Big Books of Spring

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The Devil in the White City by Erik LarsonThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerThe Jungle by Upton SinclairDivergent by Veronica RothBinding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx
Books Set in Chicago
696 books — 334 voters
Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-DayThis I Know by Eldonna EdwardsThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya AngelouThey Call Me Crazy by Kelly Stone Gamble
Midwest Authors
297 books — 184 voters

Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. LyonsThe Devil in the White City by Erik LarsonThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerGhost Hand by Ripley PattonThe House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Books Set in Illinois
352 books — 115 voters
The Devil in the White City by Erik LarsonSin in the Second City by Karen AbbottThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerThe Jungle by Upton SinclairThe House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Chicago in history and fiction (fiction and nonfiction)
257 books — 82 voters

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. DraperSmile by Raina TelgemeierLove, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleurTurtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. HolmInside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại
2013 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
25 books — 72 voters
Hawaii by James A. MichenerLooking for Alaska by John GreenA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark TwainThe Hotel New Hampshire by John IrvingThe Colorado Kid by Stephen King
States
636 books — 60 voters

Playing with Fire by Kate MeaderThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerSome Girls Bite by Chloe NeillFlirting with Fire by Kate MeaderIt Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Best Romances Set in Chicago
85 books — 52 voters
Stars Over Clear Lake by Loretta EllsworthMy Ántonia by Willa CatherThis I Know by Eldonna EdwardsThe Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria RussellMary, Everything by Cassandra Yorke
Historical Fiction - The American Midwest
98 books — 31 voters

Wonder by R.J. PalacioNumber the Stars by Lois LowryThe Lemonade War by Jacqueline DaviesBecause of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilloPie by Sarah Weeks
2014 Bluestem Nominees
20 books — 28 voters
Ghost by Jason ReynoldsMe and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig KingMs. Bixby's Last Day by John David AndersonMoo by Sharon CreechIt Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
2019 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
20 books — 15 voters

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van DraanenThe Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen WangSpace Case by Stuart GibbsRestart by Gordon KormanScythe by Neal Shusterman
2020 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
20 books — 13 voters
Front Desk by Kelly YangNew Kid by Jerry CraftA Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore RaméeNowhere Boy by Katherine MarshAmal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
2021 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
24 books — 12 voters

Wonder by R.J. PalacioThe Lions of Little Rock by Kristin LevineThe Running Dream by Wendelin Van DraanenOkay for Now by Gary D. SchmidtBreaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin
2014 Rebecca Caudill Nominees
20 books — 11 voters
Jamestown by Joyce CrawfordIn Lieu of Flowers by Keith SteinbaumThe Great Fire by Jim MurphyDown the Rabbit Hole, Chicago, Illinois, 1871 by Susan Campbell BartolettiEmmi in the City by Salima Alikhan
Great Chicago Fire in YA & Middle Grade Fiction
17 books — 8 voters

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. JacksonThe Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. PanThe Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola YoonThe 57 Bus by Dashka SlaterDear Martin by Nic Stone
2020 Abraham Lincoln Nominees
20 books — 4 voters
Swim Team by Johnnie ChristmasMillionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnultyThe Lost Library by Rebecca SteadGood Different by Meg Eden KuyattThe Double Life of Danny Day by Mike Thayer
2026 Bluestem Book Award Nominees
22 books — 4 voters

Dungeons and Drama by Kristy BoycePlan A by Deb CalettiDivine Rivals by Rebecca RossAccountable by Dashka SlaterYou're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
2026 Abraham Lincoln Book Award Nominees
20 books — 4 voters
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank BaumThe Nix by Nathan HillA Constellation of Roses by Miranda AsebedoAshen Winter by Mike MullinEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
North Central Zone
24 books — 3 voters

Avocado Asks by Momoko AbeArgh! There's a Skeleton Inside You! by Idan Ben-BarakDucks Run Amok! by Jennifer E. MorrisCapybara Is Friends with Everyone by Maddie FrostAmy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang
2024 Monarch Award Nominees
20 books — 3 voters
Simon Sort of Says by Erin BowFinal Season by Tim GreenThe Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. PlaImpossible Escape by Steve SheinkinParachute Kids by Betty C. Tang
2026 Rebecca Caudill Book Award Nominees
21 books — 3 voters

The New Midwestern Table by Amy ThielenThe Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean ShermanSavoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland by Beth DooleyLife of Cheese by Heather PaxsonPrairie Home Cooking by Judith M. Fertig
Regional Foodways & Cuisine: The Midwest
32 books — 2 voters
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael LealiBelonging to the Air by Avery IronsCharmed and Dangerous by Shelly PageThe Curse by Alexandra RileyLiar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong
Queer Books Set in Non-Chicago Illinois
8 books — 2 voters

Don't Trust Fish by Neil SharpsonHenna Is . . . by Marzieh AbbasPop! Goes the Nursery Rhyme by Betsy BirdFix-It Familia by Lucky DiazA Llama Is Not an Alpaca by Karen Jameson
2027 Monarch Book Award Nominees
20 books — 2 voters
Divergent by Veronica RothThe Rules by Stacey KadeSteelheart by Brandon SandersonThe Leveller by Julia DurangoThe Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Illinois Authors on YA books
15 books — 1 voter

Accountable by Dashka SlaterAll Your Twisted Secrets by Diana UrbanAnatomy by Dana SchwartzBaby & Solo by Lisabeth PosthumaCheck & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
IL Read for a Lifetime 2024-2025
25 books — 1 voter
Mr. S by Monica ArnaldoNegative Cat by Sophie BlackallYoshi, Sea Turtle Genius by Lynne CoxSydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World by Jacqueline DaviesKnight Owl by Christopher Denise
2026 Monarch Book Award Nominees
20 books — 1 voter

#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil83 Days in Mariupol by Don BrownAisle Nine by Ian X. ChoAll Better Now by Neal ShustermanAfter Life by Gayle Forman
IL Read For a Lifetime 2025-2026
25 books — 1 voter
Worst-Case Collin by Rebecca Caprara365 Days to Alaska by Cathy CarrThe Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer CholdenkoThe Partition Project by Saadia FaruqiAnd Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
2027 Rebecca Caudill Book Award Nominees
20 books — 1 voter

An American Story by Kwame AlexanderCall Me Roberto! by Nathalie AlonsoThe Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-elMixed-Up by Kami GarciaThe Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman
2027 Bluestem Book Award Nominees
20 books — 1 voter
All the Noise at Once by DeAndra DavisShadowed by Carl DeukerDon't Let the Forest In by C.G. DrewsA Tempest of Tea by Hafsah FaizalDeath in the Jungle by Candace Fleming
2027 Abraham Lincoln Book Award Nominees
20 books — 1 voter

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