Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2024) Nominees Round Up, Summer Edition

  • A Door in the Dark
  • by Scott Reintgen
  • March 28, 2023
  • Length: 361 p.
  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99 
  • ISBN: 9781665918688
  • Reading Level: Gr. 10 – 12

Working class wizard Ren Monroe does her best at Balmerick University to prove her magic prowess so she can be recruited by a major house. When a portal spell malfunctions, she is transported with five other students to dangerous wilderness days from home.

  • Aces Wild: A Heist
  • by Amanda DeWitt
  • September 13, 2022
  • Length: 345 p.
  • Publisher: Peachtree Teen, $17.99
  • ISBN: 9781682634660
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12

When Jack Shannon’s mother, an infamous casino owner, is arrested, Jack’s four friends from an online asexual support group travel to Vegas to help him infiltrate the secret gambling den of his mother’s rival, organized crime boss Peter Carlevaro, in order to find evidence to take Carlevaro down.

  • Always the Almost
  • by Edward Underhill
  • February 14, 2023
  • Length: 307 p.
  • Publisher: Wednesday Books, $18.99
  • Reading Level: Gr.9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250835208

Miles makes a New Year’s resolution to win back his ex-boyfriend and defeat his piano rival. When he meets Eric, a kind and thoughtful new kid, and starts practicing with a new piano teacher, Miles begins to learn more about himself and what he really wants.

  • As You Walk On By
  • by Julian Winters
  • January 17, 2023
  • Length: 328 p.
  • Publisher: Viking, $18.99
  • ISBN: 9780593206508

Seventeen year-old Theo finds himself hiding in a bedroom during a party following his promposal that goes horribly wrong. As, one by one, Theo’s fellow classmates pop into that bedroom seeking refuge of their own, an unlikely group forms that changes the status quo.

  • Becoming a Queen
  • by Dan Clay
  • April 25, 2023
  • Length: 407 p.
  • Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 8-12
  • ISBN: 9781250843098

Mark Davis wore a pretty dress and his boyfriend broke up with him. Now Mark is on his road to a new romance and self-acceptance when tragedy strikes, and he must figure out who he wants to be in order to move on.

  • Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything
  • by Justine Pucella Winans
  • April 11, 2023
  • Length: 362 p.
  • Publisher: Clarion Books, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780358721642 Gr. 9 – 12

Bianca Torre enjoys bird and people from their bedroom window. When they witness the murder of their neighbor, they start a bizarre journey to solve the murder, despite having a long list of fears. Through the process, they also find themselves and valuable relationships. Click here to check out our review of this title.

  • Chaos Theory
  • By Nic Stone
  • February 28, 2023
  • Length: 278 p.
  • Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 8-12
  • ISBN: 9780593307700

Genius high school senior, Shelbi, meets politician’s son, Andy, on one of his worst days, and reaches out to help. Their unlikely friendship becomes more, but they both have complicated pasts that might end up keeping them apart.

  • City of Nightmares
  • By Rebecca Schaeffer
  • January 10, 2023
  • Length: 374 p.
  • Publisher: Clarion, $18.99
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780358647300

No one dreams in Newham, where pills and treated water keep sleeping people safe from transforming into literal Nightmares. After surviving a ferry bombing, self-described coward Ness works with the other survivor, Cy, a Nightmare, to investigate why they are still being targeted, leading them to uncover a dark conspiracy.

  • Dear Medusa
  • By Olivia Cole
  • March 14, 2023
  • Length: 377 p.
  • Publisher: Labyrinth Road, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780593485736

After being sexually abused by a popular teacher at her school Alicia feels cut off from the world around her, until one day, she gets a note from another survivor. Click here to read our review of this title.

  • Enter the Body
  • By Joy McCullough
  • March 14, 2023
  • Length: 320 p.
  • Publisher: Dutton Books, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780593406755

Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia–victims of violence and misogyny in Shakespeare’s tragedies–share their versions of the events in their lives and have the opportunity to rewrite their tragedies.

HighlySupciousAndUnfairlyCutebyTaliaHibbert
  • Heartbreak Boys
  • By Simon James Green
  • December 20, 2022
  • Length: 376 p.
  • Publisher: Clarion Books, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 8-12
  • ISBN: 9780358617259

Jack and Nate used to be best friends, but have not spoken in years. When they find out on prom night that their boyfriends have secretly been seeing each other, they take off on a summer road trip to prove that they are living their best lives and start to remember along the way why they were friends and why now maybe they could be more.

  • Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
  • By Talia Hibbert
  • January 3, 2023
  • Length: 319 p.
  • Publisher: Joy Revolution, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780593482339

Celine and Brad used to be best friends, until Brad ditched Celine for the in-crowd. Now, they’re academic rivals. When they both sign up for a survival course in the woods, with a scholarship as the grand prize, their competition brings up long-buried resentments, but also the possibility of reconciliation. Click here to read our review of this title.

  • How To Succeed in Witchcraft
  • By Aislinn Brophy
  • September 27, 2022
  • Length: 406 p.
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780593354520

Shay Johnson is one of the top witches at her school To win the coveted Brockton Scholarship, ensuring her admittance to the college of her dreams, Shay must step outside her comfort zone to do the school musical with a teacher who has questionable motives. Click here to read our review of this title.

  • Promise Boys
  • By Nick Brooks
  • January 31, 2023
  • Length: 294 p.
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250866974

J.B., Ramón, and Trey are students at the prestigious and strict Urban Promise Prep School when their principal is murdered and the three become the prime suspects. Click here to read our review of this title.

RainRisingbyCourtneComrie
  • Rain Rising
  • by Courtne Comrie
  • September 27, 2022
  • Length: 327 p.
  • Publisher: Harper Collins, $16.99
  • Reading Level: Gr. 5.12
  • ISBN: 9780063159730

Rain is struggling to find out who she is and where she fits in during her eighth grade year of school when her beloved older brother is attacked during a college visit in what appears to be a racially motivated beating. Click here to read our review.

  • Remind Me to Hate You Later
  • by Lizzy Mason
  • February 28, 2023
  • Length: 308 p.
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury YA, $18.99
  • Reading Level: G. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781547609185

Reeling from the death of her best friend, Jules, by suicide. Natalie must learn how to move on with her life as she grapples with blaming herself and Jules’s mom, a lifestyle blogger. Told in dual narration between Jules and Natalie.  

  • Saints of the Household
  • by Ari Tison
  • March 28, 2023
  • Length: 312 p.
  • Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780374389499

Max and Jay are brothers who have relied on each for everything including protecting their mother from an abusive father. After a violent altercation with a classmate, they begin a journey of healing through an exploration of their Bribri American identity as well as looking outward to others for help.

  • Self-Made Boys
  • by Anna-Marie McLemore
  • September 6, 2022
  • Length: 304 p.
  • Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250774934

It’s the 1920’s, and seventeen year old Latinx Nicolás Caraveo, a transgender boy from Wisconsin, has come to New York seeking professional success, but finds himself caught up in much more when he is introduced to his cousin Daisy’s glamorous world.

  • She Is a Haunting
  • by Trang Thanh Tran
  • February 28, 2023
  • Length: 341 p.
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781547610815

When Jade Nguyen visits her estranged father in Vietnam, she plans to help him restore his French colonial home, in exchange for the college money he promised. Instead, she finds the house haunted by its past, hungry for visitors, and willing to keep her entire family within its walls forever.

  • Star Splitter
  • by Matthew Kirby
  • April 25, 2023
  • Length: 305 p.
  • Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 7-12
  • ISBN: 9780735231665

In 2199, space exploration and teleportation are routine and considered safe. However, when 17-year-old Jessica is made to travel via teleportation to be reunited with her parents and assist them with a science expedition, she wakes up confused and alone on a crashed lander.

  • Spell Bound
  • by F.T. Lukens
  • April 4, 2023
  • Length: 323 p.
  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: 7-12
  • ISBN: 9781665916226

Rook is a genius who grew up around magic, but isn’t magical. He gets a job working in the office of the famous sorceress Antonia Hex who handles magical emergencies. Rook soon realizes he must break the rules in order to become who he was always meant to be. Click here to read our review.

  • Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell
  • by Tobias Madden
  • January 3, 2023
  • Length: 373 p.
  • Publisher: Page Street, $18.99 
  • ISBN: 9781645677062

Noah Mitchell never wants to leave the safe haven of his computer gaming world, until he discovers his crush is participating in a local musical theater production. Determined to develop a real relationship, Noah joins the cast and discovers he might have gotten himself in a bit too deep. 

  • The Buried and the Bound
  • by Rochelle Hassan
  • January 24, 2023
  • Length: 375 p.
  • Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250822208

When the barrier between her hometown and the adjacent fairyland in the woods starts thinning, Aziza must team up with a cursed high school student and a mysterious necromancer to save the city they call home. 

  • The Do-Over
  • by Lynn Painter
  • November 15, 2022
  • Length: 291 p.
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781534478862

Emilie Hornby gets stuck in a time loop where she is forced to relive the most dreadful Valentine’s Day over and over again, but she soon discovers that running into her grumpy and cute Chemistry partner may not be the worst thing to ever happen.

The Secrets We Keep by Cassie Gustafson
  • The Q
  • by Amy Tintera
  • November 8, 2022
  • Length: 343 p.
  • Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780593486177

Lennon Pierce, son of a U.S. presidential candidate, is kidnapped and dropped into the Q, a walled off quarantine zone for those previously infected by a mysterious virus. Maisie Rojas, trusted lieutenant to the leader of the southern Q zone, must get him to safety before time runs out.

  • The Secrets We Keep
  • by Cassie Gustafson
  • November 8, 2022
  • Length: 340 p.
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR, $19.99 
  • ISBN: 9781665906944

Fifteen-year-old Emma’s life is turned upside down when her father is accused of molesting Hannah, her best–and only–friend in this hopeful story of two sexual abuse survivors. Click here to read our review.

  • The Sharp Edge of Silence
  • by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum
  • April 11, 2023
  • Length: 473 p.
  • Publisher: Quill Tree Books, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9780062932105

Quinn, Max, and Charlotte must decide how far they are willing to go to end the tacitly accepted rape culture at their prestigious boarding Lycroft Phelps School.

  • This Is Not a Personal Statement
  • by Tracy Badua
  • January 17, 2023
  • Length: 341 p.
  • Publisher: Quill Tree Books, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 10-12
  • ISBN: 9780063217751

When sixteen-year-old Filipina American Perla, reluctantly dubbed “Perfect Perlie Perez,” receives a rejection letter from Delmont University, the school her ambitious perfectionist parents want her to attend, she panics, makes a convincing fake acceptance letter, and then plans to secretly live on campus until she can apply again.

  • Warrior Girl Unearthed
  • by Angeline Boulley
  • May 2, 2023
  • Length: 396 p.
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250766588

Perry Firekeeper-Birch finds herself embroiled in a plot to steal the remains of her tribal ancestors before they are turned over to a university museum or sold to private collectors.

  • We Are All So Good at Smiling
  • by Amber McBride
  • January 10, 2023
  • Length: 283 p.
  • Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250780386

Whimsy is back in the hospital to treat her ongoing clinical depression. This time proves different and life changing when she meets a boy there named Faerry. Over time she realizes they both share magic, a fear of the forest, and a dark forgotten secret.

  • We Deserve Monuments
  • by Jas Hammonds
  • November 29, 2022
  • Length: 375 p.
  • Publisher: Roaring Brook Publishers, $18.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781250816559

Avery is nursing a broken heart when her parents drag her from her Washington, D. C. home to Georgia to care for her crabby grandmother, Mama Letty. New friends, new loves, and the painful mystery of her grandfather’s death at the hands of the sheriff make for an emotional visit.

  • When the Angels Left the Old Country
  • by Sacha Lamb
  • October 18, 2022
  • Length: 400 p.
  • Publisher: Levine Querido, $19.99 
  • Reading Level: Gr. 9-12
  • ISBN: 9781646141760

A patient angel and a mischievous demon who have been studying Talmud together for centuries in their little Russian shtetl travel to America to perform a mitzvah, locating a young woman who left for the “golden land” to find her fortune but hasn’t been heard from since. 

The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.

Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten.
The Best Fiction for Young Adults Committee appreciates teen feedback as members evaluate the nominated titles. Teen librarians are encouraged to share the List of Potential Nominees under consideration with their patrons and solicit feedback using the link: https://bit.ly/BFYA24TeenFB

Teens Needed for Virtual Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback Session

YALSA is recruiting teens to participate in its Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) Teen Feedback Session. This session is scheduled to take place virtually via Zoom on Saturday, January 9th from 2-3:30pm CT. During the session, teens will be asked to give constructive feedback to the BFYA committee members on the titles that have been nominated for the 2021 BFYA list. The list of books can be found here. The session will be recorded but will not be made public. It will also only be sent to BFYA Committee members.

YALSA takes input from youth very seriously, and in order to get a wide representation, there are two ways to participate.  First, we are seeking up to 50 teens to participate virtually. Participating teens are asked to read as many of the BYFA titles as possible, but all titles do not need to be read by each teen. Secondly, librarians may gather feedback from their teens to share on behalf of their teens during the session. Both teens and librarians interested in participating in the feedback session should apply by January 5

YALSA Goals for Youth Participation:

  1. To organize and implement youth participation to support division goals,
  2. To collect a wide range of ideas from as diverse a young adult population as possible,
  3. To incorporate youth participation into programs and services in order to provide a richer experience for YALSA members,
  4. To create valuable experiences for the participating young adults in which they can gain knowledge and/or skills useful in future endeavors.

2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults List Announced

The official titles of YALSA’s 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list have been announced.

The list consists of 71 titles which were posted and discussed in blogposts on The Hub. View the full list here. The top ten titles were selected after receiving feedback at the BFYA Teen Feedback Session that took place at ALA’s 2020 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

The top ten titles are:

  • The Field Guide to the North American Teenager. By Ben Philippe. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. $18.99 (9780062824110).
  • Girls on the Verge. By Sharon Biggs Waller. Holt. $17.99 (9781250151698).
  • Heroine. By Mindy McGinnis. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. $17.99 (9780062847195).
  • Like a Love Story. By Abdi Nazemian. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. $17.99 (9780062839367).
  • Lovely War. By Julie Berry. Viking. $18.99 (9780451469939).
  • On the Come Up. By Angie Thomas. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray. $18.99 (9780062498564).
  • Patron Saints of Nothing. By Randy Ribay. Penguin/Kokila. $17.99 (9780525554912).
  • Pet. By Akwaeke Emezi. Random/Make Me a World. $17.99 (9780525647072).
  • The Stars and the Blackness Between Them. By Junauda Petrus. Dutton. $17.99 (9780525555483).
  • With the Fire on High. By Elizabeth Acevedo. HarperTeen. $17.99 (9780062662835). 

The suggestion form for the 2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults list is open. If you’d like to suggest a title to the blogging team for consideration as a nominee, please fill out the form.

A huge thank you goes out to the BFYA blogging team for all the hard work and time they put into curating this great list. Thank you!

Members of the 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults Blogging Team are: Coordinator, Kimmie DePinto, High Plains Library District, Greeley, CO; Jodi Kruse R.A. Long High School Library, Longview, WA; Michael Fleming, Juanita High School, Kirkland, WA; Isaiah West, Alexandria Library, Alexandria, VA; Molly Dettmann, Norman North High School, Norman, OK; Alicia Abdul, Albany High School, Albany, NY; Laura Giunta Garden City Public Library, Garden City, NY; Stephanie Charlefour, Keene, NH; Barbara, CA; Audrey Hopkins, Oak Lawn Public Library, Dallas, TX; Ness Shortley, Horton Middle School, Pittsboro, NC; Molly Wetta, Santa Barbara Public Library, Santa Barbara, CA; and with the help of administrative assistant Molly Moore, Bishop, GA.

2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults List

Have you heard? The Best Fiction for Young Adults list has been released! Check out the top ten below!

  • Arnold, Elana. What Girls Are Made Of. Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab. 2017. Sixteen-year-old Nina experiences sex, betrayal, loss, and a dysfunctional home life, all while trying to understand what it means to be female in the world and whether love can ever be truly unconditional.
  • Bardugo, Leigh. The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic. Illus. by Sara Kipin. Macmillan/Imprint. 2017. Traditional fairy tales are refreshingly twisted, re-created, and wrapped in gorgeous illustrations in this stand-alone collection of six short stories. The world-building will be familiar to Bardugo’s fans, and readers new to her Grishaverse have the pleasure of knowing they can take further excursions into this world.
  • Lee, Mackenzi. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2017. Montague, the son of a British nobleman, embarks on a European tour with his best friend (and secret crush) Percy and his sister Felicity. Along the way, they encounter adventure and conflict that leads them to a very different destiny than the one awaiting their return to England.
  • Moon, Sarah. Sparrow. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2017. Sparrow has a secret: her closest friends are birds. When she feels anxious, she goes to the roof and flies. One day, this practice lands her in the hospital, facing questions from the adults in her life. Slowly, she recovers, finds her voice, and makes new friends along the way.
  • Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum. 2017. Will’s brother has been shot. In this free-verse novel, Will steps into an elevator ready to head downstairs and to follow the rules he’s been taught and avenge his brother’s death, when he encounters the ghosts of victims of a chain reaction caused by a shooting.

Continue reading 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults List

BFYA Teen Feedback Session at ALA Midwinter 2017

On Saturday, January 21st, in the room as far as you can possibly get from the exhibit hall, a crowd of teen librarians anxiously awaited for the BFYA Teen Feedback Session to begin. Unfortunately, we were missing a key component–the teens!  But they finally made their way down the long hall, loaded with bags of books and swag.

The titles under consideration filled 10 full pages. So the moderator went page by page, inviting teens to step up to the mic and express their feelings about any of the books that were on the page. The teens responses were eloquent and insightful. And they did not hold back at all, for better (or worse). Leave it to teens to be completely and unabashedly honest.

The overall theme of the day: The books that came out this year caused them to have a lot of “compassion fatigue” — too many characters died this year! Also, teens are seeking out diverse stories–they recognize the importance and want to see themselves or others they know represented in the books they read.

The links to the long list and top ten Best Fiction for Young Adult lists are here. Below are the highlights from the feedback session!

Continue reading BFYA Teen Feedback Session at ALA Midwinter 2017

Beta Books: Teens Review Advance Reading Copies

ARCIt’s time for another post from the Beta Books club at my library, which reads, reviews, and generally has a grand time discussing ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) of upcoming teen books. Our review form includes a cover discussion, space to share thoughts on the book, and 1-5 star rating. Thanks to today’s reviewers for agreeing to share their thoughts on The Hub! SPOILER ALERT: Some reviews mention plot points.

gospel of winterReviewer: Piper

Book: The Gospel of Winter, by Brendan Kiely

What did you think of the cover? I really liked the cover, I really think it fit the story quite well. Also I would change nothing about the cover.

What did you think of the book? I enjoyed the overall storyline but at times it could be slow and a bit dragged on. Yes, I would tell a friend to read this book.

How would you rate this book? 3 stars: Pretty good. I wanted to see how it ended.

* * * * * * * *

splinteredReviewer: Izzy

BookSplintered, by A. G. Howard

What did you think of the cover? I liked the cover, I think it matched the story. No, I would not change anything about the cover.

What did you think of the book? I thought it was really good. I liked the romance. I wish it described more with better details. My favorite part was when her mom got better. Yes, I would recommend this to a friend!

How would you rate this book? 5 stars. Unbelievable! I’d rather read this book than sleep! Continue reading Beta Books: Teens Review Advance Reading Copies

ALA Annual 2014: Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback Session

alaac14_logoWant to get real teen input on some of the best recent titles in YA fiction? The Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback Session at ALA Annual is the place to be! Local Las Vegas area teens have been reading the BFYA nominations and are here at the conference to weigh in with their thoughts as the BFYA committee and other interested librarians observe. These teens are always sharp, witty, and honest, and the BFYA Teen Feedback Session is a highlight of the conference for many avid YA lit readers.

If you can’t be here in person, the next best way to experience this session is via the #bfya hashtag on Twitter. Follow along and tweet your thoughts– we’re streaming the hashtag here on The Hub for your convenience, and the real action starts at 1:00 pm Pacific time when the session kicks off. Enjoy!


ALA Midwinter 2014: Best Fiction for Young Adults Teen Feedback Session

For librarians working with young people, the announcement of the Youth Media Awards is the paramount event of ALA’s Midwinter Conference. Hub blogger Chelsea Condren shared her personal account of attending the YMAs in her post on February 5. I think it’s fair to say that the second-most anticipated event for us YALSA folks is the teen feedback session for the Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees. This year, I was there.

The teens only had a few seconds to weigh in on the books they had read. The BFYA nomination list included 175 titles, while the teen feedback session was just two and a half hours long. For a recap, I’ve put together a visual presentation featuring some of the nominated titles coupled with their corresponding teen comments.

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Special thanks to the participating teens and their sponsors:  Joyce Ames, St. Stepehen’s & St. Agnes School, Alexandria, VA; Jennifer Hubert Swan, L R E I Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School, New York, NY; Megan England, Atlantic City Free Public Library, Atlantic City, NJ, and Katherine Liss, Metuchen Public Library, Metuchen, NJ.

For a lovely take on this same session, read Vicky Smith’s account. And now that you’ve gotten an idea of the teens’ feedback, be sure to check out the full list of titles that made this year’s BFYA list!

-Diane Colson, currently reading The Night Gardener (advanced reader’s copy) by Jonathan Auxier

Schneider Family Book Award: Rose Under Fire

Schneider Family Book Award SealLast week at ALA Midwinter, the 2014 ALA Youth Media Awards were announced (if you missed the ceremony, you can still watch it online). The Youth Media Awards encompass many different prizes recognizing media created for children and young adults, including the Schneider Family Book Award, which was established by Dr. Katherine Schneider and “honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” This year, in addition to being named one of YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults top ten titles, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein is the the Schneider Family Book Award’s teen award winner.

Though it is a companion to 2013 Michael L. Printz Honor book Code Name Verity and references characters and events from that title, Rose Under Fire focuses on the story of a new character named Rose Justice. Continue reading Schneider Family Book Award: Rose Under Fire