Illinois Teen Choice Book Award 2025: We Deserve Monuments

When Springville residents--at least the ones still alive--are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation--Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison has always been a target for bullies, which only intensifies when he true racial identity is uncovered. The popular white class president convinces her Black quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date to prom. What they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret--one that will cost them all their lives.

When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered. Perfect. Angelic. One of the good ones. Even as the phrase rings wrong in her mind, why are only certain people deemed worthy to be missed? Happi and her sister Genny embark on a journey to honor Kezi in their own way, using an heirloom copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book as their guide. But there's a twist to Kezi's story that no one could've ever expected, one that will change everything all over again.

Margaret looks just like their Chinese immigrant mother, while Annalie passes for white and looks like the father who abandoned them years ago. When their house is vandalized with a shocking racial slur, Margaret expects outrage. Instead, her sister and mother would rather move on. Especially once Margaret's own investigation begins to make members of their community uncomfortable.

In the summer before college, eighteen-year-old Blake Brenner works to join the exclusive Serena Society with her girlfriend, and turns to alcohol to cope with the pressure of pledging, as her pursuit of success begins to strain her relationships.