s thread of terror from 1839 to 2039 with the richness of a fully fleshed-out world. Accompanying the stories are Jeff Edwards’ illustrations which tie Cherokee imagery to the text. Readers of supernatural horror will find inventive twists on classic monsters. Readers who prefer their horror in the true-crime vein will enjoy Rogers’ relentless mirroring of supernatural horrors with human horrors throughout history. In Man Made Monsters’ final stories, set in 2029 and 2039, fans of speculative and sci-fi thrillers will relish original projections of our future world. In short, no matter your typical genre, you’ll find Rogers’ collection to be a page-turner worthy of recommending to fellow story lovers.

Only This Beautiful Moment

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian features three members of an Iranian-American family—Moud, Saeed, and Bobby.  Moud, an out gay teen in Los Angeles, tells his story from modern day in 2019.  Saeed’s story is told from 1978 during a social revolution in Iran.  Bobby’s takes place in 1939 Los Angeles, where he is entering into the world of Hollywood show-biz.  In 2019, Moud learns that his grandfather in Iran is dying, and he and his father, Saeed, travel to Tehran to spend time with the extended family.  The reader learns about family secrets through each boy’s experiences, and as they are revealed to Moud during his time in Iran.

Fans of novels with multiple points of view will love this touching multigenerational story!

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz

Fashion fans and romance fans alike will adore this charming debut graphic novel from Webtoons artist Deya Muniz! Brilliant, full color illustrations and animated characters combine to create a story that is too gouda to put down!

Lady Camembert is desperate to live life on her own terms, free from the traditional gender roles in the Kingdom of Fromage. Upon her father’s passing, she seizes the opportunity for a fresh start and moves to the capital. Disguised as a man, Camembert enjoys a life full of activism, royal friends, and the latest fashions. As Camembert and Princess Brie develop feelings for each other, keeping the truth of her identity a secret gets harder. What sacrifices will Lady Camembert make to live the life of her dreams?

We Are All So Good at Smiling

We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

Amber McBride, author of Me (Moth), is back again with another moving story in verse. We Are All So Good at Smiling is hauntingly beautiful and center's on Whimsy's battle with depression after she witnesses a traumatic event. In a universe closely mirroring our own, Whimsy and Faerry use their magic to help each other find the truth.

The Weight of Blood

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson 

Maddy Washington has always been an outsider in her small Southern town, and she becomes the target of increasingly cruel, racist jokes once her classmates discover that she’s biracial and has been passing as white. This reveal sets into motion a series of events that culminate in death and destruction the night of Springville’s senior prom.   

This modern retelling of Stephen King’s Carrie explores the impacts of bullying, microaggressions, and modern-day racism.  Thought-provoking and unsettling, this story will linger with its readers long after the final pages are turned.  

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Celine Bangura has a loyal social media following for her conspiracy theory obsessed observations. But internet fame doesn’t translate to real life and she finds herself on the outs with the cool kids at her high school, including her ex-best friend Brad Graeme. Brad is a star football player managing his OCD and can’t quite figure out what went wrong with Celine. Their moms have been best friends forever and the friendship turned into an academic rivalry spurred by hilarious insults. These characters were so funny and likable, and the tension only gets better when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods and Brad shows up to complete it as well. The sparks and witty comments fly in this heartwarming and compelling romance. Celene’s family dynamic was also incredibly compelling. She was raised by a single mom and has a burning desire to prove herself to her estranged father through the survival camp. You end up rooting for Celine and Brad individually and together.

We Deserve Monuments

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds 

Avery’s senior year is upended when she and her parents move from Washington, DC to Bardell, Georgia to care for her dying grandmother. Although she was ready for a break from her life in DC, living in a small Southern town with a history of racism and family heartbreak wasn’t quite what biracial, queer Avery had in mind. But life in Bardell is unexpected in many ways. Here, Avery finds accepting friends, has the chance to finally develop a relationship with her cantankerous grandmother, and discovers some shocking truths about her family. 

We Deserve Monuments is a poignant, beautifully written story about generational trauma, family secrets, grief, love, and self-discovery. And through it all, it asks us to consider how we can best honor the lives of those we love. 

The Getaway

The Getaway by Lamar Giles

Lamar Giles serves up an all-too-plausible dystopian future in The Getaway, a horror novel that will keep you turning its pages. In a Disneyworld-like megaresort, Karloff Country, Jay Butler and his friends provide smiling service for the rich and powerful, even as the darkness from outside the resort encroaches on the happy façade. It’s no surprise this story has already been picked up for development into a new streaming series – Giles writes with the selective attention of a film director. Told from multiple points of view of complex and relatable teenagers, Giles’ novel threads social issues through the fabric of a genuinely frightful plot.  

Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest

Effie Galanos is a senior in high school and can't wait to move on to the college of her dreams.  While all of her friends are filling out applications and visiting dorms, Effie has yet to share with them that she has been preparing for this day since freshman year. Although her first pick may seem as if it's everything she has ever wanted, will the campus be accessible to her? Dealing with high school doors that will not open and policies that clearly shouldn't apply to her while she is in a wheelchair, Effie is hoping to leave these troubles in her past. Looking forward to romance, independence, and a long list of firsts, we join Effie as she faces her future while discovering her voice.

Promise Boys

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Three Urban Promise Prep school students become suspects when their principal is murdered.  Told in multiple points of view, we see the events leading up to Principal Moore's murder from the perspectives of J.B., Ramon, and Trey.  The three teens must work together to identify the real killer and prove themselves innocent. 

Frequent breaking news reports and statements from other students and teachers in the school make this an exciting, fast paced read that will keep you guessing until the very end! 

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline

Sixteen year-old Winifred has not had the typical high school experience. Living in an apartment above the local cemetery with her dad and geriatric dog Mrs. Dingleberry, Winifred has little in the way of friends. She spends her summers listening to old records and roaming the graveyard in her mom’s vintage clothes. When her aimless wanderings sparks rumors that the cemetery is haunted, Winifred hatches a plan to save her dad’s job at the crematorium. But when Winifred meets the real ghost of Winterson Cemetery, developing feelings for her was the last thing she expected to happen.

With Cherie Dimaline’s lyrical writing and Winifred’s authentic narration, reading Funeral Songs for Dying Girls feels like reading a diary. In this paranormal coming of age novel, Dimaline explores themes of love, grief, and identity with tenderness and care.

Imogen, Obviously

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Becky Albertalli is back with another heartwarming slice of life story. Imogen, Obviously follows self-proclaimed ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, Imogen, as she navigates a college visit to her future college—shenanigans and self realization ensue. This book features a wonderful cast of believable characters who will definitely make you laugh and just might move you to tears.

2024 MCTBA Nominees

Our 2024 MCTBA Nominees are here!

Starting next week, check back here to read about all our nominees. New reviews will be posted every Tuesday and Friday.

Vote for your favorite nominee by either scanning the QR code above or by clicking here to access our Google form! You can also vote at your local Milwaukee County public library or by emailing [email protected].

Just remember: all votes must be in by Friday, March 1, 2024 to count!