Hey guys and gals, here's descriptions for each of the 25 nominated books for YALSA's Teens' Top Ten 2011. You can vote now through September 16 by clicking on the link below.
Check out our display in the teen area of the library to pick up a copy of the nominees. Here's a list of the titles and descriptions from YALSA's webpage:
Bachorz, Pam.
Drought. Egmont USA. 2011. (978606840160).
Ruby and the Congregants have been enslaved to collect water for Darwin West and his Overseers. Ruby uses her magical blood to bless the water; without her blood, the Congregants will die. She and the Congregants pray to Otto, her father, to return and save them all. One day, Ford, the new overseer, arrives, and he and Ruby fall for each other. Ruby longs to run away with him to the modern world where she can lead a normal teenage life. She is torn between two worlds. Will she choose to be free with her forbidden love, or will she choose to be enslaved with her family?
Beam, Cris.
I Am J. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2011. (9780316053617).
J (Jeni) is a boy and has always identified himself as such, but he was genetically born female. As a teen, J acts like a boy and dresses in baggy clothes to hide his feminine body. He wants to begin testosterone treatments to transfer physically to a man, but his parents and best friend do not accept him as male. J decides to run away and enroll in a school for gay and transgender students, where he is able to begin to find acceptance. More than just a story of a transgender teen, this is the story of how teenagers live and love
and cope.
Beaudoin, Sean.
You Killed Wesley Payne. 2011. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316077422).
Teenage Dalton Rev is a private eye. He is sent to a high school to find out about the death of Wesley Payne. Was it really a suicide? The school's tight cliques have gone insane and lost control. It’s up to Dalton to sort through a huge mess of betrayal in order to restore the hierarchy.
Black, Holly and Justine Larbalestier.
Zombies vs. Unicorns. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2010. (9781416989530).
Are you Team Unicorn or Team Zombie? In this anthology of twelve fast-paced stories, popular teen authors make strong arguments for both sides in the long and gruesome debate concerning the awesomeness of zombies versus unicorns.
Card, Orson Scott.
The Lost Gate. Tor Books. 2011. (9780765326577).
Danny thought he was a “drekka,” one without magic, until he discovers he has magical powers as a gate mage. The only problem: all the magic families made a pact to kill any person who could make gates to transport themselves. Danny is forced to run from everything and everyone he knows in an attempt to unravel the secrets behind his powers.
Clare, Cassandra.
The Clockwork Angel. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. 2010. (9781416975861).
In this prequel to the Mortal Instruments series, Tessa Gray travels to England to search for her brother, her only remaining relative. She is captured by the mysterious Dark Sisters and discovers that there is a fantastical world thriving alongside her own. She finds that she must ally with the unknown shadowhunters to save her brother.
Collins, Suzanne.
Mockingjay. Scholastic. 2010. (9780439023511).
The final book in the Hunger Games series finds Katniss Everdeen rescued from the horrific 75th Hunger Games—but not her fellow tribute, Peeta Mallark. Now she must lead a rebellion against the evil capital with the help of District 13, which is not destroyed, but has been quietly sowing the seeds of war for years. As Katniss becomes more entangled in war and revolution, the question of who she can trust becomes ever harder, and she must fight for her life once again.
Collins, Yvonne.
Love, Inc. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423131151). Zahara, Kali, and Syd meet in a support group when their respective parents get divorced, but it gets so much worse when they realize they’ve all been dating the same guy: Rick, aka Rico, aka Eric! The girls are devastated...until they decide to show the cheater the error of his ways. When more and more people find out about their plots and plans, Zahara, Kali, and Syd realize that they are much more than three girls who were cheated on.
Condie, Ally.
Matched. 2010. Penguin/Dutton. (9780525423645).
In Cassia’s society, most of her choices are made for her, including the person with whom she will spend the rest of her life: her Match. At age 17, Cassia is happily surprised when her Match turns out to be her best friend Xander, but when a glitch occurs and another boy’s face appears on her screen, Cassia can’t help but wonder what would happen if she were able to choose her own Match. Now she must decide between conforming to society and pursuing a life where she can make her own choices.
Cremer, Andrea.
Nightshade. Penguin/Philomel. 2010. (9780399254826).
When Calla, who is a Guardian, saves a boy on her mountain from a bear attack, the consequences are farther reaching than could be imagined, especially when that boy shows up at her school and appears to be a favored companion of her masters, the Keepers.
Fitzpatrick, Becca.
Crescendo. Simon & Schuster Children’s. 2010. (9781416989431).
In this sequel to Hush, Hush, a few months have passed since Nora’s lab partner Patch, actually a fallen angel, saved her from his murderous vassal Nephil and became her guardian angel. She and Patch are now dating, but she is starting to doubt his love for her. Is he keeping something from her? And is she really safe now?
Grant, Michael.
Lies. 2010. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. (9780061449093).
Lies continues the story that began in Gone and Hunger. Is death the only answer? Life is getting hard for the under 15s who survived. Food is running out, the beach is burning, and things are getting tense. The situation is getting worse for the survivors and everyone has their own battles to face.
Hawkins, Rachel.
Demonglass. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423121312).
An unbelievable betrayal, an ancient spell, and a love triangle all make Rachel Hawkins’ sequel to Hex Hall impossible to put down. When Sophie goes to her father’s mansion for the summer, she thinks she knows exactly what she wants: to undergo the Removal and get rid of the demon inside of her. But when it turns out that someone else is making demons, she has to question everything and everyone—especially Archer Cross, the boy she can’t get out of her head.
Hakwins, Rachel.
Hex Hall. Disney/Hyperion. 2010. (9781423121305). Sixteen-year-old Sophie is a witch sent to live at Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (witches, faeries, shape-shifters, etc.), after she bungles a spell at prom and attracts too much attention from normal humans. At her new school, Sophie must face the usual teen troubles of mean girls and crushes with the added dimension of magic and learning about her own powers.
Kagawa, Julie.
The Iron King. 2010. Harlequin. (9780373210084).
On the eve of her 16th birthday, Meghan starts seeing dark creatures in the most unusual places and senses that everything is about to change. But she could never have imagined the truth—that she is a princess, the daughter of a mythical faery king. When she finds out her little brother has been kidnapped and replaced by a changeling, Meghan ventures in to the fey world to rescue him.
Lore, Pittacus.
I Am Number Four. HarperCollins. 2010. (9780061969553). Number Four is one of nine aliens that escaped from the planet Lorien just ahead of the evil Mogadorians, a rival alien race bent of their destruction. He’s settling into another new town on Earth, trying to get a handle on his developing powers, when he gets the news: Number Three is dead. If Number Three is dead, that means Number Four is next.
Moore, Peter.
Red Moon Rising. Disney/Hyperion. 2011. (9781423116653).
In a world dominated by vampires, half-vamp, half-wulf Danny is used to hiding his true nature. When he experiences strange changes, it appears that his wulf side has become active. In a world where wulves are not treated equally, Danny faces a difficult choice: a dreary future as an inmate once a month or life as an illegal, unregistered wulf.
Nelson, Jandy.
The Sky is Everywhere. 2010. Penguin/Dial Books for Young Readers. (9780142417805).
After Lennie's sister suddenly dies, she finds herself torn between two boys. One is the new boy in town, and the other is her sister’s ex-boyfriend. While she is genuinely attracted to one, the other really understands her feelings, yet she knows it is wrong. Who will she choose?
Oliver, Lauren.
Before I Fall. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061726804).
Popular, rich, and attractive Sam Kingston never worried about how her behavior affected other people. After dying in a car crash, Sam is forced to relive the last day of her life for seven days. She progressively becomes a better person as she realizes the ripple effect of her actions and uses the second chance to fix her most dire mistakes.
O’Neal, Ellis.
The False Princess. Egmont USA. 2011. (9781606840795).
At sixteen, Princess Nalia learns that the king and queen have used her as a false princess to protect their real daughter from an omen of death. Princess Nalia, now Sinda, is sent away from the palace to live with the one relative she has left in a world she does not know. Sinda struggles with her new life and uncovers a secret that may change her country forever. Magic runs through her veins, and theories of corruption in the royal bloodline keep her entangled in the royal family's affairs.
Patterson, James.
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel. Little, Brown & Company. 2011. (9780316036207).
In book seven of the Maximum Ride series, the titular character is devastated after a fellow “bird kid” leaves to start his own flock of mutant heroes. Scientists tell her that another “bird kid”, Dylan, is her perfect mate, and that she’s been created to save the world. When the Doomsday Group starts hypnotizing children, Max heads to Paris with her flock to investigate. Unfortunately, Fang and his new flock are investigating as well.
Pearce, Jackson.
Sisters Red. Little, Brown and Company. 2010. (9780316068680).
Sisters Rosie and Scarlett March are left as orphans at eleven after their grandmother is killed by a Fenris, a soulless creature that takes the form of a man and can turn into a wolf. Scarlett loses an eye in the attack and decides to devote her life to hunting the Fenris. Eight years later, the sisters have vowed to protect their town from the Fenris. Silas, a young woodsman, returns to town. Rosie knows the Fenris deserve to die, but she's not ready to commit her entire life to hunting them. Can the sisters learn to live with their differences as Rosie and Silas’s friendship blossoms into something more?
Smith, Cynthia Leitich.
Blessed. Candlewick Press. 2011. (9780763643263). Quincie, everyone’s favorite teen restaurateur and vampire, is back in this follow-up to Tantalize and Eternal. This time, she has even more on her plate. She just died, became a vampire, said goodbye to her true love/ werewolf boyfriend Kieren, and she has to stop the most powerful and evil vampire in centuries and find a way to save her own soul and the souls of the soon-to-be evil vampires.
Westerfeld, Scott.
Behemoth. Simon Pulse. 2010. (9781416971757).
This sequel to Leviathan picks up where the last book left off with Alek, the lost Austro-Hungarian prince, and Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy, on the airship Leviathan heading to the Ottoman Empire. Upon arriving, Alek escapes and starts a revolution to overthrow the Sultan and try to stop a war.
White, Kiersten.
Paranormalcy. HarperCollins/HarperTeen. 2010. (9780061985843).
Normal? Yeah, right! Evie's biggest dream ever was to be normal, but with a faerie ex-boyfriend and a mermaid for a best friend, she might as well just throw the word “normal” right in the trash can. Evie has the unique ability to see through paranormals’ glamours, which has made her a valued asset of the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA). When someone breaks into the Agency headquarters, Evie meets an unusual Paranormal: a boy who can shape-shift into any human. Can Evie save the lives of unarmed Paranormals from something that is after her too?
