AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
2010 Notable New Books for Young Adults

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2009 ALA Recommendations

ALA Top Ten Books Published in 2009 for Young Adults

FANTASY
SARAH REES BRENNAN
PAUL GRIFFIN
REALISTIC FICTION

16-year-old Nick and his older brother, Alan, are accustomed to life on the run. Since their father was murdered, the boys have been forced to slay demons set on them by magicians seeking the powerful charm stolen by the boys' mother.

 

 

 

The prelude to this astounding novel tells of the end --- the hanging of Jimmi Sixes, a war veteran from a row of orange houses in New York. After Jimmi received a mandatory discharge from service and returned home, he was hung on the streets of his own neighborhood by a mob. The focus of this rare book is the few spirited inhabitants of the orange houses who endure a darker side of life than most.

REALISTIC FICTION

FANTASY

HISTORICAL FICTION

GRAPHIC MEMOIR

Ben Byron, 15, is angry. Just two months after the death of his mother in a car accident, his dad, crushed by the loss of his wife, sells their house and small boat and uses the money to buy the Chrysalis, a 30-foot sailboat. He uproots Ben and two younger sons for a yearlong tour of the Bahamas.

 

Members of the Support Group break the mold of accepted vampire lore: not beautiful, strong, powerful, rich, or in control. Instead they are sickly, struggling just to stay alive, and living on the blood of the guinea pigs they keep. They have vowed not to drink human blood or be responsible for the creation of another vampire.

Based on a true story of lynching of Sicilian grocers in Tallulah, LA, in 1899, Napoli presents a moving, sobering story about 14-year-old Calogero who moves from Sicily to Louisiana to help his relatives run their grocery store and is mystified by prejudice and discrimination.

 

Replete with themes of anger, pain, and hope, and employing classic imagery from Alice in Wonderland, renowned illustrator Small chronicles the harrowing story of his childhood and adolescence in this dark graphic novel.

 

 

REALISTIC FICTION

REALISTIC FICTION

FANTASY

COLONIAL HISTORY

Sixth-grader Miranda and her best friend Sal part ways, and her once familiar world turns upside down. She's caught up in reading A Wrinkle in Time and trying to understand time travel, and she starts receiving mysterious notes which accurately predict the future. Miranda's interioir monologue reveal the complexities of friendship, family, class and identity.

Marcelo Sandoval, a 17-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, is pushed to work in his father's law firm's mailroom. Readers enter his private world as he navigates the unfamiliar realm of menial tasks and office politics with the ingenuity of a child. The novel's psychological and emotional stakes are intense.

 

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls. Example ~ Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

By presenting a detailed examination into the work of different types of forensic archaeology at excavations in both Jamestown, Virginia, and Colonial Maryland, readers are rewarded with both a picture of this fascinating work and an appreciation for what it contributes to our knowledge of history.

 

 

2010 Michael L. Printz Award

The Michael L. Printz Award is for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.

2010 Winner
Going Bovine

by Libba Bray

Cameron, a sixteen-year-old slacker, sets off on a madcap road trip along with a punk angel, a dwarf sidekick, a yard gnome and a mad scientist to save the world and perhaps his own life.


2010 Printz Honor Books
HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY REALISTIC FICTION

FANTASY

HISTORICAL FICTION

Once Charles Darwin sets his rational mind to marry the religious Emma Wedgeworth, they both must take a leap of faith in order to build a life together.

Fourteen-year-old runaway Jamie, homeless and strung out, embarks on a harrowing journey to reach his dying brother.

Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a monstrumologist, races against time to save his town (and himself) from the anthropophagi, a pod of monstrous creatures who prey on humans.

Karl Shoemaker wants to begin his senior year with a new identity separate from his counseling group, his alcoholic mother and the legacy of his dead father.

2010 ALEX AWARDS

The Alex Awards, through YALSA and cosponsored by Booklist and the Margaret A. Edwards Trust, honor the top 10 adult books, published during the previous year, with appeal to readers between the ages of 12 and 18.

MEMOIR

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope

by William Kamkwamba

Young teen William, who taught himself enough physics and engineering to build a windmill and bring electricity to his drought-stricken village, discovered the magic of his Malawi homeland in the miracles of science.

 

The Bride's Farewell

by Meg Rosoff


Rather than marry without love, Pell Ridley absconds with a favorite horse and her brother, Bean. Both are quickly lost, and Pell’s perilous journey to find Bean leads to discovery of the things she ran away from: family, love, and herself.

 

HISTORICAL FICTION 

REALISTIC FICTION

WAR JOURNAL

MEMOIR

FANTASY

While still in the womb, voices warn Junior of his impending death by comet in this unusually structured coming-of-age story. He has 36 years. How will he spend them?

This eye-opening account of “the surge” in 2007 follows the troops of Battalion 2-16, revealing the gritty reality for all those good soldiers serving in Iraq.

This heart-wrenching memoir, collaboratively written from four different points of view, chronicles the ups and downs of the Welch siblings, who struggled to define the notion of home after their parents died.

Fantasy and reality meld in unexpected and tragic ways when 17-year-old Quentin Coldwater trades his ho-hum Brooklyn existence for the magical society of Brakebills College.

MEMOIR

FANTASY

GRAPHIC NOVEL/MEMOIR

FANTASY

Based on a true story, 13-year-old Caroline and her questionably sane father live in a nature preserve on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. A haunting exploration of familial lore, survival, and hope.


Wielding a parasol and hairpins, 25-year-old soulless spinster Alexia Tarabotti accidentally stakes a vampire lacking all common etiquette to open this delightfully dangerous romp.

 

Replete with themes of anger, pain, and hope, and employing classic imagery from Alice in Wonderland, renowned illustrator Small chronicles the harrowing story of his childhood and adolescence in this dark graphic novel. A 2010 Best Book for Young Adults. In a wholly original collection of stories, Wilson turns down the odd side streets of reality to explore rentable relatives, unscrupulous Scrabble workers, Mortal Kombat–fueled romancers, and the adventures of other wildly quirky characters.

2010 YALSA BEST YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION

2010 WINNER

Charles and Emma
The Darwins' Leap of Faith

by Deborah Heligman

After creating a list of the pros and cons of marriage, science-minded Charles Darwin chooses to marry his strictly religious first cousin. Little does he know that he is about to embark upon the most loving, creative, and intellectually important relationship of his life.


2010 YALSA NONFICTION FINALISTS

CIRCUS GREAT
MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT
NASA'S WOMEN
FORENSIC ARCHAEOLOGY

Thrill to the audacity! Gasp at the hucksterism! Come one, come all to the jaw-dropping, larger-than-life biography of expert humbugger, relentless curiosity seeker, and unparalleled showman P. T. Barnum.

 

 

Hoose recounts the largely untold story of Claudette Colvin, who was arrested and jailed at the age of 15 after refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white woman. Interviews with Colvin create a vivid picture not only of the Montgomery bus boycott but also the Browder v. Gayle case, in which she was a key defendant.

In the early 1960s, the doctor in charge of testing NASA’s astronauts decided to find out if female pilots were capable of passing the grueling qualification tests required of male pilots. Feasible? Yes. Allowed? No. All testing of women’s potential for the Mercury program was done outside NASA’s purview and without their permission. The reasons why will stun readers. 

By presenting a detailed examination into the work of different types of forensic archaeology at excavations in both Jamestown, Virginia, and Colonial Maryland, readers are rewarded with both a picture of this fascinating work and an appreciation for what it contributes to our knowledge of history.