Luke's Top Ten books of 2013 are:

Since everyone else in the world gets to opine on what the best YA books of last year were, I have decided to (humbly) offer my own list of MY favorite    titles.  Enjoy!


October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman YP FIC NEWMAN 
A beautiful and heartbreaking collection of poems about the sensless murder of Matthew Shepard.





 
Read my review here.

The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway YP FIC GALLOWAY 

Adam Strand kills himself, but just keeps coming back.  If he can't figure out how to die, maybe he can figure out how to live.

Read my review here.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell YP FIC ROWELL

Two outcasts find love, but don't know how to hold onto it in this sad and beautiful love story.





Read my review here.

Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy A. Bastian YP FIC BASTIAN
A beautifully illustrated comic about a pirate girl with a curse and a great adventure.


 


Read my review here.

manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen YP FIC LEVEEN

Tyler loves Rebecca Webb, but has no idea who she really is.  Can he summon the courage to tell her and will eh like what he finds when he really gets to know her?




Read my review here.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff YP FIC ZADOFF
He is nobody. A teen shadow assassin that goes from job to job killing whatever target he is assigned.  But the new target has him questioning his orders, something that could get him killed.



 Read my review here.

Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin YP FIC BEAUDOIN
The court ordered diary of an aspiring punker and his (mis)adventures that lead him in juvie and looking at what went wrong.





 Read my review here.

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman YP FIC WASSERMAN
After the Killing Night, where five murders killed with no motive, the sleepy town of Oleander just wants to forget. But something has changed in the people, an evil has awakened, and it will destroy the whole town if it is isn't stopped.


 

 Read my review here.

Winger by Andrew Smith YP FIC SMITH
Ryan Dean is younger than all the other students at Pine Mountain Boarding School and both too smart and too dumb for his own good. He'll need all the help he can get of this sad, hilarious, ridiculous, and profound coming-of-(almost)age novel.



 Read my review here.

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block YP FIC BLOCK
Pen's world (heck the whole world) turned upside down after the Earth Shaker.  Now her, a rag tag group of froends, and a dog eared copy of The Odyssey are all that stand between an army of giants, their psychotic leader, and the total destruction of the (rest) of the world.


 Read my review here.

And the Best Book for Young Adults (according to the America Library Association) is...

Drum roll please.  The American Library Association has announced their 2013 awards.  This year their prestigious and much valued and super-duper keen Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults goes to….

THIS IS SO TENSE!!!!

In Darkness by Nick Lake (Call Number YP FIC LAKE).  This is the dark (sorry bad pun) and compelling first hand story of a young teen from the slums of Haiti (hopelessly?) trapped under rubble following a massive earth shattering quake. I (very favorably) reviewed it here.  I am quite happy with their selection this year and truly hope it leads more people to read this stellar novel.

Below are the four Honor Books that didn’t quite make the top prize, but do not scoff! These four books definitely are honored, because they are among the top five of all YA novels for all of last year.  Pretty impressive. Check one or all of the m out today!

 
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz YP FIC SAENZ

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein YP FIC WEIN

Dodger by Terry Pratchett YP FIC PRACHETT

The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna YP FIC BRENNA

Done reading these?  ALREADY!? Okay, well head on over to the ALA and check out their other award winners! 

My Favorite Books of 2012

With the year 2012 (and therefore possibly all life on this planet) coming to an end, I’d like to take the time and give MY 10 most favorite books that I read this year.  Each title will also link to the review I did of the book, so you’ll have a better idea if it will be your cup of tea. The list is in no particular order of awesomeness, but egalitarian arranged by author.  

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler YP FIC ASHER

The tale of two teens that get a glimpse of their Facebook future before Facebook even existed.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick YP FIC BICK

A worldwide catastrophe leaves Alex without her horrible headaches, but in a world where nothing seems to work and most teens are bloodthirsty killers.

Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick YP FIC BICK

Bick was so good this year I chose two of her novels!  This is a dark look at obsession and lies when a teen gets far too involved with her teacher.

The Diviners by Libba Bray YP FIC BRAY 

A rip-roaring mystery, historical fiction, paranormal epic filled with humor, suspense, character, and originality.

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk YP FIC BERK

One of the best comedies of the year.  From the author of the also hilarious The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin.

Mister Death’s Blue Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn YP FIC HAHN

A haunting mystery about how violence can destroy the lives of all it touches.

Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan Mcleod YP FIC MCLEOD

 
An amazing kung-fu epic with bbrilliant art and bizarre twists that will leave you confounded and elated.

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield YP FIC ROSENFIE

When a stranger's body is found it tears apart a small town looking for answers.  This dark mystery is written with a poetic touch and looks for answers far deeper than 'who done it'.

American Barbarian by Tom Scioli YP FIC SCIOLI

A gloriously deranged homage to the King of Comics, Jack Kirby.  Marvel at the tale of the last American Barbarian in the destroyed ruins of America against the tank footed evil pharaoh Two Tank Omen.

 



The Only Ones by Aaaron Starmer YP FIC STARMER

The world ends and its just the beginning of the adventure.  Martin leaves his island to find that everyone on the planet has vanished except for a small city of kids, each with a special skill. 

YALSA drops it's Best fiction for Teens list like it's hot! And it is!

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has announced their best of lists.  You can read their best fiction list here and their best graphic novels list here.  Below are their top teen fiction books and our call numbers.  Check them out!

Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns YP FIC CARSON

Cohen, Joshua C. Leverage YP FIC COHEN

King, A.S. Everybody Sees the Ants YP FIC KING

McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite YP FIC MCCALL

Myracle, Lauren. Shine YP FIC MYRACLE

Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Illus by Jim Kay YP FIC NESS

Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray YP FIC SEPETYS

Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races YP FIC STIEFVAT

Taylor, Laini. Daughter of Smoke and Bone  YP FIC TAYLOR

Zarr, Sara. How to Save a Life YP FIC ZARR