Finalists: Middle Grade Fiction

Another popular category with 63 titles. Here's the short list:

Drowned Maiden's Hair, A
Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick
This gothic page-turner features a feisty orphan, a houseful of secrets, and a villain preying on unsuspecting victims.

Framed
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Harper Collins
Take a small grey Welsh town. Add great works of art. Stir.

Heat
Mike Lupica
Philomel
A heartwarming tale of immigration, baseball and familial love. It's a reminder of what the U.S.A. and Americans can be.

Kiki Strike
Kirsten Miller
Bloomsbury
What's better than Girl Scouts, books, and an underground world under New York City? Absolutely nothing! That's why Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City one of the most entertaining books of the year.

Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata
Atheneum
WWII serves as the backdrop to this tale of internment, friendship, and growing flowers in the dry desert dust of Arizona.