THIS JUST IN:

New Young Adult Novels

2005-2006

©Look for this symbol to find books suitable for younger Y.A.s (grades 7-9)

Award-winning Titles

© Flake, Sharon (2005). Bang! After the death of his six-year-old brother from an act of random violence in his neighborhood, 13-year-old Mann’s father takes him and his friend Kee-Lee out of the city and abandons them at a distant campsite. While the exercise is meant to toughen up the two boys, their ordeal is only the beginning of their wanderings in the wilderness. (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2006)

Green, John (2005). Looking for Alaska. Skinny, bookish and a loner, 16-year-old Miles prides himself on his mental library of famous people's last words. Honest about his social ineptitude, Miles holds out hope that by leaving his Florida home for an Alabama boarding school, he might finally break out of his shell Prejudices about Alabama boarding schools aside (can you say "Deliverance High"?), Miles begins to find his place among the students until tragedy strikes and Miles struggles to find sense in the words of the living. (2006 Printz award winner)

Griffin, Adele (2005). Where I Want to Be. A bittersweet story of two sisters, both of whom are slowly realizing that one of them will always be left behind. Parts of Griffin’s novel could be considered magical realism, but might just be an expert capture of an atypical point of view. (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2006)

Myer, Stephanie (2005). Twilight. When Bella moves to rainy Washington to stay with her father, she’s immediately attracted to one of her school’s most unattainable boys. Edward seems to be attracted to Bella, too, but struggles with what seems to be a supernatural unease that lurks beneath his pale skin. (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2006)

The Return of Realism

Budhos, Marina (2006). Ask Me No Questions. Nadira and her family are illegal aliens from Bangladesh who have been living in the United States on expired visas and who have no plans to become citizens. When homeland security is tightened after 9/11, the family tries to emigrate to Canada and Nadira’s father is detained. This novel tells an often overlooked story about the families of people detained in the U.S., often for no reason other than their nationalities.

Hautman, Pete (2005). Invisible. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s wrong with narrator Doug Hanson, but his story hints at an accident involving fire while his occasional illustrations gradually morph into a picture of his insanity.

Lynch, Chris (2005). Inexcusable. "I am a good guy," Kier keeps telling us in this first person narrative that begins as he is considering what appears to be a girl's allegation of date rape. As the book continues, we are led back in time through Kier's senior year in high school and we gradually realize that our narrator is not the "good guy" he claims to be.

Na, An (2006). Wait for Me. Mina knows that she is her mother’s favorite; she makes perfect grades, works dutifully at her family’s dry cleaners and is on her way to Harvard. What Mina’s mother doesn’t know is that her achievements are all lies and, when Mina meets Ysreal, a Mexican worker at the cleaners, her relationship with him threatens the façade Mina has struggled to maintain.

Werlin, Nancy (2006). The Rules of Survival. In this harrowing novel, sixteen year old Matthew describes life with his manic and often abusive mother. The plot moves swiftly and unrelentingly to a climax that visits themes common to some of Werlin’s earlier works and offers with an uneasy recognition of the same conclusion David Yaffe voiced in 1998’s The Killer’s Cousin: “Anyone in this world can have the power of life and death over someone else. It’s horrible, but true”(p. 225).

Wittlinger, Ellen (2006). Blind Faith. After Liz's beloved grandmother dies, Liz's mother retreats to her bedroom in deep depression; the only thing that seems to rouse her is a promise made by a member of the local Spiritualist church that she might be able to speak with the spirit of her dead mother. Meanwhile, a teenage boy, his nine-year-old sister and their seriously ill mother move in to the grouchy neighbor's house across the street. After Liz learns that the boy's mother has terminal cancer and that his sister doesn't realize the dire nature of her mother's condition, the two families begin an uncertain friendship.

Impure Genres: Shades of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror

Curtis-Klause, Annette (2006). Freaks: Alive on the Inside! Abel, age seventeen, is the only "normal" (read: typically developing) resident of Faeryland, a vacation resort that features human oddities and that caters to the 1899 vacationer. When an encounter with a fellow resident--the dog-faced girl--leads to what Abel fears is an impending affiance, he decides to leave Faeryland and seek his fortune elsewhere.

Giles, Gale (2006). What Happened to Cass McBride? High school homecoming queen and undisputed popular girl Cass McBride has disappeared and we—the readers—are the only ones who know where she is. Told from the points of view of Cass, the man who kidnapped her, and the police searching for her, this novel tells a chilling tale of relational and internal loss.

Hautman, Pete (2006). Rash. In the year 2076, the United States as we know it has been re-organized as the United Safer States of America. After a fight with school rival and a mysterious rash that appears on the faces of his fellow students that seems to be triggered by Bo, he is sent to a work camp in the Canadian tundra. At the frigid factory that specializes in frozen pizzas, Bo is selected to join a team of privileged workers who, in return for reduced work hours and responsibilities, play on the factory's hyper-violent illegal football team.

Olin, Sean (2005). Killing Britney. After what seems like the accidental death of her boyfriend, Britney becomes convinced that someone in her small town is plotting to kill her, too. If a Lifetime thriller could come to print, this might be it.

© Price, Charlie (2006). Dead Connection. Young teenager Murray can communicate with the dead. A loner by choice, Murray likes to visit the graveyard, sit by the stones and listen to the voices of the long departed who he calls his friends. When he thinks he hears the voice of a local teen who recently disappeared, he teams up with an unlikely ally to solve the mystery.

Rosoff, Meg (2006). Just In Case. While David Case is babysitting his baby brother, Charlie, he watches, helpless, as Charlie leans out of an open window. Though he manages to save the baby from what he believes could have been a dire fate, David's narrow escape from tragedy leads him to question the lassez faire attitude he has taken towards life in the past. Fate, it seems, is out to get David; the only thing he sees to do is become someone so different from himself (or, his former self) that he is unrecognizable to whomever might be engineering or overseeing his life.

© Zevin, Gabrielle (2005). Elsewhere. After dying in a hit-and-run accident, Liz Hall wakes up “elsewhere,” where the dead age backwards to birth and then re-emerge in the world of the living. Liz has an understandably difficult time accepting her own death and letting go of the world she left. Sensitively written, this novel about death is unexpectedly uplifting.

Popular Music and Identity

Dessen, Sarah (2006). Just Listen. 15-year-old Annabel is the youngest of three sisters and has always felt defined by her comparative agreeability. Following a terrifying experience at a party that results in her being ostracized at school, Annabel befriends a dangerous-seeming loner who encourages her to always speak the truth. This novel would be a rich recommendation for those who enjoyed Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.

Krovatin, Chris (2005). Heavy Metal and You. High school metalhead Sam lives for music and the allusion-filled narrative of this novel by a new author is a testament to this fact. When Sam begins dating a more conservative girl, he worries that his new girlfriend is only interested in showing off her “different” boyfriend to her preppy friends.

Levithan, David and Rachel Cohn (2006). Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Think Before Sunrise, only with more-punk-than-you teen protagonists and a more hopeful ending. The dual voiced narrative moves quickly and establishes its punk-rock credentials early, for the sake of readers who care about that kind of thing.

Portman, Frank (2006). King Dork. With sardonic, edgy humor, narrator Tom Henderson describes his sophomore year during which he tries to solve the mystery of his father’s death while realizing the dream he shares with his best friend to make their fantasy rock and roll band a reality. This longer novel is definitely not a speed read, but would be well liked by older (15+) teens with a passion for music and sympathy for the outsider.

Popular Paperbacks and Series

© Ashton, Victoria (2005--). “Confessions of a Teen Nanny” series. Adrienne and her friend Liz become nannies for two wealthy NYC families and become involved with and both fascinated by and disenchanted with the city’s elite. This series riffs on McLaughlin and Kraus’s The Nanny Diaries.

© Haddix, Margaret Peterson (2003-2006).

“The Shadow Children” series. Haddix does what few series authors find the courage to do: she concludes the serial. Set in a dystopian world in which resources are so scarce that families are limited to 2 children, a secret society of illegal third children (or “shadow children”) emerges. Luke, the books’ hero, is one such shadow child and the series follows him as he joins a group bent on freeing the hidden.

© Harrison, Lisi (2004--). “The Clique” series. Massie’s place as the social center of her school and exclusive clique of rich girls is threatened when a friend of the family moves to Massie’s parents’ house. The series mixes the brand-dropping of “Gossip Girl” with the bitchiness of Mean Girls to intoxicating effect.

© Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds (1996--). “Alice” series. Naylor’s series has been both lauded and criticized for its frank portrayal of young adolescent life; however, the series remains popular among its primarily female readers. Lightly and easily written discussions of coming-of-age issues characterize this series of novels.

Shan, Darren (2005--). “Demonata” series. The new series from the author of the “Cirque du Freak” series focuses not on a young man who leaves his home to join a group of supernatural outcasts, but a young man whose family is the target of demonic forces. Though not for everyone—the first installment was fast-paced and very gory—the new series is sure to appeal to Stephen King fans.

Updale, Elinor (2004--). “Montmorency” series. Updale’s historical fiction series chronicles the life of a convicted thief who uses his ill-gotten skills (and gains!) to construct a new life for himself among British high society. The novels incorporate adventure, mystery and historical elements.

Von Ziegesar, Cecily (2005--). “The It Girl” series. The “Gossip Girl” spin-off series focuses on Jenny, the younger hanger-on of the NYC popular set. When Jenny is sent to an exclusive boarding school, this fish out of water finds dubious popularity.

Westerfeld, Scott (2005, 2006). Uglies, Pretties, and Specials (trilogy). Set in a dystopian future in which everyone can be beautiful, 16 year old Tally discovers that the cosmetic surgery offered teens at their age of accountability renders them both beautiful and willing slaves to the government. (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2006)

For more suggestions, visit Amy’s online YA review zine at: http://www.web.simmons.edu/~patteea/

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Amy Pattee, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, Boston, MA. Email: amy.pattee@simmons.edu