The Volunteer State Book Award is voted on by students in the state of Tennessee. If you read at least three books from this list of 25, you can vote. Voting will happen in spring of 2009.

Behind the Curtain, by Peter Abrahams

While investigating strange happenings in the town of Echo Falls, (her brother's sudden change in personality and the pressure on her grandfather to sell his farm) Ingrid is herself kidnapped. This is the second Echo Falls Mystery. The first, Down the Rabbit Hole, was also a VSBA nominee.

Defining Dulcie, by Paul Acampora

After her father dies in a freak cleaning chemicals accident, Dulcie's mother suddenly moves them across the country. Dulcie misses her home so much that she steals her father's truck and drives cross-country, so she can be back where she feels she belongs.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation Volume One: The Pox Party, by M. T. Anderson

Octavian is brought up as a science experiment. He is given every privilege in life and the finest education so it can be proven whether a black child can be made as intelligent as a white child. At first, the scientists running the experiment are sympathetic, but when a new benefactor takes charge of the experiment, it becomes fixed to make it nearly impossible for Octavian to succeed.

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler

Cal's mother is a Renaissance Faire wench who has been moving them both around constantly since she left Cal's father. Eliot's father runs a Christian fat camp and has little time for Eliot. When they meet, they quickly fall in love, and change both of their families forever.

Ball Don't Lie, by Matt de la Pena

Sticky has spent most of his seventeen years bouncing between foster homes. The center of his life is Court One at the Lincoln Rec Center, where he plays with a group of serious basketball players. His hope for the future is to earn a basketball scholarship to college.

What Happened to Cass McBride?, by Gail Giles

When Kyle's brother commits suicide, he decides to punish the person he holds responsible. He blames Cass McBride, so he kidnaps her and buries her underground, where Cass has only her gift for negotiation to try and save her own life.

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Colin is a former child prodigy who has been dumped nineteen times by girls named Katherine. Still reeling from being dumped by Katherine XIX, Colin's best friend Hassan convinces him to go with him on a road trip. Colin's goal on the trip is to make himself matter by writing a mathematical theorem to predict relationships.

Crossing the Wire, by Will Hobbs

15-year-old Victor has supported his family since his father's death. When the corn prices bottom out, Victor makes the difficult decision to leave his family behind and cross from Mexico to the United States. Unable to afford a coyote to help him cross, he and his best friend Rico make the difficult journey themselves.

Standing Against the Wind, by Traci Jones

Patrice's mother had left her with her grandmother for years before she finally claimed her. Two month's later, Patrice's mother was in jail, and Patrice was living with her overwhelmed aunt. Patrice has a hard time at her new school, where the other students call her Puffy because of her hair. When she learns about a possible scholarship to a boarding school in the south, she puts all of her effort into winning that scholarship.

Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial, by Ronald Kidd

In 1925, John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in the small town of Dayton, TN. This book retells the events of what came to known as the Scopes Monkey Trial through the eyes of Frances Robinson, a fifteen year old student at the school Mr. Scopes taught at.

Born to Rock, by Gordon Korman

Leo is a high school senior, a Young Republican, and soon to be a Harvard student. Imagine his surprise when his mother finally tells him who his biological father is: King Maggot, lead singer of Purge, the angriest and most controversial band in history.

Hattie Big Sky, by Larson Kirby

When Hattie is sixteen, her uncle leaves her his homestead claim in Montana. Hattie jumps at the chance to prove up his claim, and finds herself in for a lot of hard work. In addition, it's the middle of World War I, and Hattie finds herself defending her German neighbor from less friendly, "patriotic" settlers.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, by David Levithon and Rachel Cohn

Nick's band is playing at a punk rock club when he spots his ex-girlfriend in the audience. Once offstage, he asks a girl he's never met before to pretend to be his girlfriend. Over the course of the night, they roam through Manhattan, talk about music, and fall in and out of love several times.

Sold, by Patricia McCormick

When thirteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her Tibetan village, she believes that the strange, glamorous woman she leaves with is taking her to work for a wealthy family in the city. In reality, her step-father has sold her to a brothel in India, where she would have to work off the money the brothel owner paid for her by working as a prostitute.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, by Kristin Miller

Ananka Fishbein's life becomes much more interesting after she discovers a secret city under the streets of New York. Soon after, she meets the very strange Kiki Strike and is recruited to join her group of Irregulars in exploring the secret underground world.

All of the Above, by Shelley Pearsall

Math teacher Mr. Collins decides to make his classes more lively by convincing them to try and build the world's largest tetrahedron. Several of his students take to his challenge and devote themselves to its construction, pulling families and neighbors into the process to help them.

King Dork, by Frank Portman

Tom Henderson is the ultimate high school loser, but he doesn't let his complete lack of social status bother him too much. Instead, he becomes preoccupied with a small collection of books his father read when he was in high school. Tom hopes that by reading these books and deciphering the notes his father left in their margins, he can learn more about his father, who died when Tom was eight.

What the Moon Saw, by Laura Resau

When Clara's father tells her that she will be spending the summer with her grandparents in rural Mexico, she's far from pleased. But the village, her grandparents, and her grandmother's stories about her own life win her over until Clara feels as much a part of the place as they do.

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan

When Percy Jackson accidentally vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, it becomes his first clue that his life is more than what it has seemed. Eventually, he discovers that he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. 

The House of the Red Fish, by Graham Salisbury

After Pearl Harbor, Tomi's father was shot and arrested and his fishing boat sunk. A year later, Tomi decides to raise the boat himself. But when his white neighbors watch his every move, because he is Japanese, Tomi has to be incredibly resourceful.

Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food, by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson

Don't read this book as you eat your fries. Schlosser and Wilson use this book to expose all of the dirty little secrets of fast food, from how the food is made to how the employees who work there are treated. If you want to know what insects are in your food, or why the big fast food places market the way they do, or just how much fat is in your chicken nuggets, you have to read Chew on This.

Enthusiasm, by Polly Shulman

Julie's best friend, Ashleigh, is best known for her ability to become incredibly obsessed about one single topic for a few months before becoming equally obsessed about the next thing. Julie has always supported her friend, but when Ashleigh takes over Julie's own obsession for Jane Austen books, casts herself as the heroine of a modern day Pride and Prejudice, and casts as her Mr. Darcy the very boy Julie has been obsessed with, Julie's tolerance is pushed to the breaking point.

The Rules of Survival, by Nancy Werlin

Matt, Callie and Emmy have grown up fearing their mother's emotionally and physically abusive behaviors. When their father and their aunt refuse to intervene and save them, they find help in one of the most unlikely of places: a man named Murdoch who used to date their mother.

Listening for Lions, by Gloria Whelan

Rachel's parents were missionaries in Africa when they were killed in an influenza epidemic. After their deaths, her wealthy neighbors in Africa seem to take her under their wing. But their plan for her is sinister, and Rachel can see no escape from it.

Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin

Liz Hall is fifteen when she's killed by a hit and run driver. She finds herself in an afterlife called Elsewhere, where everyone ages backwards until they're babies and can be born on earth again. In Elsewhere, Liz finds a job, meets the grandmother who had died before she was born, makes friends, and falls in love.