Teens' Top Ten

Each year, groups of teens nominate their favorite books of the year and then voting is open to all teens (12 - 18 years old) to determine the Teens' Top Ten books of the year.

See more about Teens' Top Ten here.

Watch the nominees announced here.

See the complete list of nominees here.

Vote for your favorites here.

Our library owns the following titles as books, eBooks, and/or eAudiobooks.  Click the links below to check out or reserve these titles.  If you'd like to read a book we don't own, you may fill out a suggestion for purchase form here and we'll purchase it for our library.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken -  eBook

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum -  eBook  eAudiobook

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - book  eBook  eAudiobook

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - eBook

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle - book  

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow - eBook

The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid - eBook

Heartless by Marissa Meyer - eBook  eAudiobook

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp - eBook

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo - book  eBook

Scythe by Neal Shusterman - eBook

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch - eBook

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - book  eBook eAudiobook

Teens' Top Ten

 

The Teens' Top Ten is a teen choice list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year.  More information is available here.

The 2016 Teens’ Top Ten titles are listed below. 

Click on the titles to see the books in our catalog.  If you'd like us to have a book that we don't already own, click on "request it" to submit a suggestion for us to purchase it.

1. Alive by Chandler Baker (request it here)
   Stella Cross has received a heart transplant, but it has not stopped her emotional suffering.
   Then a mysterious boy named Levi Zin comes into her life. Stella’s pain goes away whenever she’s around Levi. However, Stella finds out a terrible secret about Levi. Can it be true?
   
2. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (Y Fiction and ebook)
   Death plays a big role in the lives of high schoolers Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. He is constantly on the verge of suicide, and she is battling grief after her sister’s death. The Indiana teens come together to work on a project and soon develop a bond, showing each other what it’s like to live.
   
3. The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough (request it here)
   Set in Seattle in the 1920s, a romance develops between Flora, who is African American, and Henry, who is white. Despite some differences, the pair has much in common, including a shared love of jazz music. However, it turns out that Flora and Henry actually are pawns in a game played by two other characters – Love and Death. This book is full of intrigue and is, at times, heartbreaking, and will have the reader racing to the final pages.
   
4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Y Fiction)
   Young criminal genius Kaz Brekker is offered the chance to pull off a dangerous theft that can make him rich. He recruits a gang of six dangerous misfits to help him with the heist. The book follows the crew’s crazy adventure and features plot twists, betrayals, and schemes aplenty.
   
5. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (Y Fiction and ebook)
   Maddy is a teenager with a serious autoimmune disease that prevents her from leaving the house. Yet, she seems content to stay home and read books. That is until a boy named Olly moves in next door. The two meet, and their quirky relationship is chronicled through emails, journal entries, IMs and old notes.
   
6. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (request it here)
   Samantha McAllister seems to have it all: she is beautiful, bright and part of the popular crowd in high school. But looks can be deceiving, and she is hiding the fact she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Samantha’s life changes after she visits a place at school called Poet’s Corner and she begins hanging out with new friends like Caroline and AJ.
   
7. The Novice: Summoner: Book One by Taran Matharu (request it here)
   A blacksmith’s apprentice named Fletcher discovers he can summon demons from another world. He soon gets chased out of his village for a crime he did not commit, ending up at an academy for adepts, where he is trained to serve as a Battlemage in the Empire’s war against the savage Orcs. Eventually, Fletcher discovers the fate of the Empire is in his hands.
   
8. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Y Fiction and ebook)
   Kady and Ezra have just broken up, and then their planet is bombed by a megacorporation. The pair escapes to a government ship, but must put their differences aside in order to survive and stop a plague that has resulted from the use of a bioweapon.
   
9. When by Victoria Laurie (request it here)
   High school junior Maddie Fynn has special powers that allow her to see numbers above a person’s forehead, which she soon discovers are death dates. She identifies the death date of a young boy, but is unable to prevent his disappearance. Then, Maddie becomes a suspect in a homicide investigation.
   
10. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten (request it here)
    June and Delia were best friends who grew apart. Then, Delia commits suicide. Or, at least that’s what others have been told. June believes her former best friend has been murdered, and she goes on a quest to find the truth . . . which, it turns out, is very complicated.
    

Annotations provided by the Teens' Top Ten book groups and publicized by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association).

Teens' Top Ten

 

The Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year.  

An annotated list of the 2015 Teens' Top Ten nominees is here.

The 2015 Teens’ Top Ten titles are:  (Click on the titles to see the books in our catalog.)

1. The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
2.  I Become Shadow by Joe Shine
3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
4. My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak (Y Fiction - new books)
5. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (ebook)
6. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare (Y Fiction - new books)
7. The Young Elites by Marie Lu (Y Fiction - new books)
8. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson (Y Fiction)
9. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson (Y Fiction - new books)
10. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith (Y Fiction - new books)

Check out the video featuring 2015 Teen Read Week™ spokesperson, Bella Thorne!

If you liked The Fault in our Stars

If you liked The Fault in our Stars by John Green, try some of these similar books.  Click on a title to read a summary or reserve the book.  Have you read any of them?  What did you think?

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Zac and Mia by A. J. Betts

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Every Day by David Levithan (or on Playaway)

Read It Before You See It

Several movies based on teen books will be released this year.  We own all of these books, so stop in to check them out.  

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Movie release date: February 14, 2014 moved up to February 7, 2014
See the books in the series in our catalog here or here on mobile devices.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Movie release date: March 21, 2014
See the books in the series here or here on mobile devices.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Movie release date:  June 6, 2014
See the book here or here on mobile devices.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Movie release date:  August 15, 2014
See the book here or here on mobile devices.

  

The Maze Runner by James Dasnher
Movie release date: September 19, 2014
See the books here or here on mobile devices.

Youth Media Awards

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2013 youth media awards today.

Books that we have in our library are listed below.  See the complete list of winners here and check our catalog to see which ones are available or reserve them.

 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:

In Darkness by Nick Lake
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Shorty, a poor, fifteen-year-old gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a hospital and as he grows weaker, he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in 1804.

Printz Honor Book in our library:


Code Name Verity by  Elizabeth Wein
In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must do to survive while keeping secret all that she can.








Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:

Teen award winner:

Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis
Wounded in Iraq while his Army unit is on convoy and treated for many months for traumatic brain injury, the first person Ben remembers from his earlier life is his autistic brother. 








Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.  This year's winner is Tamora Pierce.  Her books in our library include the Song of the Lioness series and Protector of the Small series.


Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Read about the real Ivan who inspired the story here.







Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children:

Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Recounts the scientific discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.

Sibert Honor Books in our library:

Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by Robert Byrd 
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

  

Laura Ingallls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.  This year's winner is Katherine Paterson.  Her books in our library include Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins.



See additional award winners and honor books here. 

Teens' Top Ten

The 2012 Teens' Top Ten list was announced to kick off Teen Read Week.  Each year, teens nominate and vote for their favorite books of the previous year.  See the winners and nominations in our catalog here.

We've made our own top ten lists of books published  last year based on how many times there were checked out. 

How many have you read?  Which one is your favorite?

Here are the top ten from our teen section:

1 (tie) What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
1 (tie) Flawless: A Pretty Little Liars Novel by Sara Shepard
1 (tie) Angel: A Maximun Ride Novel by James Patterson
4  Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton
5 (tie) I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
5 (tie) Crossed by Allyson Condie
7 (tie) The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer
7 (tie) Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
7 (tie) Matched by Allyson Condie
7 (tie) Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
7 (tie) The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Here are our top ten teen books from our juvenile section:

1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever 
2 The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
3 (tie) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik
3 (tie) Sign of the Moon by Erin Hunte
5 Ten Rules for Living with my Sister by Ann Martin
6 The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
7 (tie) A World without Heroes by Brandon Mull
7 (tie) Spirits in the Stars by Erin Hunter
7 (tie) Quest for the Spark by Tom Sniegoski
7 (tie) The Emerald Casket by Richard Newsome

Dork Diaries Readalikes

Have you read all of the Dork Diaries?  Are you looking for something else to read?  Try some of these:

Amelia series by Marissa Moss

Boys are Dogs by Leslie Margolis

Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

How I Survived Middle School by Nancy Krulik

Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm

Teens' Top Ten

Each year, YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) creates a list of Teens' Top Ten titles from books published in the last year.  Books are nominated by teens and the winners are determined by teens voting for their favorites.

See more information here and submit your vote here.

See the list of books in our library here.  

New Books

Today is the last day to receive prizes for your summer reading, but don't let that stop you from reading! Check out these new books to enjoy reading during your last weeks of summer.

We have several new additions to favorite series:
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Legacies by Pittacus Lore
Nevermore: The Final Maximum Ride Adventure by James Patterson
Rapture: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate

We also have recently received several new books on the list of nominations for the Teens' Top Teen list.  See the list here.  Read them and be ready to vote for your favorite later this month.

  

  

   

100 Best-Ever Teen Books

Have you seen the list of "100 Best-Ever Teen Books" compiled by NPR?  What do you think of the list?   For the newer books, do you think they'll remain a "best-ever" or are they just "best right now?" 

Hunger Games

Did you like The Hunger Games? Are you looking for something similar to read? Find a new book in this flow chart from Lawrence Public Library. We have most of the books in our library and can request others for you through MeLCat.

Teen Book Finder App

If you have an Apple device, see this free Teen Book Finder app to find book suggestions from lists of award winning books, create your own reading lists, share books on Twitter and Facebook, and more.  

2012 Book Awards

The American Library Association recently announced several 2012 youth book award winners.

Click on the book titles to see them in our catalog. (It may take a minute for our catalog to load.)

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What were your favorite books from last year?
Printz Award
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Printz Honor Books


Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
The Returning by Christine Hinwood
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Michael L. Printz Award is awarded for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. See more information about the Newbery Medal and past winners here.

Newbery Medal Winner



Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Newbery Honor Books

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

The Newbery Medal is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. See more information about the Newbery Medal and past winners here.


Sibert Medal Winner



Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

Sibert Honor Books

Black and White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene "Bull" Connor by Larry Dane Brimner
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. See more information about the Sibert Medal and past winners here.

2011 Most Popular Books

It seems that everyone is creating a "best books" type of list at this time of year, so here's ours. Our list includes the most often checked out books in our library this year. What do you think? Have you read them? What's your favorite?

Teen Fiction

1. The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
2. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
3. Jane by April Lindner
4. Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
5. Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
6. Z by Michael Thomas Ford
7. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
8. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
9. Chosen by Ted Dekker
10. Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

Teen Series

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Maximum Ride by James Patterson
4. Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan
5. The Immortals by Alyson Noel

Teens' Top Ten

YALSA announced the 2011 Teens' Top Ten books today.

What is your pick for the best book of the last year?

1. The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
6. Matched by Ally Condie
7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Thumbs Up! Award

2011 Thumbs Up! Award

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

Honor Books:

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Click here for more information about the Thumbs Up! Award.

Teen Read Week

This week is Teen Read Week. The 2010 Teens' Top Ten Winners were announced Monday.

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
2. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
3. Heist Society by Ally Carter
4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
7. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
9. Fire by Kristin Cashore
10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Edible Haunted House programs will be held Thursday at 3:30 for 6th - 8th graders and at 5:00 for 9th - 12th graders. We'll make haunted houses from graham crackers, icing, and decorations. Please call or stop by the library to register.

2010 Teens' Top Ten

Vote now through September 17 for your favorite book for YALSA's 2010 Teens' Top Ten list.
Vote here.
Check our catalog to find books from the list.

Vote for the 2010 Thumbs Up! Book Award

The nominees for the 2010 Thumbs Up! Book Award have been announced. Now is your chance to vote for your choice.

Pick up a ballot from the library or print one here. All votes must be received by May 29.

Here are links to the books we own. Others may be requested through MeLCat (our interlibrary loan system).

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (also on Playaway)
Fat Cat by Robin Brande
Fire by Kristin Cashore
The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford
If I Stay: A Novel by Gayle Forman
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-year-old GI by Ryan Smithson
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
The Monstrumologist: William James Henry by Richard Yancey

The Thumbs Up! Award was established in 1986 to recognize the excellence, and to celebrate the uniqueness of Teen/Young Adult literature. A committee, consisting of Young Adult and Teen Librarians, meets several times during the year to determine the winner. Beginning in 2001, the Thumbs Up! Committee has included a teen vote. For more information or to see previous winners, visit the Michigan Library Association's website.