According to the YALSA website, here are 2011's top 10 best fiction books, for young adults. I have yet to seriously look into any of these titles - but so far, I'm intrigued by both Bamboo People and Last Night I Sang to the Monster, from what I've read on YALSA.
If any of you read any of the books on the list - please let me know...I'm always looking for a great YA read.
For the complete list of 99 books selected, please see their website.
2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
In addition to the 99 titles selected for the full Best Fiction for Young Adults list, the 2011 committee has selected the following as the ten best fiction titles for young adults.
Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. Little, Brown, & Co., 2010. $17.99. 978-0-316-05621-2.
Nailer is a light crew scavenger tearing up old hulks of ships, living day to day, until a rich girl and her gleaming ship run ashore in a storm on the beach and his life gets more dangerous.
Donnelly, Jennifer. Revolution. Random House Children's Books/Delacorte, 2010. 978-0-385-73763-0; $18.99.
Haunted by the death of her brother, Andi is taken to Paris by her estranged father where an encounter with a mysterious diary may bring her back from the edge.
*Marchetta, Melina. Finnikin of the Rock. Candlewick, 2010. $18.99. 978-0-7636-4361-4.
Finnikin and his fellow exiles from Lumatere wish to return to their cursed homeland. Finnikin must go on an epic journey with a mute novice named Evanjalin to return home.
Matson, Morgan. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour.2010. Simon & Schuster, 2010. $16.99. 978-1-4169-9065-9.
Amy and Roger must both learn to deal with loss while on a road trip across the country which doesn't go as expected.
McBride, Lish. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. Macmillan Children's Book Group/Henry Holt, 2010. $16.99. 978-0-805-09098-7..
When Sam discovers he is a necromancer he must learn to control his power in order to defeat a powerful and corrupt rival and save his friends.
Mulligan, Andy. Trash. David Fickling Books, 2010. $16.99. 978-0-385-75214-5.
Three garbage-picker boys find an item of great value to a corrupt politician on their rounds, setting off a tense hunt to see who will triumph.
Perkins, Mitali. Bamboo People. Charlesbridge, 2010. $16.95. 978-1-58089-328-2.
Chiko, a Burmese soldier and Tu Reh, a Kerenni refugee meet on opposite sides of war and each must learn what it means to be a man of his people.
Reinhardt, Dana. The Things a Brother Knows. Random House Children's Books/Wendy Lamb, 2010. $16.99. 978-0-375-84455-3.
Boaz is back and hailed as the hometown hero, but he is not at all the same. Can his younger brother Levi help him truly make his way home?
Saenz, Benjamin. Last Night I Sang to the Monster. Cinco Puntos Press, 2009. $16.95. 978-1-933693-58-3.
Weeks in therapy go by and 18-year-old Zach is still unable to remember the monstrous events that left him alone and haunted by nightmares.
Sedgwick, Marcus. Revolver. Roaring Brook Press, 2010. $16.99. 978-1-59643-592-6;
Sig is alone with his father’s body when the lawless man his father had managed to escape appears out of the icy wilderness.
Nailer is a light crew scavenger tearing up old hulks of ships, living day to day, until a rich girl and her gleaming ship run ashore in a storm on the beach and his life gets more dangerous.
Haunted by the death of her brother, Andi is taken to Paris by her estranged father where an encounter with a mysterious diary may bring her back from the edge.
Finnikin and his fellow exiles from Lumatere wish to return to their cursed homeland. Finnikin must go on an epic journey with a mute novice named Evanjalin to return home.
Amy and Roger must both learn to deal with loss while on a road trip across the country which doesn't go as expected.
When Sam discovers he is a necromancer he must learn to control his power in order to defeat a powerful and corrupt rival and save his friends.
Three garbage-picker boys find an item of great value to a corrupt politician on their rounds, setting off a tense hunt to see who will triumph.
Chiko, a Burmese soldier and Tu Reh, a Kerenni refugee meet on opposite sides of war and each must learn what it means to be a man of his people.
Boaz is back and hailed as the hometown hero, but he is not at all the same. Can his younger brother Levi help him truly make his way home?
Weeks in therapy go by and 18-year-old Zach is still unable to remember the monstrous events that left him alone and haunted by nightmares.
Sig is alone with his father’s body when the lawless man his father had managed to escape appears out of the icy wilderness.