The finalists for the 2024 Minnesota Book Awards were chosen on January 27th, by a group of 27 judges from around the state.
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Finn is in a bad mood, so his grandfather takes him on a walk in the forest, and tells him about all the things that are beneath the surface of plants and animals--and even people.
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Book
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E Doe
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Can we please give the police department to the grandmothers?
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"A vision of a world where community care and safety are not the jobs of police, based on a protest poem written by Petrus after the police officer who killed Michael Brown was not charged"--
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Book
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E Pet
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Finding family : the duckling raised by loons
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"Discover the true story of an unlikely family -- an orphaned mallard duckling raised by a pair of loons. Lyrical verse and evocative illustrations combine in this heartwarming tale of animal cooperation"--
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Book
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E Sal
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A young Black boy reflects on the natural ups and downs of his emotions.
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Book
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E Cha
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Smoke on the waterfront : the Northern Waters Smokehaus cookbook
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A celebration of the Northern Waters Smokehaus's singular contribution to Minnesota's North Shore cuisine, this book brings two decades of experience to the table, laying out the stories, recipes, and techniques that have made the establishment a beloved fixture of Third Coast culture. From simple sandwich construction all the way to sausage twisting and preservation, these recipes give readers an opportunity to up their game or to savor their own view of the Smokehaus experience.--
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Book
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641.46 Net
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"Citadel is the only human city on the alien planet Edalide, ruled by the biweekly tides that bring both deadly danger and much-needed resources. But the drowning waters, constant threat of starvation, and eternal cold aren’t the most dangerous challenge. For the Flooded Forest is ruled by demons: monsters from Hell sent by their vengeful god as penance for their ancestors’ rebellion. To save their souls and return to their former glory, Citadel must kill every single one. Or so they believe. Olivia lost her lover to the demons almost a year ago. But during a scientific expedition, a chance encounter reveals that the demons are sentient--a startling discovery that would get Olivia executed if she exposed it. Driven by the burning need for answers, Olivia embarks on a dangerous journey into the Forest. There, she must face alien monsters, zealous warriors, and the demons of her own past. But change comes slowly, and always with a price" --jacket.
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Book
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FIC Alo
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Ink blood sister scribe : a novel
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"For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect. All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries" --
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Book
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FIC Tor
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As the village of Rainy Bay works out the kinks in their first Indigenous Food Days, Winnow works out the kinks in her love life. Hired to forage and cook for the festival, Winnow arrives in the rural Minnesota community to find her host Niigaanii, is as annoyingly attractive as he is unwelcoming. Can Winnow and Niigaanii pull thorns from the past and harvest the love they find in a berry patch?
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Book
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FIC Har
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In the company of Grace : a veterinarian's memoir of trauma and healing
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Jody Lulich's memoir about finding courage in compassion and strength in healing--and power in finally confronting the darkness of his youth. He explains his path to veterinary medicine and how caring for helpless, voiceless animals amidst his own shame and pain provided a lifeline, and a chance to heal himself as well.--
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Book
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636.089 Lul
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Trauma sponges : dispatches from the scarred heart of emergency response
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Jeremy Norton marshals twenty-two years of professional experience to offer, with compassion and critique, a portrayal of emergency responders. His book captures in arresting detail the personal and social toll the job exacts, as well as the unique perspective afforded by sustained direct encounters with the sick, the dying, and the dead.--
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Book
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616.025 Nor
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"Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends--a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl--bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart's mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined"--
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Book
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J FIC DiC
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Shannon Carter never considered herself much of a theater person. Not like her two BFFs, Elise, an actress, and Fatima, a techie. Shannon's always been content to stay backstage, helping wherever she can. But when the director of the summer musical hears Shannon singing, he encourages her to step out of the wings and into the spotlight. At first, Shannon is hesitant. As a twelve-year-old with obsessive-compulsive disorder, she depends on routine. But when she braves the audition, she discovers that center stage is the one place where she doesn't feel anxious. She lands a lead role, and everyone in her life is ecstatic . . . except Elise. To make matters worse, Shannon's eccentric and opinionated grandmother moves in with her and her mom after a fluke house fire. As opening night approaches, Shannon feels pressure to save her friendship with Elise, to make Mom and Grandma Ruby act like grown-ups, and to follow the old theater adage The show must go on.
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Book
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J FIC Mil
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Break the wheel : ending the cycle of police violence
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The murder of George Floyd sparked global outrage. At the center of the conflict and the controversy, Keith Ellison grappled with the means of bringing justice for Floyd and his family. In this account of the Derek Chauvin trial, Ellison takes the reader down the path his prosecutors took, offering different breakthroughs and revelations for a defining, generational moment of racial reckoning and social justice understanding.--
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Book
Call Number:
363.232 Ell
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Making the carry : the lives of John and Tchi-Ki-Wis Linklater
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John Linklater, of Anishinaabeg, Cree, and Scottish ancestry, and his wife, Tchi-Ki-Wis, of the Lac La Croix First Nation, lived in the canoe and border country of Ontario and Minnesota from the 1870s until the 1930s. With broad geographical sweep, historical significance, and biographical depth, this book tells their story, overlooked for far too long. --
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Book
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971.0049 Coc
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Minescapes : reclaiming Minnesota's mined lands
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"The Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota conjures dramatic visuals of open pit mines and ore piles, enormous earthmoving equipment, and once-booming towns with aging architecture. But now many of these towns are busy with tourists. There are biking and ATV trails, forests and lakes. And yes, continued mining. Over the decades, people have approached the iron lands with differing perspectives. Early miners opened the Mesabi Range to extract its ore, but key players also upheld conservation principles by setting aside lower-quality rock for use by later generations with better technology. Nature found its way into the cracks and crevices of these rock piles, and within fifty years, groves of aspen and other successional plants had transformed the red rock into vibrant green. As early as the 1950s, residents were repurposing minelands by building ski jumps and cultivating grouse-friendly habitat. These impulses were codified in the 1980 Mine Reclamation Rules, which specified how mining companies should care for the land both during and after extraction. In the early 2000s, the Laurentian Vision Project brought together landscape architects, engineers, and residents to dream up possibilities for the landscape--and then to make those dreams real by building bridges, creating wildlife sanctuaries, and opening former minelands for fishing and mountain biking. In Minescapes, environmental engineer Pete Kero explores the record that is written on Minnesota's mined lands--and the value systems of each generation that created, touched, and lived among these landscapes. His narratives reveal ways in which the mining industry and Iron Range residents coexist and support each other today, just as they have for more than a century." --
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Book
Call Number:
622.09776 Ker
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Winter's song : a hymn to the North
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Winter's Song celebrates the intimate and intense relationship Americans living in the northern Midwest have with winter. The season is often viewed as an inhospitable time of year, accompanied by yearnings to fly south, yet Mischke invites us to view winter through the rich and varied lives of the hearty Northerners who have come to accept the season's extraordinary presentation--its hard lessons and hidden treasures.--Amazon
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Book
Call Number:
814 Mis
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"Jaffna, 1981. Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war subsumes Sri Lanka, her dream takes a different path as she watches those around her, including her four beloved brothers, swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. She must ask herself: is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm? Sashi begins working as a medic at a field hospital for the militant Tamil Tigers, who, following years of state discrimination and violence, are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority. But after the Tigers murder one of her teachers, and the arrival of Indian peacekeepers brings further atrocities, she turns to one of her professors, a feminist and dissident who invites her to join in a dangerous, secret project of documenting human rights violations as a mode of civil resistance to war. In gorgeous, fearless writing, Ganeshananthan captures furious mothers marching to demand news of their disappeared sons; a young student attending the hunger strike of an equally young militant; and a feminist reading group that tries to side with community and justice over any single political belief. Set during the early years of Sri Lanka's thirty-year civil war, and based on over a decade of research, Movement explores the blurred lines between formal participation in conflict and civilian life. This is a heartrending portrait of one woman's moral journey, and a testament to both the enduring impact of war and the bonds of home"--
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Book
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FIC Gan
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"From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried. Sissy, born 1961: Sissy's relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy's ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy's life. Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an "Indian school" far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school's abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls. Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the "Indian Wars," Cora isn't afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be "civilized." When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost" --
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Book
Call Number:
FIC Pow
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In the wake of a comet that came from beyond our universe, an airplane goes missing over Alaska. Now a teenager battles others for answers about his father's enigmatic final statement from the plane.
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Audiobook
Call Number:
FIC Per
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The girl I am, was, and never will be : a speculative memoir of transracial adoption
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Part memoir, part speculative fiction, woven from author Shannon Gibney's true story of growing up as the adopted Black daughter of white parents and the fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth by the white woman who gave her up for adoption. At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience.
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Book
Call Number:
YA FIC Gib
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“Just do this one thing for me.” Drew's mother says it more often than good morning. Heidi Hill has been juggling shady side hustles for all of Drew’s seventeen years, and Drew knows that “one thing” really means all the necessary things her mother thinks are boring, including taking care of her fifteen-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother. In fact, Drew is the closest thing to a responsible adult they’ve ever known. When their mother disappears on the way to a New Year’s Eve concert in Mexico and her schemes start unraveling, Drew is faced with a choice: Follow the rules, do the responsible thing, and walk away--alone--from her mother's mess. Or hope the weather stays cold, keep the cons going, and just maybe hold her family together.
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Book
Call Number:
YA FIC Zim
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Reimagining police : the future of public safety
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"Readers will learn about the history of law enforcement, approaches to public safety, and strategies for building a more just and inclusive society in this survey of policing and reform in the United States"--
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Book
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YA 363.2 Tyn
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Finn lives in a family of theater lovers. His older brothers are both actors, and one of his moms is an actor and the other one is a director. They even live in an enormous historic mansion owned by the Beauregard, Minnesota's largest regional theater. Finn is desperate to be an actor, too, despite the fact that he can never seem to remember his lines. When a new artistic director threatens to sell the Jorgensen house and kick his family out of the only home he's ever known, his family puts on a show--an immersive 1890s experience unlike anything else out there. But will it be too much for his mom Lula, who is recovering from cancer? Will Finn connect with his crush and deal with his long-time rival, Jade? Will saving the house save Finn's acting career?
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Book
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YA FIC Kro