Top 100 YA Novels (#50-46)

Princesses, magical families and castles dominate today's top five.

#50 The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (2000)
[141 points - 1 #1, 3 #2s, 3 #3s, 1 #4, 4 #5s, 2 #6s, 6 #7s, 3 #8s, 2 #9s, 2 #10s]

“With all its tangle of embarassments, false starts, mistakes in love, and the agonizing process of constantly redefining friendships, relationships, and self. Which proves that just because you're a princess doesn't make your life perfect. Far from it.” Maureen K, Teen Librarian

She's just a New York City girl living with her artist mom…

NEWS FLASH: Dad is prince of Genovia. (So that's why a limo meets her at the airport!)
DOWNER: Dad can't have any more kids. (So there's no heir to the throne.)
SHOCK OF THE CENTURY: Like it or not, Mia Thermopolis is prime princess material.
THE WORST PART: Mia must take princess lessons from her dreaded grandmère, the dowager princess of Genovia, who thinks Mia has a thing or two to learn before she steps up to the throne.
Well, her father can lecture her until he's royal-blue in the face about her princessly duty—no way is she moving to Genovia and leaving Manhattan behind.
But what's a girl to do when her name is PRINCESS AMELIA MIGNONETTE GRIMALDI THERMOPOLIS RENALDO? MegCabot.com

The first volume in The Princess Diaries series, Cabot was inspired to write this novel when her mother (after the death of her father) starting dating her teacher. It was won the ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age and Tennessee Volunteer State TASL Book Award.

• To visit the author’s website click here.
• Meg Cabot‘s Twitter.

#49 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (1997)
[143 points - 2 #1s, 3 #2s, 1 #3, 3 #4s, 2 #5s, 4 #6s, 5 #7s, #3 #8s, 2 #9s, 2 #10s]

"I know young readers might also be able to enjoy this book, but I WISH more teenage girls would read this novel. I love that this is a Cinderella story where the protagonist learns to save herself (a lesson Bella Swan could probably use.)“ Kayle, student.

How can a fairy's blessing be such a curse?

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift -- the "gift' of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse -- once and for all. HarperCollins.com

• To visit the author’s website click here.
• Discussion Guide
• Film study guide

#48 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)
[144 points - 3 #1s, 2 #2s, 6 #3s, 1 #4, 5 #5s, 3 #8s, 1 #9]

" I want to press this into the hands of every 17-year-old girl from now until 2091. I wish I'd read this then instead of at 25---it would have, I know, been one of the most important reading experiences of my life. " Sarah Barley, Assistant Editor

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over a six-month period, first in a sixpenny book, then in a shilling book, and, finally, in a splendid two-guinea book, to hone her writing skills. And it is within these pages that she candidly chronicles her encounters with the estate's new, young, and handsome American landlords, the effects of her sister Rose's marital ambitions, her writer's-blocked father's anguished and ultimately renewed creativity, and her own hopeless, first descent into love. Goodreads

Much beloved, I Capture the Castle is one of the oldest books to grace the list.

• Reading group guide

#47 Forever by Judy Blume (1975)
[148 points - 3 #1s, 2 #2s, 3 #3s, 2 #4s, 3 #5s, 4 #6s, 3 #7s, 1 #8, 2 #9s, 5 #10s]

“The joy of first love, experimenting, Ralph and towels (yep - I remember the towels!)” Vassiliki Veros, Librarian

The saga of Katherine's and Michael's love is a joyous one, filled with all the wonder of "the first time." They meet on New Year's Eve and become completely involved with each other. It's an idyllic affair—until they're separated that summer... JudyBlume.com

In 1974, Judy Blume’s daughter asked that she write a story “...about two nice kids who have sex without either of them having to die.” The result was Forever, winner of the A.L.A. Margaret A. Edwards Award for Outstanding Literature for Young Adults (1996). Despite being published over thirty years ago the book continues to appear on the frequently challenged booklist due to the use of suggestive language, the detailed depiction of sexual intercourse, and the protagonist’s use of the pill.

• To visit the author’s website click here.
• Judy Blume‘s Twitter.

#46 Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margie Stohl (2009)
[150 points - 4 #1s, 2 #2s, 2 #3s, 3 #4s, 5 #5s, 1 #6, 3 #7s, 2 #8s, 1 #9]

"... is so overpowering and I actually felt what Lena and Ethan felt for each other, their disappointments, worries, hope and the love between the two most of all. They are the perfect couple and the plots and twists of the story makes it all perfect." Raz Ipong

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. BeautifulCreaturesTheBook.com

Beautiful Creatures is the second co-authored book to make the Top 100 YA list. Garcia and Stohl debuted with this novel, the first of the Caster Chronicles series last year. Encompassing fantasy, young love and paranormal in a southern gothic backdrop, they tapped into a fierce readership. It was nominated for both the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction.

• To visit the author’s website click here.
• Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl‘s Twitter.
• Excerpt

As of tomorrow I will be on vacation in New York City for twelve day.

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