Welcome back to our 4-part series highlighting the 24 titles nominated (by teenagers; no grown-up opinions polluting the list!) for this year’s Teens’ Top Ten list. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here, if you missed them earlier. Voting starts this week, on August 15, so encourage the teenagers you know to exercise their right to influence sales, movie deals, and publishing trends by voting here.
Here are the penultimate 6 books nominated for the Teens’ Top Ten list this year:
Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson – In this, Matson’s third stand-alone contemporary fiction title, relationships and personal growth share center stage with the unique pleasures of summer’s disrupted routines and subsequent possibilities for change. Matson’s first novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, was a 2011 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults pick and a 2012 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick, and her second novel, Second Chance Summer, was a 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, so her work is already well-established. Matson has an author page, and is active on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen – The third and final volume in the bestselling, historical-fantasy Ascendence trilogy. The first title in the series, The False Prince, was a 2013 Teens’ Top Ten book and a 2015 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick. Nielsen has an author page here (currently highlighting the first book in her newest series, The Mark of the Thief), and she’s also on Twitter and Facebook. A movie adaptation of The False Prince is currently underway (it’s still in the scripting phase, so it’ll be awhile still), and rumor (aka The Hollywood Reporter has it that a Game of Thrones story editor is in charge of the adaptation, so this has certainly has the potential to stick around and continue to attract more readers.
My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak – Very nearly a pure romance novel (angst! multiple romantic contenders! chiseled abs!), Novak began writing this, her fiction debut, when she was just 15, and posted the novel to Wattpad, where it drew a large and enthusiastic following, eventually landing her a book deal. This teen-debut-author angle makes her a fun pick for teens looking for writerly inspiration. Novak still posts work to Wattpad, and she’s also on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and has an author page.
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson – The author who gave us The Adoration of Jenna Fox (a 2009 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults title) switches gears and starts a new historical fantasy series. The Kiss of Deception has already been listed as a 2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, and reviews for the second book of the Remnant Chronicles, The Heart of Betrayal (published last month), are truly stellar. Pearson can be found online here, and she’s also on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski – First in a new series (enthusiastic readers will be pleased to know the second installment, The Winner’s Crime, is out now), The Winner’s Curse is also on the 2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults list, and Rutkoski already has several other well-reviewed titles under her belt (The Shadow Society, The Kronos Chronicles middle grade series). She has an author page, and is on Pinterest and Twitter.
Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott – Described by the publisher as Hunger Games meets The Amazing Race (that’s quite a hook!), this thriller already has a sequel available (Salt and Stone), and a new stand-alone title, Titans, is slated for February 2016. Scott has an author page, and is on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, as well as maintaining a YouTube channel.
Discovered something cool about any of the nominees? Please share in the comments! I’m attempting to read them all this year (7 down so far, could be a stretch to finish by October), and have been delighted by the sheer variety of titles.
-Carly Pansulla, currently reading Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon