Book Lists, Award Winners, and Recommendations for Summer Reading – 2007
List compiled by Jessica Langlois Reference and YA Librarian
Middletown Public Library 401-846-1573
referencejess@coollibrarian.com
This list is a resources for middle and high school English teachers who are looking for new additions to their summer reading lists. However, this is also just a great list if you or your teen is looking for something good to read.
Click on the titles for Book Reviews!
ALA Teens’ Top Ten – 2006 (FICTION)
Teens were encouraged to vote for their favorite young adult books during Teen Read Week from the official nomination list posted online at the Teens’ Top Ten site. Over 5000 online ballots were cast and the results, combined with the results of a separate vote of the TTT groups, determined the final ranking of the 10 top books of the year, as selected by teen readers.
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
3. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
4. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
5. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
7. Poison by Chris Wooding
8. Captain Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart
9. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor
10. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers – 2007 (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
The Quick Picks committee seeks books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure. The list is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read. The list is not intended for teenagers with reading disabilities, though some of the selected titles may be appropriate for those teens. Teen input is a vital aspect in the final decision of the committee.
- Played. Davidson, Dana.
- Blue Bloods. de la Cruz, Melissa.
- What Happened to Cass McBride. Giles, Gail.
- Emily the Strange: The Lost Issue. Gruner, Jessica and Parker, Buzz
- Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh. Saltz, Ina. non-fiction
- Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Perception. Seckel, Al. non-fiction
- The Sleeper Conspiracy. Sniegoski, Tom. Also Sleeper Code and Sleeper Agenda.
- Street Pharm. van Diepen, Allison.
- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives Warren, Frank. non-fiction
ALA Alex Awards 2007 (FICTION)
The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing.
- The Book of Lost Things. Connolly, John.
- The Whistling Season. Doig, Ivan.
- Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and A High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska. D'Orso, Michael.
- Water for Elephants. Gruen, Sara.
- Floor of the Sky. Joern, Pamela Carter.
- Color of the Sea. Hamamura, John.
- The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Lewis, Michael.
- Black Swan Green. Mitchell, David.
- The World Made Straight. Rash, Ron.
- The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield, Diane.
ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults – 2007 (FICTION)
1. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party. Ande
2. Samurai Shortstop. Gratz, Alan. (Very well-reviewed. Good title for boys)
3. Surrender. Hartnett, Sonya.
4. Sold. McCormick, Patricia.
5. Anahita’s Woven Riddle. Sayres, Meghan Nuttall.
6. The Trap. Smelcer, John.
7. The King of Attolia. Turner, Megan Whalen.
8. The Rules of Survival. Werlin, Nancy.
9. American Born Chinese. Yang, Gene Luen. (This is a graphic novel. 2007 Printz Award)
10. The Book Thief. Zusak, Markus. (This has been an extremely well-reviewed and POPULAR title!)
ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award 2006
The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, that have been popular over a period of time. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
Jacqueline Woodson is the recipient of the 2006 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens.
Woodson’s sensitive and lyrical books reveal and give a voice to outsiders often invisible to mainstream America. The award was announced January 23 at the 2006 Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in San Antonio
"I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This,” and its sequel, “Lena,” (reprint available in fall 2006), both from G. P. Putnam Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, tell a story of interracial friendship with no pat solutions to the problems of race, class, abandonment and abuse, while a compassionate community offers hope and support. A young boy records his fears that his mother’s new lesbian relationship will change their family bond in “From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun,” published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic.
First love, tender and fragile, flowers for Ellie and Jeremiah, even as the pressure and prejudice of society work against them in “If You Come Softly.” Preserving family is at the heart of “Miracle’s Boys,” as three very different brothers struggle to move beyond grief and loss to forge a bond strong enough to prevail against poverty, anger and the lure of the streets. Both titles are published by G. P. Putnam Sons.
“Woodson’s books are powerful, groundbreaking and very personal explorations of the many ways in which identity and friendship transcend the limits of stereotype,” said Edwards Award Committee chair Mary Arnold.“Her captivating and richly drawn characters struggle and grow and celebrate who they are in the world, and reveal to readers exciting possibilities for their own lives.
Woodson says, “I feel compelled to write against stereotypes, hoping people will see that some issues know no color, class, sexuality.
ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award 2007
Lois Lowry, author of "The Giver," is the recipient of the 2007 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens.
"The Giver," published by Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Company, explores a future where differences have been erased and strict rules govern society. The novel tells the story of Jonas, a young man designated as the new Receiver of Memory for his community.
Little by little, Lowry reveals what is absent from Jonas’ life: color, pain, love. Readers, along with Jonas, discover that lack of freedom is too heavy a price to pay for security.
"‘The Giver’ is a timeless classic with widespread teen appeal," said Edwards Committee Chair Mary Hastler. "Lowry’s complex and provocative novel, translated into 22 languages, remains infinitely discussable."
In fact, "The Giver" was one of the most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000, as recorded by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. A challenge is a formal, written attempt to remove a book from a library or classroom.
Published in 1993, "The Giver" continues to provide a mechanism for teens to understand themselves, the world in which they live and their relationships with others and with society.
"The book has held a unique position in teen literature. Lowry’s exceptional use of metaphors and subtle complexity make it a book that will be discussed, debated and challenged for years to come…a perfect teen read," Hastler said.
Lowry lives in Boston and continues to provide support to those fighting censorship attempts against this complex novel.
ALA The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature 2007
Gene Luen Yang has won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award for his masterful graphic novel “American Born Chinese.” The book is published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.
Yang draws from American pop culture and ancient Chinese mythology in his groundbreaking work. Expertly told in words and pictures, Yang’s story in three parts follows a Chinese American teenager’s struggle to define himself against racial stereotypes. “American Born Chinese” is the first graphic novel to be recognized by the Michael L. Printz Committee.
2007 Printz Honor Books
1. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing,
Traitor to the Nation; v.1: The Pox Party by M. T.
Anderson
2. Abundance of Katherines by John Green
3. Surrender by Sonya Hartnett
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Reading Across Rhode Island 2007
The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
(former East Providence resident)
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award Winners
The Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award is presented for historical fiction published by a U.S. publisher and set in the New World.
Gateway Readers Award Winners
Because reading is the gateway to knowledge and lifelong learning, because the teen years are the gateway to adulthood, and because Missouri was the gateway to the Old West, the Gateway Readers Award is for authors of books chosen by high school students in Missouri.
