Best Books For Young Adults

YALSA (The Young Adult Library Services Association), a subdivision of the American Library Association, runs an annual contest to select the best books for young adults. Click on Book Lists & Awards to see all the categories and winners from 1994-present. 2008 winners will be announced in January.

2007 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

Anderson, M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party. Candlewick, 2006. $17.99. (0-7636-2402-0; 9780763624016).
Gratz, Alan. Samurai Shortstop. Penguin Group USA/Dial, 2006. $17.99. (0-8037-3075-6; 9780803730755).
Hartnett, Sonya. Surrender. Candlewick, 2006. $16.99. (0-7636-2768-2; 9780763627683).
McCormick, Patricia. Sold. Hyperion, 2006. $16.99. (0-7868-5171-6; 9780786851713).
Sayres, Meghan Nuttall. Anahita’s Woven Riddle. Abrams/Amulet, 2006. $16.95. (0-8109-5481-8; 9780810954816).
Smelcer, John. The Trap. Henry Holt, 2006. $15.95. (0-8050-7939-4; 9780805079395).
Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia. HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 2006. $16.99. (0-06-083577-X; 9780060835774).
Werlin, Nancy. The Rules of Survival. Penguin Group USA/Dial, 2006. $16.99. (0-8037-3001-2; 9780803730014).
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Roaring Brook/First Second, 2006. $16.95. (1-59643-152-0; 9781596431522).
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. Random House/Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. $16.95. (0-375-83100-2; 9780375831003).

The Clique - Tyra Banks Style

Tyra Banks will be producing a straight to DVD series based on The Clique for the WD. Some of the Book Babes, who are big fans of this book series, may want to check out the new show.

Or, maybe not.

May Bird

In our book club we read May Bird. No one else liked the book too much but I did. Now I'm reading the sequel to May Bird and the Ever After, May Bird Among the Stars. The person who hosted the book went above and beyond with the snacks. She made jello with a plastic person and seaweed in it that was supposed to me the lake in the book. She made she made pumpkin cookies to. Thanks for introducing such a great book to me.

Half Magic

The first book we did in the book club was Half Magic by Edward Eager. When we hosted it we ate ice cream and banana splits like they did in the story, only we didn't put bone marrow in it. We also talked about what wishes we would make if we had the magic coin. We had to say double everything or else we would only get half of what we wished for. I wished that I could be perfect at everything double the number of times. Half Magic was a good book I recommend it to second graders to 4th graders.

The Book Babes Chant

The smartest babes you'll ever meet, we're on fire feel the heat, sssssssssssssss.

In The Beginning

It's our 4th year in a Mother-Daughter Club, and it just keeps on getting better!

When the girls were in 3rd Grade, I heard about Mother-Daughter book clubs from a friend in Washington, D.C. These books clubs were very popular in the nation's capitol where Shireen Dodson wrote about her experience in a book titled, The Mother -Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading.

Of course, the magic word "book" guaranteed my interest, and I was open to anything that would encourage my daughter to love books as much as I do. Then my friend explained that the real value of the book club was the opportunity to discuss issues affecting our maturing daughters in a non confrontational setting. At a Mother-Daughter Book Club you get to talk about the taboo subjects that usually set girls screaming in horror - personal hygiene, puberty, dating, etc. I was hooked, and with Dodson's how-to manual, I was armed with everything I needed to get started.

Our first book, Half Magic by Edward Eager, is also an apt description of our book club. We have shared some amazingly insightful discussions that have deepened our experience of the chosen books. The girl who hosts also selects and leads the discussion questions. The hosting duo provides the snacks, and sometimes these refreshments are as exciting as the discussion. At the Half Magic book club, we served ice cream sundaes with the same ingredients as those described in the soda fountain scene (but not the celery or marrow malts!)

We have also shared some exciting adventures.

After reading E.L. Konisburg's From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, we had to visit the Metropolitan Museum to see for ourselves how two kids could hide out in the famous museum. By the time we took the train to NYC, we had already read Ellen Potter's Pish Posh and felt that we needed a little glamour on our journey. Shopping on the Upper East Side with a stop for cosmetics at Sephoras and frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's was exactly what we needed.

Most recently, we received a visit (via speakerphone) from Heather Vogel Frederick, the author of our current novel, The Mother-Daughter Book Club. In a serendipitous twist of fate, our host duo chose this book at a time that the Ms. Frederick's website was publicising a special invitation from the author to book clubs. It was so exciting to converse with the author of a book that we all loved. The girls lined up to take turns asking questions, and they each had several turns. Even the moms couldn't resist asking a few questions! Heather Vogel Frederick was so approachable and her responses were nearly as entertaining as her books. I think that each girl, and some moms, left inspired to do some writing.

Who knows? We could evolve into Book Babes: The Mother-Daughter Reading And Writing Club.