YALSA's Top Ten!

Hey guys! Grad school has started and I am going to be so busy it looks like! I do want to inform you of the Young Adult Library Services Association's Top Ten Best Fiction Titles for young adults.

The Nightmare Affair
by Mindee Arnett

Dusty Everhart, a Nightmare, (literally!), has been trying to escape the shadow of her mother's reputation, and one night, while dream-feeding, she sees the crime scene of a murder victim who attends her high school, a school for supernatural children. When she arrives back on campus, she finds, to her horror, that the dream had come true. Now she must use dreams to find the killer and save victims-to-be in order to stop an ancient darkness from returning.

Book Trailer:

*This is Book #1 in the Arkwell Academy series. Book #2 is already out - The Nightmare Dilemma

Of Triton
by Anna Banks

After Emma’s mother, the long lost Poseidon princess returns to the sea, the Syrena begin to bring her identity into question. When all hope seems lost, and appears the Royals have a revolution on their hands, Emma has the opportunity to use her Gift to save those that she loves. But at what cost will her choices bring to not only her, but also to those she considers her family.

Book Trailer:

See my review for this book over on Goodreads!

*This is book #2 in the Syrena Legacy series. The first book is Of Poseidon and the last book is Of Neptune

Siege and Stormby Leigh Bardugo

Alina, a sun summoner on the run from the evil Darkling, is searching for a way to increase her power and save the ones she loves. But as her power grows she falls deeper in the Darkling’s grasp and farther away from her best friend and love, Mal. When the time comes Alina must choose between her love, her power, or her lust for the Darkling and all of his power.

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*This is book #2 in the Grisha series. Book #1 is Shadow and Bone and Book #3 is Ruin and Rising

Love in the Time of Global Warming
by Francesca Lia Block

Penelope believes she is the last person alive in the city of Los Angeles after a massive earthquake destroyed the majority of the earth. After encountering a group of survivors, however, she begins to have hope in whatever may be left of the world, whether it be love, trust, and, just maybe, her family. Modeled after Homer's Odyssey, Pen goes on a post-apocalyptic journey filled with Giants and butterflies in an attempt to find her way home.

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*The sequel to this book was just released last week and is The Island of Excess Love

The Testing
by Joelle Charbonneau

Cia is chosen to participate in The Testing, a government program that will select the brightest graduates who show potential for becoming future leaders in this post-apocalyptic world. Cia’s excitement of being chosen soon dies when her father warns her of the experiences he faced when he was chosen. Cia must trust no one if she hopes to come back alive. However, will she be able to face the dark, unholy truth about the testing? One kept whether you leave… Or don't?

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*This is book #1 in the Testing series. Book #2 is Independent Study and book #3 is Graduation Day

The Eye of Minds
by James Dashner

Michael is an average kid who plays video games, but this video game, the Virtnet, is different than others. You can die in it physically and mentally, and that happens to a girl named Tanya who rips out her core and commits suicide. Suddenly, Michael is whisked away by the designers of the VirtNet and is given a mission by them to find a cyber terrorist, named Kaine, who is suspected of killing gamers.

Book Trailer:

See my review!

*This is book #1 in the Mortality Doctrine series. The second book, The Rule of Thoughts, also just came out last week. 

Earth Girl
by Janet Edwards

In 2788 humanity has developed technology that allows them to portal between many habitable worlds except for those are deemed “the handicapped”, those who are born with a one in a thousand chance of having an immune system that cannot tolerate other planets. Jarra, a handicapped 18-year old student with a passion for history, creates a false identity for herself and enrolls in a college course for students from other planets in an attempt to get revenge for the way the handicapped are looked down upon.

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*This is the first book in the Earth Girl series. Book #2 is Earth Star and book #3 is Earth Flight

The Clockwork Scarab
by Colleen Gleason

The niece of Sherlock Holmes, the world’s first consulting detective, and the half-sister of Bram, the vampire slayer, are thrown together to find out why high society girls are being murdered and what a mechanical scarab beetle has to do with it. 

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*This is book #1 in the Stoker & Holmes series. Book #2, The Spiritglass Charade, is due out October 7th

Maybe I Will
by Laurie Gray

One life-altering, life-changing event that dramatically affected Sandy will leave you thinking. And no, not in the good sort of life-changing event like winning the lottery or having a kid. Finding true friends and activities that allow Sandy to really be free and let off steam is all that keeps Sandy sane. They are also important factors in putting Sandy's life back together once again.

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(Yay, a book that's NOT a part of a series!)

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
by April Henry

Cady wakes up in a dark, torn apart cottage hearing someone tell another man to “finish her off.” To make things worse, not only does she not know why she’s in the cabin or why the men are trying to kill her, she also doesn’t remember who she is. Eventually, she escapes and meets up with Ty, a boy who is willing to help her even at the risk of losing his own life. Together they attempt to figure out what happened to make her lose her memory.

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Splintered
by A.G. Howard

Alyssa, a girl already struggling with life in general, is pulled into something dark and mysterious. She follows in the footsteps of her ancestor, Alice, and goes down the rabbit hole to right the wrongs that Alice caused to cure her family of their "curse". Instead of finding Lewis Carroll's Beautiful wonderland she finds a dark and twisted version with monstrous creatures that aren't as nice as the ones in the novel or as pretty.

Book Trailer:

See my review for this book on Goodreads!

*This is Book #1 in the Splintered series. Book #2 is Unhinged (see my review) and Book #3, Ensnared, will be out January 13th, 2015

Teardrop
by Lauren Kate

Eureka has only ever cried once in her life and the one time she did, her mother told her to never cry again. Ever since then, she has never shed a tear; not even when her mother was killed in a tragic freak accident. Unbeknownst to Eureka, she was also supposed to die, but Ander couldn’t bring himself to let her die despite the threats that Eureka possesses because of her tears.

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*This is Book #1 in the Teardrop series. Book #2, Waterfall, is due to come out October 28th

 Openly Straight
By Bill Konigsberg

Rafe has been out of the closet for years. After transferring to an all-boys boarding school, however, he decides to keep his sexual orientation to himself. But when he meets Ben, a teammate on his soccer team, he wonders if their friendship-turned-more is worth outing himself for.

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Monument 14: Sky On Fire
by Emmy Laybourne

When disaster strikes in the city of Monument, 14 kids are huddled in a Greenway store for shelter and survival. They decide their only chance of living through this nationwide disaster is to make their way to Denver International Airport where the military is evacuating people to safety. Will they make it alive or will they meet their doom like others have? 

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*This is Book #2 in the Monument 14 series. Book #1 is Monument 14 and Book #3 is Savage Drift

Six Months Later
by Natalie D. Richards

Chloe Spinnaker is an average student just barely making the grade. But one day spring day, after falling asleep in study hall, she wakes up to snow and an empty classroom. Six months of her life has passed and she has no clue what happened except that now she is popular and has lots of friends that is, except Maggie, the one true friend she had before everything changed. Bewildered by the sudden time lapse in her life, Chloe decides to embark on a mission where she stops at nothing to figure out what happened to her and to get her memories back.

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Eleanor & Park
by Rainbow Rowell

The year is 1986 when Eleanor arrives in town to live with her family and abusive step-father. It's been a year since the last time she lived with them, and she doesn't expect life to be any better. Park's life, on the other hand, is going steady. He's got a spot in the popular crowd and he's about to get his driver's license. But when the two meet on the bus, things change drastically. Even though they both know high school romances never last, they're going to try everything they've got to make it work. But in end, will everything they have be enough?

Book Trailer:

See my review over on Goodreads!

This Song Will Save Your Life
by Leila Sales

Elise Dembowski is a high school loser. After reaching the tip of the iceberg and facing suicidal thoughts just months before, Elise is searching desperately for a way out of her nearly friendless life. When she accidentally finds a dance club called Start, Elise's life finally takes off as she meets new people, makes new memories, finds a new passion, and discovers herself.

Book Trailer:

See my review here.

Steelheart
by Brandon Sanderson

Ten years ago, Calamity came; a light in the sky that appeared one day and many believe that somehow it was connected to the rise of the Epics. These beings, once human, now have all kinds of amazing and dangerous powers that have enabled them to take over the world, and one could argue the most dangerous one is Steelheart. Able to bend the elements to his will and turn any non-living substance to steel, many say he's invincible because they've never seen him bleed -- except for David, who will stop at nothing to get his vengeance and see Steelheart bleed again.

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*This is Book #1 in the Reckoners series. Book #2, Firefight, is due out January 6th, 2015.

The Rithmatist
by Brandon Sanderson

Joel wants to be a Rithmatist more than anything. Rithmatists have the power to bring two dimensional beings called Chalklings to life and defend against the wild chalkings that threaten to overcome the Rithmatists. Joel is student at Armedius Academy, a prestigious school where Rithmatists and wealthy children go to learn. When a string of kidnappings begin to occur Joel must gain assistance from the Rithmatists at Armedius Academy in order to bring order back to the academy.

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*This is Book #1 in the Rithmatist series. The next book is currently untitled and due out some time next year. 

This is What Happy Looks Like
by Jennifer E. Smith

Ellie is the girl from Middle-of-Nowhere, Maine, and Graham Larkin is the hot superstar sensation from Middle-of-Everything, California. While Ellie hides from the media, Graham is constantly being watched by the paparazzi. However, an email mistake from Graham to Ellie starts an online relationship between these two teens, marking the start of a friendship and something more. Can Ellie accept Graham despite all the publicity? Or will the media be the demise of this couple's happiness?

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Winger
by Andrew Smith

Ryan Dean West is a fourteen year old junior trying to make everyone else blind to the one thing that makes him different than everyone else, his young age. This is not easy though, as he must prove himself to everyone - the girl of his dreams, his scary roommate, his friends, and the rugby team. As Ryan Dean tries to survive his junior year, he encounters horrifying injuries, moments of ecstasy, and shattering heartbreak.

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*This is Book #1 in the Winger series. Book #2, Stand-Off, is due January 14th, 2015

A Midsummer Night's Scream
by R.L. Stine

Claire, a girl with a dream to become an actress, finally gets her chance when her parents decide to remake Mayhem Manor, a movie that was never finished because of 3 real deaths. As the camera starts rolling on the remake, strange things begin to happen. Like the little hairy man Claire meets by the makeup trailer one day. Who or what could be the cause of these actors’ deaths?

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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
by April Tucholke

Violet, a sassy, independent, and sharp-tongued young lady, rents out the side cottage on her parent's estate in the hopes of making a little extra money to pay the bills. Her easygoing customer is as dangerous as he is mysterious, and murders and madness soon sweep her little home town. She takes it upon herself to understand him and the events, but only finds a darkness she can only hope to escape with her sanity and safety.

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*The sequel, Between the Spark and the Burn, just came out last month

In The Shadow of Blackbirds
by Cat Winters

It’s the fall of 1918: The Spanish Influenza and the horrors of World War I grip the world with terror, and spiritualist photography, as the face of death seems to greet every household in America, has become increasingly popular. After her father is arrested as a suspected traitor, Mary Shelley Black travels to San Diego, hoping to escape the flu while living with her Aunt Eva. Only a few days after arriving, Mary Shelley is told that Stephen, her sweetheart who recently became a soldier, has been killed in France. But Stephen’s spirit hasn’t left yet, and he desperately needs Mary Shelley’s help.

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The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey

Present day – the aliens have invaded the planet, or as Cassie likes to call them, the Others. Almost everyone has been killed off by the 4th Wave, and now, Cassie one of the few survivors living now during the 5th wave, roams the country while trying to stay alive to find her brother – that is, if he's still alive. When she's taken in by a boy named Evan, she realizes that he's different. He's not like her, but he's all she's got. Cassie has to overcome her doubts and trust issues if she wishes to survive the 5th wave.

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*This is Book #1 in the 5th Wave series. Book #2, The Infinite Sea, will be out in a couple weeks on September 16th. Book #3 is current untitled and due out August 2015

Voting has started and will continue through Teen Read Week (October 12th - 18th).

Go Vote here!