TeenFusion @ the GDL

Votes for YALSA’s top ten teen reads from books published in 2007 have be tabulated.  Here are the results.

10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

 9.  Before I Die by Jenny Downham

 8.  Extras by Scott Westerfeld

 7.  The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

 6.  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 5.  Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

 4.  Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

 3.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney

 2.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K Rowling

 1.  Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Is your favorite book on the list?

Each year YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Associations) gives teens the opportunity to select and vote for their favorite books published over the past year.  It’s time to vote for your favorite teen read of 2008.  Click here to go directly to the YALSA ballot.  Don’t worry about titles you haven’t read, just choose from the titles you have enjoyed reading.  To locate or request a featured title, visit the GDL online catalog.

I recently checked out Jango by William Nicholson.  The first few chapters are not holding my attention.  If you have read this book, your opinion would be appreciated.  Jango is one of twenty titles on YALSA’s selection list for the 2008 Teen Top Ten.  Vote for your favorite title during Teen Read Week, October 12-18, 2008.  Click here For the selection list with brief descriptions.

The next installement of Christopher Paolini’s fantasy adventure, Brisingr or the Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjarskular, is available for holds.  If you would like to know more about the author click here to visit the BookPage interview by Karen Holt. 

                                                                                                                                                                                

                               

 

  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Alexie, Sherman

Wins the 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.  
Find out why this book has the attention of critics and readers.  This is an amazing story of breaking out of the confines of tradition to explore the possibilities of life outside the reservation. 

May 30 is the last day to submit a vote for the 2008 Thumbs Up! Book Award.  Click here to vote for your favorite teen fiction title published in 2007.  From the final list of twenty, one will receive the Thumbs Up Award with recognition going to the remaining top ten.  Votes tabulated at GDL have Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson in the lead with 24, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is second with 7 and Freak Show by James St. James is third with 5.  Your book review or opinions on titles read are welcome in the comments section. 

Another great title from the 2008 Thumbs Up! List

Twisted

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twist number one, quiet, unassuming Tyler Miller unleashes his creative wild side on the school with a few cans of spray paint. Twist number two, the presentation of a perfect family hides the reality of the Millers’ constant conflict. Twist number three, the wonder-girl of your dreams turns into your worst nightmare. As the rope of Tyler’s life twists tighter every day, he creeps closer to an inevitable resolution. Ms. Anderson’s vivid images of a teen in crisis pull you into the story, where, page by page, each challenge Tyler faces seems to multiply out of control.

One of twenty contenders for the Michigan Library Association’s Teen Services Division Thumbs Up! Award for 2008.  What do you think about the book?

 

    The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 

   

                 by Sherman Alexie

 

Though fiction, the basis of True Diary is from Mr. Alexie’s life on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington.  If you listen to the audio version, you will hear not only the written words, but the oral interpretation performed by the author.  The first few minutes of his slow paced, low tones seem awkward, but the story soon pulls the listener into Junior’s (Arnold Spirit) life and his realization of a dead end future if he stays on the reservation.  Ridicule from his fellow tribe members and the hardships of poverty plague his determination to achieve a place for himself in the white community of Reardan.  Listen to Arnold Spirit’s story as he searches for acceptance within his Spokane Tribe and the many tribes he encounters off the reservation.

Already saluted for literary excellence by parents, book sellers, newspapers, review journals and the publishing world, the Thumbs Up! Committee includes it in their top twenty titles from 2007.  To learn more about Sherman Alexie and True Diary, click here for biographies and reviews.