“In the Spring of 2016 discussions were held by the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Nominating Committee and the Rhode Island Teen Book Awards Nominating Committee about how best to serve the needs of Rhode Island readers. It was then decided that a third committee was needed to better reach middle grade readers, and so The Rhode Island Middle School Book Award was created to target students in grades six, seven and eight.”
“Starting the first week of April with the public announcement of the new nominees, and continuing through summer reading and during the school year from September-March, students read the current year's nominees. From March 1st through March 31st, readers vote in their school, public library, or online for their favorite book from the current year's nominees to determine the current year's Rhode Island Middle School Book Award winner. In early April the winning book is announced.”
Taken from the RIMSBA Libguide - https://sites.google.com/view/ri-middle-school-book-award/home
Please remember that not all books are suitable for all readers.