YALSA offers readalikes for “Mockingjay”

CHICAGO - As Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy ends this month with the release of “Mockingjay”on Aug. 24, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), can help parents, librarians and educators keep the attention of teens hooked on Katniss and Peeta with a list of similarly themed teen books.

“Hunger Games has proven popular with teens, which is evidenced by its appearance on YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten list,” said Kim Patton, YALSA president. “Popular titles such as these draw teens into reading for pleasure, which is critical because studies show that teens who read for leisure score higher on standardized tests than those who don’t.”

Teens and their parents can find similar titles to “Mockingjay” in the 2011 nominations for YALSA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (PPYA) booklist, particularly the What If… themed list, which highlights titles featuring alternative history and worlds, steampunk, apocalyptic fiction and cyberpunk, among other settings. The What If nominations list includes the following titles:

• Arakawa, Hiromu. Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol 1. Ills. by Hiromu Arakawa.
• Barry, Max. Jennifer Government.
• Blackman, Malorie Black & White
• Bodeen, S.A. The Compound
• Caletti, Deb. Fortunes of Indigo Skye
• Christopher, John. The White Mountains (The Tripods #1).
• Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.
• Dashner, James. The Maze Runner.
• DuPrau, Jeanne. The Diamond of Darkhold.
• Fukui, Isamu. Truancy.
• Gibson, William. Neuromancer.
• Grant, Michael. Gone.
• Kostick Conor. Epic.
• Malley, Gemma. The Declaration.
• Marsden, John. Tomorrow, When the War Began.
• Mieville, China. Un Lun Dun.
• Ness, Patrick. The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking.
• Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn.
• Pfeffer, Susan Beath. The Dead and the Gone.
• Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life As We Knew It.
• Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now.
• Simner, Janni Lee. Bones of Faerie.
• Urasawa, Naoki. Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Vol. 1: Friends.
• Vande Velde, Vivian. Heir Apparent.
• Vaughan, Brian K. Y: Last Man: Unmanned. Illus. by Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan, Jr.
• Westerfield, Scott. Leviathan. Ills. by Keith Thompson.
• Yoshinaga, Fumi. Ooku: The Inner Chamber, Volume 1. Ills. by Fumi Yoshinaga.

Each year, YALSA’s PPYA committee compiles themed reading lists with the goal of encouraging young adults to read for pleasure by presenting them with popular or topical paperback books with teen appeal. The fully annotated list of 2011 nominations, as well as other PPYA themed lists, can be found at www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/poppaper. The final 2011 lists will be announced at ALA’s 2011 Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, Jan. 7–11.

Patton noted that the Hunger Games trilogy is the latest example of addictive teen books that get teens hooked on reading. “Whatever the next big teen hit is, it will be like this one: a well told tale that speaks to teens on their level, grabs their interest and doesn’t let go.”

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, films and audiobooks for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, or e-mail, yalsa@ala.org