Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Top 100 YA Novels (#65-61)

And another five titles for your consideration...

#65 How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (2004)
[116 points - 3 #1s, 1 #2, 2 #2s, 1 #3, 1 #5, 3 #6, 3 #7, 3 #8s, 5 #9s, 2 #10s]

"The writing style of this book is unlike anything I've ever read before. I laughed, I cried and I gasped in horror." Sophie Waters, So Little Time for Books

The narration never stops to take a breath, and neither did I when I read it.Saundra Mitchell, YA author

Fifteen-year-old New Yorker Daisy thinks she knows all about love. Her mother died giving birth to her, and now her dad has sent her away for the summer, to live in the English countryside with cousins she's never even met.

There she'll discover what real love is: something violent, mysterious and wonderful. There her world will be turned upside down and a perfect summer will explode into a million bewildering pieces.

How will Daisy live then? Penguin

How I Live Now was Meg Rosoff’s debut novel having previously worked in advertising agencies as a copywriter. Her work received widespread critical recognition including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Branford Boase Award, and the Michael L. Printz Award.



#64 Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (1992)
[119 points - 2 #1s, 3 #2s, 3 #3s, 3 #4s, 1 #5, 2 #6s, 1 #7, 1 #8, 2 #9s]

An Australian classic.” Hannah Temby, Book Publicist.

Beautiful and astonishing. A joy to read time and time again. I could almost read the whole book from memory, but I can still enjoy the opening scene with Josie and the magazine. I fall more in love with the book every time I read it." Rachel Richardson, student

For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it's just been her, her mum, and her grandmother. Now it's her final year at a wealthy Catholic private girls' school where the nuns couldn't be any stricter. But that doesn't seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into Josie's life, including her father!

Caught between the old-world values of her Italian nonna Katia, the no-nonsense wisdom of her mother Cristina, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josie is on the ride of her life.

This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family's past - and the year she sets herself free. MelinaMarchetta.com.au

The first Australian authored title on the list, Melina Marchetta’s debut novel was an award winning release from the get go. She received the Australian Multicultural Children’s BOTV Award for her depiction of Josie, a character struggling with her identity, her family and where she fit in the world. Looking for Alibrandi won the nation’s highest YA honour - the 1993 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Older Readers as well as a whole host of others. In 2000 the film adaptation was released, its screenplay was written by Marchetta and won Australian Film Industry Award for best screenplay (adapted).

  • To visit the author’s website click here.
  • Teacher’s Notes


#63 The Diary of a Young Girl (1947)
[123 points - 2 #1s, 3 #2s, 3 #3s, 3 #4s, 1 #5, 2 #6s, 1 #7, 2 #8s, 5 #10s]

Written by a young Jewish girl while in hiding with her family from the Nazis during World War II, Frank's Diary has been dramatized in one form or another in every major language and country around the world. Goodreads

The only non-fiction YA title to make the Top 100 list, Anne Frank’s diary was retrieved by her father after her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The diary has been published in more than 60 different languages, its English translation released in 1952.


#62 Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block (1989)
[121 points - 2 #1s, 4 #2s, 2 #3s, 1 #4, 4 #5s, 1 #6, 2 #7s, 1 #8, 1 #9]

... breathless, breathy celebration of the thrill of being young, and because they never shy away from consequences. Also because they are irresistably pretty on the inside.” http://pinkme.typepad.com

Colorful and magical and vibrant and, as a young teen, unlike anything I'd ever read before.” Trish, Librarian

In her stunning debut, Francesca Lia Block has created a wild, sophisticated fairy tale. She invites us into a magical world where love really does manage to conquer all.

Written during her college years, Block’s debut title incorporated issues of blended families, premarital sex, homosexuality, and AIDS all in an accessible language that strongly appeals to teen readers. In 2009 the Children’s Literature Association awarded Weetzie Bat with the Phoenix Award - this is an annual award presented to an English novel (published twenty years previously) that did not receive a major award at its time of publication.

  • To visit the author’s website click here.
  • FLB's Twitter


#61 The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (1974)
[120 points - 2 #2s, 2 #3s, 7 #4s, 3 #6s, 1 #7, 2 #8s, 4 #9s, 4 #10s]

Can I say a book saved my life? When I was 13, this was exactly the book I needed to read. It was a welcome relief to hear that bad stuff happened to good people, especially since it wasn't all fixed by the end of the novel. Now as an adult I probably don't want to read it again, but this is a list of books for young adults and this is one of the books that defined my adolescence. Also, the main reason why I wanted to read it was because it was on a list of top 100 challenged books, which I think is a very typical thing for a teenager to do." Ciara O'Shea, Future Librarian

A high school student is first a hero and then a victim in this novel of intimidation and the misuse of power. Goodreads

Thirty five years after being published, The Chocolate War still finds itself topping the most challenged book list.

5 comments:

Trisha said...

I'm quoted! Exciting!

But I still need to read The Chocolate War. I feel like such a bad YA librarian for never having read it.

Anonymous said...

Yay for the first Aussie title!!

Sarah said...

what a great series! all of these books look great! I am looking forward to future posts on this! :D

happy reading!

Robby said...

I need to read ALL OF THESE! Gah. You're killin' me, Adele.

Anonymous said...

Wow! If you're just up to 65, I wonder what the next 64 can be. Will be looking forward to finding out.

Tina