Instead of a book review, today I offer the best books of the year for teens, as chosen by the American Library Association. Each year a committee of librarians is chosen to read most of the books published for teens and they choose a select few. Click on each one to check it's availability in our system.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:

Winner:

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick
Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts and a curiously powerful plant.

Honor Books:

Kindgom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
On the eve of Princess Sophia's wedding, the Scandinavian city of Skyggehavn prepares to fete the occasion with a sumptuous display of riches. Yet beneath the veneer of celebration, a shiver of darkness creeps through the palace halls.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
What if the football hadn't gone over the wall? On the other side of the wall there is a dark secret. And the devil. And the Moon Man. And the Motherland doesn't want anyone to know. But Standish Treadwell--who has different-colored eyes, who can't read, can't write, STandish Treadwell isn't bright--sees things differently than the rest of the "train-track thinkers".

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
The Odyssey-like adventure of two boys' incredible quest on the Appalachian Trail where they deal with pirates, buried secrets and extraordinary encounters.








YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Winner:

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb
A spy mission, a Holocaust tale and a first class work of nonfiction.








Finalists:
Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd

Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War II by Martin W. Sandler

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone

The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson