The 2023 Cybils Awards winners (Children’s and Young Adults Bloggers’ Literary Awards) were announced on February 14.

The Cybils Awards aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussels sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.

Here are the results from the speculative fiction categories. The complete winners list is here.

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE GRADE SPECULATIVE FICTION

• The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett

Grace flees from her orphanage after several failed placements, determined to apprentice to a witch since she blames uncontrollable magic for these failures. With such a determined and imaginative protagonist it’s no wonder this book is spilling over with danger, friendship, quests, spells, and growth. Learning spells, confronting witches, and still managing all the pitfalls of friendships mean that Grace needs all her wits to handle challenges that the orphanage never prepared her for. If you’ve read Anne of Green Gables you have the extra pleasure of uncovering Easter eggs. And if you haven’t, you might have so much fun here that you will want to.

YOUNG ADULT SPECULATIVE FICTION

• Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

In the half-sunken city of Alane, gangs rule the streets and the descendants of the Greek gods are everywhere, wielding their inherited power. Io is the youngest of the Ora sisters, descended from the Fates, and she uses her magic to make a living as a private investigator. When she’s hired by the most powerful woman in town she soon finds herself investigating a series of impossible murders. Threads that Bind is a genre-bending novel: part urban fantasy, part detective fiction, part gang warfare. It’s full of rich and detailed world-building that keeps the reader engaged as they try to put together the pieces of the mystery in between non-stop action and suspense. The romance is also a nice thread that runs throughout. It’s a slow burn between Io and her “fated” soulmate, but it gives their characters some additional depth without overshadowing the murders at the center of the story. While there have been a lot of stories inspired by the Greek gods, Threads the Bind offers a truly unique and refreshing spin on the genre for readers to get wrapped up in.

[Based on a press release.]