Book Awards

Free Lunch

-  Winner of the 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award 

Punching Bag

-  2021 CYBILS Literary Award Winner

Road Home

-  Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book

-  Stonewall Book Award Honor

- CALIBA Golden Poppy 2024 Kids’ Nonfiction Award Winner

Abuela, Don’t Forget Me

-  A Finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award

Northranger

-  2023 Harvey Awards’ Best Children’s or Young Adult Book Nominee

-  35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Original Graphic Novel Nominee

Dan in Green Gables

-  37th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Original Graphic Novel Nominee

Fruitcake

-  *Starred review - Kirkus

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  Junior Library Guild, Gold Standard Selection

Dan in Green Gables

-  *Starred review - Publisher’s Weekly

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  *Starred review - Shelf Awareness

-  2026 Texas Library Association’s Maverick Graphic Novel List

- a Kirkus Best YA Book of 2025

- a School Library Journey Best Book of 2025

- a People.com Recommended Read for Pride

-  2026 ALA Rainbow Book List

-  35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Original Graphic Novel Nominee

-  a 2026 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens

when we ride

-  *Starred review - Kirkus

-  *Starred review - Publisher’s Weekly

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  Amazon’s Best Books of 2025 So Far

-  An Amazon Best Book of the Year, Top 20 Teen & YA of 2025

- Audible Best of the Year, YA, 2025

-  A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

-  2026 Spirit of Texas Reading Program

- Best Latino Books of 2025, The Latinidad List

- 2026 TAYSHAS Reading List

- YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults 2026

- 2026 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks List

- 2026 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Top Ten

- Oklahoma Library Association’s Sequoyah Book Award Shortlist

Doña quixote: Flight of the Witch

-  2024 ALA GNCRT’s Best Graphic Novels for Children

- 2025 Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novel List

Pizza face

-  *Starred review - BookPage

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  Target Summer Book Club

-  Debut on the Indie Bestsellers List

- 2024 ALA GNCRT’s Best Graphic Novels for Children  

-  Junior Library Guild, Gold Standard Selection (for Cara de Pizza, the Scholastic en Español edition)

-  Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2024

- 2025 Texas Library Association’s Maverick Graphic Novel List

- Bank Street College’s Best Children's Books of the Year, 2025

- Children’s Book Council: Building a Home Library Book List

- Children’s Book Council: Best New Graphic Novels Book List

- 2025 Children’s Literature Council of Southern California List

Road Home

-  *Starred review - Kirkus

-  *Starred review - Booklist

-  *Starred review - Shelf Awareness

-  *Starred review - Publisher’s Weekly

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  an Amazon Best Book of the Year

-  a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

-  Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year

-  a Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

- a Kirkus Best Book of the Year

- Winner of the CALIBA Golden Poppy 2024 Kids’ Nonfiction Award

- CALIBA Golden Poppy 2024 Mirrors & Windows Award Finalist

-  2024 CYBILS Literary Award for High School Nonfiction Finalist

-  Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book

-  Stonewall Book Award Honor

- 2025 Garden State Teen Book Award Finalist, Nonfiction Grades 6-12

- 2025 Children’s Literature Council of Southern California List

- 2026 TAYSHAS Reading List

Northranger

-  *Starred review - Shelf Awareness

-  2023 Harvey Awards’ Best Children’s or Young Adult Book Nominee

-  2024 Texas Library Association’s Maverick Graphic Novel List  *Starred Selection

-  2024 ALA Rainbow Round Table, Rainbow Book List, Top 10 Titles for Teen Readers

-  35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, Outstanding Original Graphic Novel Nominee

- 2024 Whippoorwill Award Honor Book for Rural YA

Four Eyes

-  *Starred review - Booklist

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  Amazon’s Best Books of 2023 So Far - Top 20 Kids List

-  Amazon’s Best Books of 2023 So Far - Ages 9-12 List

-  2023 Booklist Editor's’ Choice List

-  2024 Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novel List 

-  2024 Texas Library Association’s Maverick Graphic Novel List  *Starred Selection

-  2024 ALA GNCRT’s Best Graphic Novels for Children  

-  Winner of the Pop Culture Classroom 2024 Best in Middle Grade Non-Fiction Graphic Literature

- 2025 Rhode Island Latino Books Award, Grades 3-5 Nominee

- Winner of the 2024-2025 Great Lakes Great Books Award, Grades 6-8

- 2026 Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award, Junior Division for Grades 4-6 Nominee

- Winner of the 2026 Garden State Children’s Book Awards, Graphic Novel

Abuela, Don’t Forget Me

-  *Starred review - Publisher’s Weekly

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  Junior Library Guild, Gold Standard Selection

-  School Library Journal, Best Book of the Year

-  Finalist for the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award

-  Winner of the MPIBA Reading the West Book Award for Young Adult Lit

-  Winner of the CLCSC Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry  

-  National Education Association’s Read Across America Recommendation April 2024

-  Magnolia Book Award Honor

- 2023 TAYSHAS Reading List

Punching Bag

-  *Starred review - Booklist

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

- a New York Public Library Best Book of 2021

-  Junior Library Guild, Gold Standard Selection

-  Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List

-  Winner of the 2021 CYBILS Literary Award

- 2023 TAYSHAS Reading List

FREE LUNCH

-  *Starred review - Kirkus

-  *Starred review - Booklist

-  *Starred review - Publisher’s Weekly

-  *Starred review - School Library Journal

-  a Kirkus Best Books of 2019

-  Amazon’s Top 100 Books of 2019

-  Amazon’s Best 20 Children’s Books of 2019

-  Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2019, ages 9-12

-  Chicago Public Library, Best of the Best Books 2019

-  Junior Library Guild, Gold Standard Selection

-  Winner of the 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award 

-  2020 Spirit of Texas Reading List

-  Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award Nominee 2020-2021

Meg, Jo, Beth, & Amy

-  Debut on the Indie Bestsellers List

-  2019 CYBILS Literary Award Finalist

-  2020 Texas Library Association’s Little Maverick Graphic Novel List 

-  2020 Texas Library Association’s Maverick Graphic Novel List *Starred Selection

-  2020 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens List 

-  *My first BANNED book! (Huzzah! I feel so cool now. LOL.) 

The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13

-  2018 Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee