YALSA names 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults

CHICAGO – The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2018 Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

The list of 78 titles, drawn from 131 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The full list can be viewed at www.ala.org/yalsa/best-fiction-young-adults.

In addition to the full list, the committee has chosen the following titles as the top ten:

• Arnold, Elana. What Girls Are Made Of. Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab. 2017.
• Bardugo, Leigh. The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic. Illus. by Sara Kipin. Macmillan/Imprint. 2017.
• Lee, Mackenzi. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2017.
• Moon, Sarah. Sparrow. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. 2017.
• Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum. 2017.
• Taylor, Laini. Strange the Dreamer. Little, Brown. 2017.
• Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Balzer+Bray. 2017.
• Watson, Renee. Piecing Me Together. Bloomsbury USA. 2017.
• Zappia, Francesca. Eliza and Her Monsters. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. 2017.
• Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Crown Books for Young Readers. 2017.

“The 2018 list is the result of tremendous hard work and dedication on the part of the committee members,” said Chair Kim Dare. “Our committee read and discussed hundreds of books to create an inclusive list which is made up of titles with both high quality and strong teen appeal. Just within the titles of our top ten list, a reader can be immersed in a webcomic world of Monstrous Sea, can experience a 60-second elevator ride featuring ghosts with a powerful message, and can meet characters who challenge assumptions about race, sexuality, and identity.”

The members of the Best Fiction for Young Adults Committee are: Chair Kim Dare, Herndon High School, Herndon VA; Andria Amaral, Charleston County Public Library, Charleston, SC; Sarah Carnahan, Pulaski Academy, Little Rock, AR; Claire Covington, Broadway High School, Broadway, VA; Rosalind Eyre, Beaumont Independent School District (retired), Beaumont, TX; Debbie Fisher, Central Falls High School, Central Falls, RI; Lindsay Fricke, Novi Public Library, Novi, MI; Matthew Layne, The Emmet O’Neal Library, Mountain Brook, AL; Becky Reiser, Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, CA; Celeste Rhoads, The American Library in Paris, Paris, France; Lorrie Roussin, Judson High School, Converse, TX; David Saia, Heim Middle School, Williamsville, NY; Jessica Hilbun Schwartz, Louisville Public Library, Louisville, CO; Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ; Carolyn Vidmar, New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, LA; with the help of administrative assistant Molly Moore, Bogart Library, Bogart, GA; and Sarah Hunter, Booklist Consultant, Chicago, IL.

YALSA’s portfolio of book and media awards helps strengthen library services for and with teens by identifying quality, age appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in their communities. Learn more about YALSA’s other book and media lists here.

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.