American Library
Association
Best Books for Young
Adults
The books, recommended for those ages
12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading
for teens. The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including
contemporary realistic fiction that reflects the diversity of the teen
experience, nonfiction that brings to teens an awareness of the world they live
in and its history, and fantastical stories told in both narrative and graphic
formats. (Young Adults Library Services Association)
2011
By Marcus
Sedgwick
2010, 224
pages, $17 list
Sig is
alone with his father’s body when the lawless man his father had managed to
escape appears out of the icy wilderness.
Marchetta: Finnkin of the Rock
By Melina Marchetta
2010, 416
pages, $19 list
Finnikin and
his fellow exiles from Lumatere wish to return to
their cursed homeland. Finnikin must go on an epic
journey with a mute novice named Evanjalin to return
home.
By Paolo Bacigalupi
2010, 336
pages, $18 list
Nailer is a
light crew scavenger tearing up old hulks of ships, living day to day, until a
rich girl and her gleaming ship run ashore in a storm on the beach and his life
gets more dangerous.
By Jennifer
Donnelly
2010, 496
pages, $19 list
Haunted by the death of her brother, Andi
is taken to
McBride: Hold Me Close, Necromancer
By Lish McBride
2010, 352
pages, $17 list
When Sam discovers he is a necromancer he must learn to
control his power in order to defeat a powerful and corrupt rival and save his
friends.
Matson: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
By Morgan
Matson
2010, 352
pages, $17 list
Amy and Roger must both learn to deal with loss while on a
road trip across the country which doesn't go as expected.
By Andy
Mulligan
2010, 240
pages, $17 list
Three garbage-picker boys find an item of great value to a
corrupt politician on their rounds, setting off a tense hunt to see who will
triumph.
By
Mitali Perkins
2010,
272 pages, $17 list
Chiko, a
Burmese soldier and Tu Reh,
a Kerenni refugee meet on opposite sides of war and
each must learn what it means to be a man of his people.
Reinhardt: The Things a Brother Knows
By Dana
Reinhardt
2010, 256
pages, $17 list
Boaz is back and hailed as the hometown hero, but he is not
at all the same. Can his younger brother Levi help him truly make his way home?
Saenz: Last Night I Sang to the Monster
By Benjamin
Saenz
2009, 304
pages, $17 list
Weeks in therapy go by and 18-year-old Zach is still unable
to remember the monstrous events that left him alone and haunted by nightmares.