The Nutmeg Steering Committee has received questions about the maturity level of the 2020 Middle School 7-8 Nominees. We realize that reviews for a few of the titles list the recommended audience as 8th grade and up. As librarians we often look to these reviews for guidance, but ultimately create a collection of books that is right for our own library’s population.
From the 2020 Teen 7-8 Selection Committee Chairpersons:
The Middle School Nutmeg Committee is made up of 10 public and school librarians, teachers and 3 students. As a committee we read and voted on titles that we felt were appropriate for 7th and 8th graders. While some books cover topics that are serious or sensitive in nature, we chose titles that approached them in an appropriate and delicate manner. We chose titles that would appeal to a variety of reading levels, some slightly below and some more challenging. As a committee we agreed that these titles were suitable for this list and stand by our selections.
Links for Content Information from Common Sense Media on a few of the titles:
CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES by Natalie C. Anderson
DEFY THE STARS by Claudia Gray
ILLEGAL by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON by Linda Williams Jackson
PIECING ME TOGETHER by Renee Watson
SAINTS AND MISFITS by S. K. Ali