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ALA 2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
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Ship Breaker
by Paolo
Bacigalupi
http://tinyurl.com/6znhlgv
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A fast-paced adventure set on the American Gulf Coast. Nailer works
light crew; his dirty, dangerous job is to crawl deep into the wrecks of
the ancient oil tankers that line the beach, scavenging copper wire and
turning it over to his crew boss. After a brutal hurricane passes over,
Nailer and his friend Pima stumble upon the wreck of a luxurious clipper
ship. It's filled with valuable goods—a "Lucky Strike" that could make
them rich, if only they can find a safe way to cash it in. Amid the
wreckage, a girl barely clings to life. If they help her, she tells
them, she can show them a world of privilege that they have never known.
But can they trust her? And if so, can they keep the girl safe from
Nailer's drug-addicted father? Exciting and sometimes violent, this book
will appeal to older fans of Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series (S & S)
and similar action-oriented science fiction. |
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Revolution
by Jennifer
Donnelly
http://tinyurl.com/68qt4l6
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Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly's
remarkable new novel, weaves together the lives of Andi Alpers, a
depressed modern-day teenager, and Alexandrine Paradis, a brave young
woman caught up in the French Revolution. While in Paris with her
estranged father, a Nobel geneticist hired to match the DNA of a heart
said to belong to the last dauphin of France, Andi discovers a diary
hidden within a guitar case--and so begins the story of Alexandrine, who
herself had close ties to the dauphin. Redemption and the will to change
are powerful themes of the novel, and music is ever present--Andi and
Alex have a passion for the guitar, and the playlist running through
Revolution is a who's who of classic and contemporary influences.
Danger, intrigue, music, and impeccably researched history fill the
pages of Revolution, as both young women learn that, "it is
love, not death, that undoes us." |
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Finnikin of the Rock
by
Melina Marchetta
http://tinyurl.com/68gxq93
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Finnikin, son of the head of the King's Guard, has been in exile for a
decade, after the violent takeover of his birthplace, Lumatere, by a
usurper, followed by a curse by a priestess that has effectively shut
the kingdom off from the outside world. He meets a mysterious young
woman, Evanjalin, who claims that Finnikin's friend Balthazar, heir to
the throne, is alive, and sets in motion a complex and stirring series
of events that lead Finnikin to confront his destiny. Evanjalin uses her
ability to "walk the sleep" of others, or share in their dreams, as well
as her own boldness and sense of purpose, to push events to a climax so
that Lumatere can be freed. This novel begins at a slow burn: there are
many details to absorb, and the well-drawn maps are a necessity. Then,
suddenly, the action turns white-hot and the intricate plot plays out at
a pace that keeps readers mesmerized. This is fantasy grounded in a kind
of realism seldom seen in the genre. A large cast of unforgettable
characters inhabits it, from Finnikin and Evanjalin with their absorbing
and intensely emotional relationship, to Froi, a young thief, to the
small girl who is Evanjalin's companion as she "walks the sleep." |
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Revolver
by Marcus
Sedgwick
http://tinyurl.com/64tsonz
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Outside their remote Scandinavian village, Sig’s father dies of exposure
after trying to rush home across a frozen lake. The reason for his
carelessness becomes apparent to Sig when a hulking beast of a man
arrives at their tiny shack with a Colt revolver, demanding his share of
a stolen wealth of gold. But Sig has his own Colt hidden in the
storeroom, and some very pressing questions. Who is this brute at the
door? Is there really a hidden treasure? And, most importantly, can he
bring himself to use that revolver to save himself and his family? As
the claustrophobic tension in the Arctic cabin mounts, Sedgwick doles
out bits of backstory set a decade earlier in the Alaska gold rush, and
the climax reveals that there hasn’t been a single superfluous detail in
the intricate, freezer-burn buildup. |
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2011 Rebecca Caudill Award Nominated
Books
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Masterpiece
by Elise
Broach
http://tinyurl.com/45nhw3g
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James lives an invisible existence in a grand apartment on the Upper
East Side. His mother, busy with her new husband and baby and her climb
up the Manhattan social ladder, has little time for him. By contrast,
Marvin, a beetle whose overprotective, extended family resides
behind James’ mother’s kitchen, gets more attention than he wants. The
two find friendship when James’ artist father gives him a pen-and-ink
set, and Marvin discovers his talent for “drawing,” crafting delicate,
museum-quality miniatures with his legs. When Marvin and James find
themselves embroiled in a plot to steal a Dürer drawing from the
Metropolitan Museum, they must find creative ways to communicate to foil
the thieves and protect the masterpiece. |
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The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
by Mick Cochrane
http://tinyurl.com/4aj2kve
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In the months following his car accident, Molly's comfortable life has
been turned upside down and her mother has become a stranger. Molly and
her father had always been close; as they played catch together, he
passed along his love of baseball and much of his philosophy of life as
well. A loyal fan of lovable losers like the Chicago Cubs, he taught
Molly to throw a knuckleball, a pitch that flutters like a butterfly. He
told her: "You don't aim a butterfly. You release it." Molly finds
comfort in her memories and decides to try out for the boys' baseball
team. She meets some resistance from her teammates, but with the help of
a sympathetic coach and friends, she earns a spot on the team. |
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Powerless
by Matthew Cody
http://tinyurl.com/4q2wlmp
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When Daniel Corrigan and his family move to Noble's Green, he notices
that some of the kids there seem rather odd. After one of them
miraculously saves his life, they admit that they have superpowers, but
that they come with a price. They will lose them, and all memory of ever
having them, when they turn 13. Because Daniel is the only one without
these talents who knows about them, it becomes clear that he must find
out who or what is sapping his friends' unusual abilities. Eric, their
leader, believes that the secret lies in a series of old comics about a
superhero named Johnny Noble, but Daniel's investigation reveals a far
more sinister and dangerous villain, and the children must somehow
defeat this monster. |
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The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
http://tinyurl.com/4kqzbj2
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Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why
the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than
the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous
grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green
grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are
eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural
world around her, she develops a close relationship with her
grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and
comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the
century. |
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Every Soul a Star by
Wendy Mass
http://tinyurl.com/6jgux6n
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The lives of three young people intersect and transform against the
backdrop of a total solar eclipse. Homeschooled Ally has grown up at the
remote Moon Shadow Campground, which her family runs. An eclipse, which
can be viewed only from this site, is approaching, and ahead of it come
Bree, an aspiring model obsessed with popularity, and Jack, a reclusive
artist and avid sci-fi reader. Ally's sheltered world is about to open
up as she discovers that her parents plan to cede management of the
campground to Bree's parents after the event. Neither Ally nor Bree is
excited about the prospect, but as the teens interact they come to terms
with the changes they face. Meanwhile, introverted Jack finds himself
making friends and becoming a leader. As they go their separate ways,
all three approach the future with a newfound balance between their
internal and their external lives. |
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Heart of a Shepherd
by
Rosanne Parry
http://tinyurl.com/4ggdrtr
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Ranching and soldiering are what men do where Brother lives, in eastern
Oregon. Trouble is, the nearly 12-year-old boy doesn’t think he’d be
much good at either. But then his father’s reserve unit is sent to Iraq,
and the boy and his elderly grandfather are left in charge of the family
ranch. |
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Woods Runner
by Gary Paulson
http://tinyurl.com/4rotaoe
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Though his parents are city folk trying to hack out a life on the
frontier in Pennsylvania, 13-year-old Samuel is entirely at home in the
woodland wilderness that surrounds their little settlement. Soon after
word arrives of the uprising in Concord and Lexington, Samuel returns
home from a jaunt in the forest to find his home burned down, the
neighbors slaughtered, and his parents missing. Samuel tracks his
captured parents through the countryside to British-held New York,
encountering scalping bands of Iroquois, pillaging squads of mercenary
Hessians, and a few hardy, helpful rebels along the way. Paulsen
alternates chapters of Samuel’s story with historical notes that
illuminate the sobering realities of the American Revolution. |
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The Magic Thief
by Sarah Prineas
http://tinyurl.com/4vft9by
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Conn, a pickpocket on the streets of Twilight, one day picks the pocket
of a powerful wizard and steals his locus magicalicus, the center of his
power. It should kill Conn, but it doesn't. Nevery, the wizard, has just
returned after a 22-year exile, to try to save the town from the
leaching of its magic, upon which so much, including its economy,
depends. Curious about the boy, Nevery takes him on as an assistant and
then an apprentice. Although it is the wizard's job to stem the tide of
the disappearing magic, he seems unable to do so. Conn believes he knows
the answer, but his enemies are closing in. |
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Peak
by Roland Smith
http://tinyurl.com/4e7btel
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Fourteen-year-old New Yorker Peak ("It could have been worse. My parents
could have named me Glacier, or Abyss, or Crampon.") Marcello hones his
climbing skills by scaling skyscrapers. After Peak is caught climbing
the Woolworth Building, an angry judge gives him probation, with an
understanding that Peak will leave New York and live with his famous
mountaineer father in Thailand. Peak soon learns, however, that his
father has other plans for him; he hopes that Peak will become the
youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. Peak is whisked off to Tibet and
finds himself in the complex world of an Everest base camp, where large
amounts of money are at stake and climbing operations offer people an
often-deadly shot at the summit. |
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Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld
http://tinyurl.com/4bkvf9a
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This is World War I as never seen before. This global conflict is
between the Clankers, who put their faith in machines, and the
Darwinists, whose technology is based on the development of new species.
After the assassination of his parents, Prince Aleksandar's people turn
on him. Accompanied by a small group of loyal servants, the young
Clanker flees Austria in a Cyklop Stormwalker, a war machine that walks
on two legs. Meanwhile, as Deryn Sharp trains to be an airman with the
British Air Service, she prays that no one will discover that she is a
girl. She serves on the Leviathan, a massive biological airship
that resembles an enormous flying whale and functions as a
self-contained ecosystem. When it crashes in Switzerland, the two teens
cross paths, and suddenly the line between enemy and ally is no longer
clearly defined. |
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Other Books |
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Hero
by Mike Lupica
http://tinyurl.com/6yza7x2 |
Fourteen-year-old Billy Harriman can feel the changes. The sharpening of
his senses. The incredible strength. The speed, as though he can text
message himself across miles. The confidence and the strange need to
patrol Central Park at night. His dad had been a hero, a savior to
America and a confidante of the president. Then he died, and the changes
began in Billy. What Billy never knew was that his father was no
ordinary man—he was a superhero, battling the world's evil. This is a
battle that has been waged for generations and that knows no boundaries.
And now it's Billy's turn to take on the fight. It's Billy's turn to
become a hero. |
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Trouble
by Gary Schmidt
http://tinyurl.com/699df2m
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Henry Smith thought Trouble would never find him and his family, as they
snuggled into their New England coastal mansion. Somehow, unexpectedly,
Trouble creeps into his life. One minute Henry is enjoying his family
and the next minute his family is ripped apart by the devastating news
that Henry's older brother was hit by a car; he dies. The grief is
compounded by Henry's anger at his brother's last words, an implied
challenge when he told Henry that Henry would never make it up Mt.
Katahdin, the cliff-like mountain they were to climb together that
summer. Frustration fuels Henry to take his dog and his best friend and
hitchhike to Maine. The story twists and turns as these three travelers
encounter wild adventures on their way to the mountain. A friendship and
level of trust flower among unexpected people, and everyone is left
wanting to know what really happened on the day that Trouble found
Henry's family. |
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Escape From Memory
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
http://tinyurl.com/6aasy8d
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"Well, I'm sure I don't have any secrets...," I said, trying to
sound certain. "Can't we just tell them that?
Mom's steady gaze was driving me crazy.
"Oh",she said slowly,"but that's where you're wrong. You see,
you do have the secrets. You know them."
When Kira agrees to let her friends hypnotize her at a slumber party,
she has no idea that she will reveal secrets even she didn't know she
had — memories of fleeing a war-torn country with her mother,
understanding a language she can't identify. Then her mother disappears,
and a woman calling herself Aunt Memory takes Kira to Crythe, a place
that doesn't officially exist, in order to rescue her mother — or so
Kira thinks. She soon learns that there are memories locked in her mind
that place her and her mother in grave danger, but those memories are
also the only thing that might save them.
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