2002 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers announced

Contact: Linda Waddle


312-280-4390


lwaddle@ala.org

For Immediate Release


January 2002

2002 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers announced

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has announced its 2002 annual Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. The list was released during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in New Orleans.

Compiled by an 11-member committee, the 61 titles on the list were published from late 2000 through 2001, and represent more than 33 different publisher imprints. Twenty-seven of the titles are fiction and 34 are non-fiction.

The Quick Picks Committee seeks books that teens, ages 12 to 18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure. The list is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read. Teen input is a vital aspect in the final decision of the committee. The visual appearance of a book and the standard considerations in the quality of content is equally important when selecting books for reluctant young readers. The list is not intended for teenagers with reading disabilities, though some of the selected titles may be appropriate for those teens.

The top 10 titles are:

  • Draper, Sharon M. "Darkness Before Dawn"
  • Galvez, Jose. "Vatos"
  • Hart, Christopher. "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics"
  • "Hip Hop Divas" illus. Crown/Three Rivers Press
  • Koertge, Ron. "The Brimstone Journals"
  • "The Mad Gross Book" Ed. by Nick Meglin and John Ficarra.
  • Sones, Sonya. "What My Mother Doesn't Know"
  • "Thrasher: Insane Terrain" illus. Rizzoli/Universe
  • Tiernan, Cate. "Sweep Series" Penguin Putnam/Puffin



v.1: Book of Shadows


v.2: The Coven


v.3: Blood Witch


v.4: Dark Magick


v.5: Awakening

Members of the YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Committee are: Lora Bruggeman, chair, Downers Grove (Ill.) Public Library; Sallie H. Barringer, Walnut Hills (Ohio) High School; Linda W. Braun, LEO: Librarians & Educators Online (N.Y.); Michelle D. Carnes, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library; Tammy Daubner, Perrysburg, Ohio; Kimberley Hrivnak, F.O.R. STO-ROX Library (Pa.); Caryl McKellar, Alachua County (Fla.) Library District ; Melanie Rapp-Weiss, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library; Victor Schill, Fairbanks Branch Library, Texas; Henrietta M. Smith, University of South Florida; Cheryl K. Ward, Penney Alumni Library, East Hartford High School, Conn,; John Sexton, administrative assistant, Ashland Branch Library, Ore.; Gillian Engberg,
Booklist consultant.

A draft of the 2002 Quick Picks for Young Adults is available
online. An annotated list will appear in the March 15 issue of Booklist and on the YALSA Member's Only Web site. For more information, contact the YALSA office by phone at 800-545-2433 x 4390 or e-mail,
yalsa@ala.org.