The failure to read good books enfeebles the values and strengthens our most fatal tendency - the belief that the here and now is all there is

Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given to the ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

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City of Thieves

by David Benioff

Two teenage boys encounter cannibals, murderers, prostitutes, and assassins as they struggle to complete an impossible task during the freezing Siege of Leningrad in this funny, shocking, and briskly written tome.

The Dragons of Babel

by Michael Swanwick

In this original steampunk fantasy, young Will embarks on a quest that takes him to the dizzying heights and gritty depths of the postindustrial world of Babel.

Finding Nouf

by Zoë Ferraris

After a 16-year-old girl from a wealthy Saudi family is found dead in the middle of the desert, a devout Muslim guide and a young medical examiner seek to unravel the mystery while facing the sanctions of Middle Eastern society.

The Good Thief

by Hannah Tinti

In this suspenseful and unpredictable adventure, Ren, a one-handed eighteenth-century orphan, becomes apprenticed to a con man. Surprisingly, Ren seems born to it.

Just After Sunset: Stories

by Stephen King

Modern terrors abound—a porta-potty prison, class warfare on an apocalyptic afternoon—in this wickedly compelling collection of macabre, absurd, and gleefully vulgar stories. Scary, dirty fun.

Mudbound

by Hillary Jordan

At the close of WW II, two soldiers return to their home in the South to find racial tensions as explosive as the battlefields of Europe. This beautifully written story casts a spell as inescapable as the mud fields of the Mississippi Delta.

Over and Under

by Todd Tucker

Andy and Tom’s fourteenth summer is defined by adventures in the woods and caves near their home, a strike that polarizes their small town, and secrets that test their friendship.

The Oxford Project

by Stephen G. Bloom

In this riveting sociological study, the residents of Oxford, Iowa were photographed in 1984 and then again in 2005. Their compelling life stories, vividly expressed in brief biographical sketches, show just how much someone can change in 21 years

Sharp Teeth

by Toby Barlow

A fast-paced ride through the brutality of L.A.’s wilderness of drugs, gangs, and the connections people make with one another. The fact that most of the characters in this bloody, sexy, free-verse tale are mostly lycanthropes is almost incidental.

Three Girls and Their Brother

by Theresa Rebeck

This witty satire of show-biz politics, told from the perspective of four New York teenage siblings in the eye of a publicity tornado, provides a fascinating insider’s look at the world of the rich and famous.

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YASLA Best Books for Young Adults

The Best Books for Young Adults committee each year selects and annotates a list of significant adult and young adult books, as well as chooses a list of top ten titles from the full list. It is a general list of fiction and nonfiction titles selected for their proven or potential appeal to the personal reading tastes of the young adult.

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The Savage

by David Almond

Blue Baker is writing a story about a wild savage living in the woods...at least he thinks it’s a story. When realities shift, the reader must discern what really happened.

Chain

by Laurie Anderson

Slaves Isabel and younger sister Ruthie are sold to harsh Loyalists at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Isabel must decide to be loyal or spy for the American patriots.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Slaves Isabel and younger sister Ruthie are sold to harsh Loyalists at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Isabel must decide to be loyal or spy for the American patriots.

The Boy Who Dared

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Told through flashbacks, this is a fictionalized biography of German teenager Helmuth Hubener, who was imprisoned and executed in 1942 for openly resisting the Nazis.

The Last Knight

by Hilari Bell

An anachronistic knight errant takes a criminal as squire, mistakenly frees a woman charged with murdering her husband (brother to his father's liege), and becomes captive in her keep.

Audrey, Wait

by Robin Benway

Audrey's ex-boyfriend records a hit song about their breakup, and suddenly all eyes (and cameras) are on Audrey. Fans, Facebook, and tabloids-it's all too much for Audrey.

What I Saw and How I Lied

by Judy Blundell

When Evie’s father returns from the war, she expects life to return to normal but a mysterious trip to Florida, secrets, deceptions, and a first forbidden love complicates things.

Kendra

by Coe Booth

Kendra is thrilled her mom,Renee, has completed her Ph.D. program—now they can finally be a real family. But is Renee excited for their future together, too?

Shift

by Jennifer Bradbury

Chris and Win take a bicycle trip across America after graduation, but only one returns and that person is pressured to reveal what happened.

Debbie Harry Sings in French

by Meagan Brothers

After Johnny’s dad dies in a car accident and an unintentional drug overdose lands him in the hospital, he moves in with an uncle, gets a girlfriend, and starts to explore his interest in cross-dressing.

A Curse Dark as Gold

by Elizabeth Bunce

When young Charlotte Miller takes over the family's woolen mill after her father's death, she is faced with unexpected debts, catastrophes, and a hidden curse that threatens her family's future.

A Curse Dark as Gold

by Elizabeth Bunce

When young Charlotte Miller takes over the family's woolen mill after her father's death, she is faced with unexpected debts, catastrophes, and a hidden curse that threatens her family's future.

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye

by Deb Caletti

At 18, Indigo wants no more out of life than to be a waitress and give people food, until a customer gives her $2,500,000. Can she stand the changes?

Graceling

by Kristin Cashore

Katsa was born with ability to kill men with her bare hands but can she find moral courage to stand up to evil rulers and fight for what is right?

Airman

by Eoin Colfer

Conor Broekhart spends his days dreaming of flying hot air balloons and inventing flying machines until murder and court intrigue sends him to prison and labor in the diamond mines.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Katniss has been providing for her family since her father died, but is she strong enough to win the Hunger Games, a deadly competition that can have only one winner?

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YASLA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers

The title pretty much says it all.

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The Compound

by S.A Bodeen

They never thought the world would come to an end.

Kendra

by Coe Booth

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

A survivor game, gone deadly.

Drama High, (series)

by L Divine

Drama, drama, drama.

The Unspoken

by Thomas Fahy

Cursed with your greatest fear.

My Father's Son

by Terri Fields

Wearing the face of serial killer is tough.

Right Behind You

by Gail Giles

Life is rough; living with the knowledge you killed a kid.

Poison Ink

by Christopher Golden

Group tattoos gone bad.

Suckerpunch

by David Hernandez

Roadtrip with gun.

Planet Pregnancy

by Linda Oatman High

Adopting, keeping and leaping.

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ALA Teens' Top Ten

Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country.

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Eclipse

by Stephanie Meyer

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by J.K. Rowling

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

by Jeff Kinney

Vampire Academy

by Richelle Mead

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

by James Patterson

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

The Sweet Far Thing

by Libba Bray

EXtras

by Scott Westerfeld

Before I Die

by Jenny Downham

Twisted

by Laurie Halse Anderson

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Agatha Award Winners

The Agatha Awards, named for Malice inspiration Agatha Christie, are awarded for the Best Novel, First Mystery Novel, Nonfiction, and Short Story in the genre for the previous year.

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The Virgin of Small Plains

(2006) by Nancy Pickard

The Body in the Snowdrift

(2005) by Katherine Hall Page

Birds of a Feather

(2004) by Jacqueline Winspear

Letter From Home

(2003) by Carolyn Hart

You've Got Murder

(2002) by Donna Andrews

Murphy's Law

(2001) by Rhys Brown

Storm Track

(2000) by Margaret Maron

Mariner's Compass

(1999) by Earlene Fowler

Butchers Hill

(1998) by Laura Lippman

The Devil In Music

(1997) by Kate Ross

Up Jumps The Devil

(1996) by Margaret Maron

If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him

(1995) by Sharyn McCrumb

She Walks These Hills

(1994) by Sharyn McCrumb

Dead Man's Island

(1993) by Carolyn Hart

Bootlegger's Daughter

(1992) by Margaret Maron

I.O.U.

(1991) by Nancy Pickard

Bum Steer

(1990) by Nancy Pickard

Naked Once More

(1989) by Elizabeth Peters

Something Wicked

(1988) by Carolyn G. Hart

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