The American Library Association's (ALA) Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommended list of books presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division. It is for "fiction titles published for young adults in the past 16 months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18. The purpose of the annual list is to provide librarians and library workers with a resource to use for collection development and readers advisory purposes." In addition there is a "Best of the Best" list of the top 10 titles, made available since 1997.Betty Carter with Sally Estes and Linda Waddle, Best Books for Young Adults, 2nd Edition, YALSA, ALA, 2000.
The list has been published since 1930 when it was founded as "Best Books for Young People". It has undergone several changes of focus and names over the years, including the "Book Selection Committee" (1954), the "Committee for the Selection of Significant Adult Books for Young People" (1963). It became the "Best Books for Young Adults Committee" (BBYA) in 1966 and then "Best Fiction for Young Adults" in 2010.
Before 1973, only "adult books" (as marketed) were eligible. Books marketed for "young adults" have been considered since then and now constitute a majority of the selections. Meanwhile, the marketing category has changed to include more books oriented to older teens.
Honorees A list of historical recipients is available in Betty Carter, Best Books for Young Adults, 1st Edition (1994). Later editions of this work (2000 and 2007) contain additional information.Holly Koelling (ed.), Best Books for Young Adults, 3rd Edition. 2007. 376p. +American Library Association's Top Ten Best BooksYearAuthor(s)Book TitlePublisher1997A Girl Named DisasterOrchard BooksFar NorthHarperCollinsFragments: Memories of a Wartime ChildhoodSchockenThe Golden Compass / Northern LightsScholastic PointNathan's RunPinnacle BooksOne More River to Cross: An African American Photograph AlbumHarcourt BraceRats Saw GodSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Bob Holman and Mark PellingtonThe United States of PoetryHarry N. AbramsWho Killed Mr. Chippendale? A Mystery in PoemsLodestar BooksWrestling SturbridgeRandom House Children's Books1998Blood and ChocolateRandom HouseTangerineHarcourtInto Thin AirVillard BooksSwallowing StonesEmberOut of the DustScholastic IncorporatedStarlite Drive-InPenguin GroupTendernessRandom House Children's BooksSeamstressBerkley BooksGrowing Up in Coal CountryHoughton Mifflin CompanyHarlemScholastic Press1999Among the HiddenSimon and SchusterCorpses, Coffins, and CryptsHoltHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Book One)Scholastic PressHolesFarrar, Straus, and GirouxIf You Come SoftlyPutnamLove Among the WalnutsHarcourt BraceMy Louisiana SkyHolt PublishingNo Pretty Pictures: a Child of WarGreenwillowPeteyHyperionRules of the RoadPutnam2000SpeakFarrar, Straus, and GirouxEnder's ShadowTorWhen Zachary Beaver came to TownHenry Holt & CoThe Raging QuietSimon and SchusterCrookedAlfred A. KnopfMary, Bloody MaryHarcourt BraceMonsterHarperCollinsTies that Bind, Ties that BreakDelacorte PressImani All MineHoughton MifflinIn My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust RescuerAlfred A. Knopf2001Forgotten FireDKHope was HereG. P. Putnam's SonsGirl with a Pearl EarringE. P. DuttonGeeks: How Two Boys Rode the Internet Out of IdahoVillardSilent to the BoneJean Karl Book/Atheneum BooksThe Beet FieldsDelacorte PressEsperanza RisingScholastic PressStargirlAlfred A. KnopfHomeless BirdHarperCollinsMemories of SummerFarrar, Straus, and Giroux2002The Sisterhood of the Traveling PantsDelacorteThe Rag and Bone ShopDelacorteWhale TalkHarperCollinsBreathing UnderwaterHarperCollinsDamageHarperCollinsZazooHoughton MifflinLiraelHarperCollinsThe LandPenguin PutnamEvery Time a Rainbow DiesWilliam MorrowTrue BelieverAtheneum2003The Lightkeeper's DaughterRandom House/Delacorte PressAmericaSimon & Schuster/Atheneum/A Richard Jackson BookCatalystPenguin Putnam/Viking PressThe House of the ScorpionSimon & Schuster/Atheneum/A Richard Jackson Book19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle EastHarperCollins/GreenwillowThis Land Was Made For You and Me: The Life & Songs of Woody GuthriePenguin Putnam/VikingSon of the MobHyperion Books for ChildrenLeft for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS IndianapolisRandom House/Delacorte PressFeedCandlewick PressLamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood PalHarperCollins/William Morrow & Co.2004True Confessions of a Heartless GirlFarrar, Straus and Giroux/Melanie Kroupa BooksA Northern LightHarcourtThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: A NovelRandom House/DoubledayThe First Part LastSimon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersBoy Meets BoyRandom House/Alfred A. KnopfThe Usual RulesSt. Martin's PressEastHarcourt Children's Books33 SnowfishCandlewick PressThe Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book One)Hyperion Books for Children/MiramaxBlankets: An Illustrated NovelTop Shelf Productions2005The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob GreenWorkman Publishing Co. / Algonquin Books of Chapel HillBucking the SargeRandom House/Wendy LambThe Race to Save the Lord God BirdFarrar, Straus and Giroux/Melanie Kroupa BooksThe Realm of PossibilityRandom House Children's Books/Alfred A. KnopfSaving FrancescaRandom House Children's Books/Alfred A. KnopfPrivate PeacefulScholasticAirbornHarperCollins Children's Book Group/Eos PressUnder the Wolf, Under the DogCandlewick PressSammy and Juliana in HollywoodCinco Puntos PressSo B. It: a novelHarperCollins Children's Books/ Laura Geringer Books2006 and Susan BurtonCome Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager's StoryBloomsbury PublishingHitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's ShadowScholasticUpstateSt. Martin's PressLooking for AlaskaE. P. DuttonChris LynchInexcusableSimon & Schuster/Atheneum BooksTwilight: A Novel (Twilight, Book One)Little, Brown & Co./Megan Tingley with Adrian Alphona (Illus.)Runaways: Volume 1 HCMarvel PressPeepsPenguin Books/RazorbillPoisonScholastic/OrchardI am the MessengerAlfred A. Knopf2007The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox PartyCandlewick PressSamurai ShortstopPenguin Group/Dial PressSurrenderCandlewick PressSoldHyperionAnahita's Woven RiddleAbrams Books/Amulet BooksThe TrapHenry Holt & CoThe King of AttoliaHarperCollins/GreenwillowThe Rules of SurvivalPenguin Group/Dial Press and Lark PienAmerican Born ChineseRoaring Brook Press/First Second BooksThe Book ThiefRandom House/Alfred A. Knopf2008 with Ellen Forney (Illus.)The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time IndianLittle, Brown & Co.A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy SoldierFarrar, Straus and Giroux/Sarah CrichtonBefore I DieRandom House/David FicklingYour Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia PlathRandom House/Alfred A. KnopfMister PipDell Publishing/Dial PressSkulduggery Pleasant: The Sceptor of the Ancients (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book One)HarperCollinsTamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and BetrayalCandlewick PressAmerican Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New ChinaPenguin Group USA/Gotham BooksThe Invention of Hugo Cabret: A NovelScholasticThe ArrivalScholastic/Arthur A. Levine2009It's Complicated: The American TeenagerUmbrage EditionsThe Hunger GamesScholasticWaiting for NormalHarperCollins/HarperTeenMexican WhiteBoyDelacorte PressBog ChildRandom House/David Fickling BooksTen Cents a DanceBloomsburyBabyBoyd Mills Press/Front StreetNationHarperCollins and Jillian TamakiSkimHouse of Anansi Press / Groundwood BooksThe Brothers TorresDisney/Hyperion2010Demon's Lexicon (The Demon's Lexicon, Book One)Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Margaret K. McElderryThe Orange HousesPenguin/Dial BooksThe Great Wide SeaPenguin/VikingThe Reformed Vampire Support GroupHarcourt/ Houghton Mifflin HarcourtAlligator BayouRandom House / Alfred A. KnopfStitches: A MemoirW. W. Norton & CoWhen You Reach MeRandom House/Wendy LambMarcelo in the Real WorldScholastic/Arthur A. Levine BooksLips Touch: Three TimesScholastic/Arthur A. Levine BooksWritten in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial MarylandLerner/Carolrhoda Books2011Ship BreakerLittle, Brown & CoRevolutionRandom House/Delacorte PressFinnikin of the RockCandlewick PressAmy & Roger's Epic DetourSimon & SchusterHold Me Closer, NecromancerMacmillan Children's Book Group/Henry Holt & Co.TrashRandom House/David Fickling BooksBamboo PeopleCharlesbridgeThe Things a Brother KnowsRandom House/Wendy LambLast Night I Sang to the MonsterCinco Puntos PressRevolverMacMillian Publishers/Roaring Brook Press2012The Girl of Fire and ThornsHarperTeenLeveragePenguin Group/E. P. DuttonEverybody Sees the AntsLittle, Brown Books for Young ReadersUnder the MesquiteLee & Low BooksShineAbrams Books/Amulet Books with Jim Kay (Illus)A Monster CallsCandlewick PressBetween Shades of GrayPenguin Group/Philomel BooksThe Scorpio RacesScholasticDaughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Book One)Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersHow to Save a LifeLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers2013Me and Earl and the Dying GirlAbrams Books/Amulet BooksThe DivinersLittle, Brown Books for Young ReadersSeraphinaRandom House Books for Young ReadersEnchantedHoughton Mifflin Harcourt/Harcourt Children's BooksEvery DayRandom House/Knopf Books for Young ReadersNever Fall DownHarperCollins/Balzer + BrayBoy 21Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseSimon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersThe Raven BoysScholasticCode Name VerityDisney/Hyperion2014All the Truth That's in MePenguin Putnam/VikingFreakboyMacmillan Publishers/Farrar, Straus, and GirouxBetter Nate Than EverSimon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersFar Far AwayRandom House/Knopf Books for Young ReadersEleanor & ParkMacmillan Publishers/St. Martin's PressMidwinterbloodMacmillan Publishers/Roaring Brook PressOut of the EasyPenguin Books/Philomel Books with Sam Bosma (Illus.)WingerSimon & SchusterGolden BoyPenguin Books/ G. P. Putnam's sons JuvenileRose Under FireDisney/Hyperion2015I'll Give You the SunDial PressJackabyAlgonquinNogginAtheneum BooksThe Carnival at BrayElephant Rock BooksThe CrossoverHoughton Mifflin HarcourtThe Gospel of WinterSimon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderryThe Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of TrondheimCarolrhoda/LabThe Young ElitesG. P. Putnam's sonsVangoCandlewick PressWe Were LiarsDelacorte Publishing2016Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens AgendaHarperCollins/Balzer + BraySix of CrowsHoltThe Bunker DiaryLerner Publishing Group/Carolrhoda LabAudacityPhilomel BooksShadowshaperScholastic/Arthur A. Levine BooksThe Boy in the Black SuitAtheneum BooksBone GapHarperCollins/Balzer + Bray and Kekla MagoonX: A NovelCandlewick PressChallenger DeepHarperTeenMore Happy than NotSoho Teen2017The Passion of DolssaViking Books for Young ReadersThe ReaderG. P. Putnam's Sons / Putnam's Sons Books for Young ReadersThe Lie TreeAbrams BooksThe Female of the SpeciesHarperCollins/Katherine Tegen BooksBurn Baby BurnCandlewick PressGhostAtheneum Books/Caitlyn Dlouhy BooksSalt to the SeaPhilomel BooksScytheSimon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersThe Sun is Also a StarDelacorte PressThe Serpent KingCrown Books for Young Readers2018What Girls Are Made OfLerner Publishing Group/Carolrhoda Lab with Sara Kipin (Illus.)The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous MagicMacmillan PublishersThe Gentleman's Guide to Vice and VirtueHarperCollins/Katherine TegenSparrowScholastic/Arthur A. LevineLong Way DownSimon & Schuster/Atheneum BooksStrange the DreamerLittle, Brown & CoThe Hate U GiveHarperCollins/Balzer + BrayPiecing Me TogetherBloomsbury USAEliza and Her MonstersHarperCollins/GreenwillowGoodbye DaysCrown Books for Young Readers2019The Poet XHarperTeen and Adam SilveraWhat if It's UsHarperTeenThe Cruel Prince