Best Books for Young Adults

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About the Best Books for Young Adults

Administered by:

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) logo

Fiction

2008 Selection(s)

Before I Die

by Jenny Downham. Random House/David Fickling, 2007; $15.99.

Tessa, who has terminal cancer, creates a list of ten things she wants to do in the months she has left to live. This fierce and devastating novel explores end-of-life realities with honesty and grace.


Beige

by Castellucci, Cecil. Beige. Candlewick, 2007; $16.99.

Prim, proper Katy relaxes into a new identity when she is forced to live in L.A. with her father, a punk rocker and recovering addict.


Derby Girl

by Shauna Cross. Henry Holt, 2007; $16.95.

Bliss, a smart, athletic Texas teen, forges an identity apart from her beauty-pagent–obsessed mother by secretly joining a roller derby team.


I Am Rembrandt's Daughter

by Lynn Cullen. Bloomsbury, 2007; $16.95.

Cornelia, illegitimate daughter of the great artist Rembrandt, strives to escape her life of poverty and low social status.


I Love You, Beth Cooper

by Larry Doyle. Illus. by Evan Dorkin. HarperCollins/Ecco, 2007; $19.95.

In this offbeat, bawdy romance, Denis declares his love for a high school cheerleader in his valedictory speech—and lives with the consequences.


Looking for JJ

by Anne Cassidy. Harcourt, 2007; $17.00

Recently released murderer JJ, a British teen whose childhood crime stirred a media frenzy, fears that her past will be discovered despite her new identity.


One Whole and Perfect Day

by Judith Clarke. Front Street, 2007; $16.95.

Lily, the sensible one in her quirky Australian family, longs to fit in with her classmates even while belittling their shallow interests. Then grandpa goes berserk and Lily falls in love. A 2008 Printz Honor book.


Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

by Ying Chang Compestine. Henry Holt, 2007; $16.95.

China’s Cultural Revolution drastically alters the lives of Ling and her family as political oppression and violence sweeps away their comfortable, middle-class existence.


A Swift Pure Cry

by Siobhan Dowd. Random House/David Fickling, 2007; $16.99.

Coolbar, Ireland, is a village full of secrets, and Shell is not about to reveal hers until suspicion falls on the wrong person.


This Is What I Did

by Ann Dee Ellis. Little, Brown, 2007; $16.99.

Logan, whose family has moved to a new neighborhood where he is bullied, won’t talk about a disturbing incident from his past until encouraged by a counselor.


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