ALA’s 2010 Best Books for Young Adults

The American Library Association has released its 2010 Best Books for Young Adults list — and there are some great books on this list! Here are some of the highlights:

Anderson, Laure Halse. Wintergirls.
Lia is haunted by her best friend’s death from anorexia, as she struggles with the same eating disorder.

Bray, Libba. Going Bovine.
Cameron knew there was something wrong when he started seeing pillars of fire and angels, but he never imagined he had mad cow disease.

Brennan, Sarah Rees. Demon’s Lexicon.
Sixteen-year-old Nick and his older brother Alan are always on the run. Now, Alan has been marked by a demon and to save him, the boys must become the hunters.

Cashore, Kristin. Fire.
In a world full of monsters so beautiful they lure people into their doom, how can people protect themselves from human monsters?

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire.
After winning the Hunger Games, Katniss is preoccupied with the government’s expectations for her romantic life. She soon has more important worries—including revolts in the Districts and new Game rules.

Dessen, Sarah. Along For the Ride.
Auden’s summer becomes one of second chances, not just for her but for her family and friends as well. The more chances she takes, the more she discovers about herself.

Forman, Gayle. If I Stay.
While in a coma after her family is killed in a car accident, Mia struggles to decide whether to live or die.

Jinks, Catherine. The Reformed Vampire Support Group.
Nina Harrison, now and forever a teenage vampire, leads her dysfunctional crew of bloodsuckers on a mission to halt vampire persecution and rescue a vicious werewolf.

Larbalestier, Justine. Liar.
For years Micah has been a liar, and after her boyfriend’s brutal murder, will anyone…will you… believe what she has to say?

Madigan, L.K. Flash Burnout.
Blake Hewson discovers there’s a big difference between lust and love, a tough lesson of a fifteen-year-old involved with a girlfriend and another girl as a friend.

McCormick, Patricia. Purple Heart.
Private Matt Duffy receives the Purple Heart, but he cannot remember the incident that left him with a traumatic brain injury and an image of an Iraqi boy’s death

Runyon, Brent. Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers.
Every summer Luke spends two weeks vacationing at a lake, and every year things are just slightly different.

Ryan, Carrie. The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
Mary’s village is protected by a fence keeping out the Unconsecrated-who are undead craving human flesh-until a massive breach launches the teenage girl into a fight for survival.

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me.
The year they are twelve, Sal begins to ignore Miranda and breaks her heart. But Miranda’s attention is diverted when she begins to receive urgent, anonymous notes in unexpected places.

Stiefvater, Maggie. Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception.
Shy and ordinary Deirdre finds herself caught up in an ancient struggle in the faerie world when she meets Luke, a sexy musician with a very dark past.

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. She has been particularly drawn to one – a yellow-eyed wolf who, in turn has been watching her intensely.

Taylor, Laini. Lips Touch: Three Times.
Three novellas explore the power of a kiss, and its possible hazards or thrills, especially if the kiss pulls humans and demons together in a lusty embrace.

Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan.
Steampunk novel that is a strange mixture of Victorian times with mechanical inventions. Bio-society countries are at war with mechanical countries in this extremely fresh novel.