Rhode Island! You are beautiful and I love you so much, thank you for the honor of this nomiation for WHAT I CARRY for the 2023 RITBA. I am humbled to in the company of so many authors and books I admire. Thank you to the RILA, readers, librarians, and teachers of Rhode Island. I would love to come visit you in person next year ;) Here is information about this wonderful award from the RITBA website:

“The Rhode Island Teen Book Award is a collaborative project of the School Librarians of Rhode Island (SLoRI) and the Rhode Island Library Assocation (RILA). The goal of the Rhode Island Teen Book Award is to promote quality literature for teens by highlighting well-written books that will be of interest to those between the ages of 14 and 18 years of age. It is the hope of the committee that by allowing teens to select the winner from each year's list of nominees, teens will be encouraged to not only read more, but also discuss the books they are reading with their friends and family at school, the local library, and at home.” https://riteenbookaward.org