Young people's literature.

WINNER

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN | SHERMAN ALEXIE: In this semiautobiographical novel, 14-year-old Arnold Spirit leaves his Spokane Indian reservation to attend a wealthy white school. In addition to normal teen angst, he also experiences the slow decay of his reservation and starts to ask questions about his own identity.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"It would be easy to slip into a pedantic tone, but Alexie doesn't break character to educate uninitiated readers about the realities of American Indian life. And he doesn't spare the gritty details of rampant poverty and alcoholism, or the profane and funny bits of adolescent life." REYHAN HARMANCI, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

SKIN HUNGER A Resurrection of Magic, Book One | KATHLEN DUEY: In the first of a planned trilogy, the young Sadima has magical powers, though magic is outlawed; generations later, Hahp, exiled by his father, attends a strict wizardry school. Soon, the two teens' destinies merge.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

TOUCHING SNOW | M. SINDY FELIN: Born to immigrant Haitians, upstate New Yorkers Karina and her older sisters have become accustomed to their stepfather's abuses. When a beating almost kills Enid, the girls go to social services, where Karina befriends a white, wealthy girl--and tries to change her family dynamic.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"The rebellious, courageous voice of Karina as she struggles to make her way in a new country, to protect her family and to reconcile the conflicting messages from church, school and parents about the role of the 'good daughter' is one you won't soon forget." JEAN WESTMOORE, BUFFALO NEWS

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET | BRIAN SELZNICK: A novel told in words and charcoal illustrations, Invention explores magic, storytelling, and human creativity as it chronicles the story of Hugo, a 12-year-old orphan and apprentice clock keeper, who lives in the walls of a train depot in 1930s Paris.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"It's a hefty tome. ... Ultimately, we are asked to think about the power of creativity and invention, of human suffering and human resilience." BRIGID MILLIGAN, SAN ANT ONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

STORY OF A GIRL | SARA ZARR: Branded as the school slut at age 13 after a sexual encounter with her older brother's friend, Deanna struggles to escape her past and improve her relationships with her parents, her best friends, and her brother, a teenage father himself.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2007 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Finalists are selected by panels of judges who are charged with selecting what they deem to be the best books of the year written by a United States citizen. The five judges on the fiction panel were Francine Prose (chair), Andrew Sean Greer, Walter Kirn, David Means, and Joy Williams.