As some of you know I was selected to be a first round judge for this year’s Nerds Heart YA tournament. The shortlist was just announced along with the selections I will be judging with my partner Michelle from Pineapples & Pyjamas. Here’s the list:
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend - Emily Horner
Abe in Arms - Pegi Dietz Shea
Bamboo People - Mitali Perkins
Bleeding Violet - Dia Reeves
Champion of the Rose - Andrea K Höst
Dark Water - Laura McNeal
Dirty Little Secrets - CJ Omololu
Efrain’s Secret - Sofia Quintero
Eighth Grade Superzero - Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Five Flavors of Dumb - Antony John
How I Made it to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story - Tracy White
Invisible Girl - Mary Hanlon Stone
Jumpstart the World - Catherine Ryan Hyde
Last Summer of the Death Warriors - Francisco Stork
Mindblind - Jennifer Roy
Paper Daughter - Jeannette Ingold
Premiere - Melody Carlson
Pull - B. A. Binns
Stargazer - Von Allan
Stringz - Michael Wenberg
Summer Song - Louise Blaydon
Tall Story - Candy Gourlay
Teenie - Christopher Grant
Tell Us We’re Home - Marina Budhos
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin - Josh Berk
The End: five Queer Kids Save the World - Nora Olsen
The Kid Table - Andrea Seigel
The Red Umbrella - Christina Gonzalez
Toads and Diamonds - Heather Tomlinson
What My Momma Left Me - Renee Watson
When The Stars Go Blue – Caridad Ferrer
Where the Truth Lies - Jessica Warman
And out of the list I’d heard of six of the authors – and of course I was lucky enough to be given one of them to judge – the Filipino book Tall Story by Candy Gourlay – which will undoubtedly excite my Filipino book blogger friends. 
The other title is Premiere by Melody Carlson. Also fortunate for me is that both are available at my local libraries. Here are the covers and summaries of each book:
Be careful what you wish for …Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long lost half brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London, where he belongs. Then Andi’s biggest wish comes true and she’s minutes away from becoming someone’s little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he’ll turn out to be tall and just as mad as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he’s tall all right. But he’s not just tall …he’s a GIANT. In a novel packed with humour and quirkiness, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.
Book one in the dynamic fashion-themed On the Runway teen novel series by favorite young adult fiction author Melody Carlson. Sisterly bonds are tested as the Forrester girls learn that it takes two to keep their once-in-a-lifetime project afloat.
Both sound so interesting! I’m excited to get started.
Our decision will be announced on June 15.
Ooo I’ve read two on the list and both were brilliant. A Love Story Starting My Dead Best Friend and Five Flavors of Dumb (one of my absolute favourites!).
I hope you enjoy your books!
Ooo, okay, thanks for the recs. I’ve heard good things about Five Flavors of Dumb, and I hope to read some others on the list.
I’ve only read Tall Story from the list and I really hope you’ll like it. It’s the only Filipino YA that I’ve read so far. I was lucky enough to attend the local book launch and got to meet Candy Gourlay in person.
I remember that you met her! So cool. I’m excited to pick it up.
wow. i haven’t even heard of a bunch of these! but the ones i do recognise are all highly recommended. happy reading and keep up posted about the best ones
Yep, will do.
Yay, Tall Story!
I personally like that cover more than the one we have here. Such a sweet, sweet story. I’m so glad I was asked to review that book last year. 
Also, yay for Five Flavors of Dumb.
Yes, I adore the US cover as well, but the Filipino cover isn’t too bad.