Since 1996, the National Book Foundation has been awarding authors with the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. These are middle-grade and young-adult books that have made a profound impact. Vocabulary.com celebrates excellence in literature and we’re excited to congratulate this year's winner: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir.

Tahir’s fifth novel tells the story of the friendship between Salahudin and Noor. Both outcasts in their small desert town, Juniper, California, they form a bond based on an understanding of each other they can’t find anywhere else. When their lives seem to be too much to handle, their friendship is tested by not only their current circumstances but past experiences and family trauma as well.

Past winners include The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, Holes by Louis Sachar, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson.

Check out our curated collection for the 2022 nominees and winner below. Our vocabulary lists focus on the most relevant and challenging words to prepare your students to read and better comprehend these outstanding pieces of literature.

Winner:

All My Rage by Sabba Tahir

Finalists:

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee

 

Long-listed Titles:

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore
Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri Winston

 

For Vocabulary.com's comprehensive collection of winners from this and past years, check out our National Book Awards curation.