2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults (Fiction Part 1)
Discover the top fiction picks from the 2008 ALA Best Books for Young Adults list (Part 1). Explore award-winning titles perfect for teens and young adult readers.
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is …
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Flight
by Sherman Alexie
On the verge of committing an act of violence, a troubled, orphaned Indian teenager finds himself hurtled through time and into various bodies, before returning …
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Twisted
by Laurie Halse Anderson
After getting busted for doing graffiti and having to work all summer to pay for the damages, invisible Tyler's physique changes greatly and brings with …
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Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER **THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL, NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES** “Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” —Chicago Tribune …
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A Long Way Gone
by Ishmael Beah
My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. “Why did you leave Sierra Leone?” “Because there …
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Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature
by Robin Brande
Your best friend hates you. The guy you liked hates you. Your entire group of friends hates you. All because you did the right thing. …
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Mistik Lake
by Martha Brooks
Seventeen-year-old Odella is haunted by family secrets. Why doesn't her great-aunt Gloria visit anymore? Why does her mother, Sally, drink so much? Sally's tragic car …
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Bloodsong
by Melvin Burgess
The new hope of the Volson clan, Sigurd, battles a highly advanced, gold-hoarding dragon, resulting in his fall into the underworld. But hope remains as …
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Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
by Peter Cameron
It’s time for eighteen-year-old James Sveck to begin his freshman year at Brown. Instead, he’s surfing the real estate listings, searching for a sanctuary—a nice …
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Dragon's Keep
by Janet Lee Carey
In 1145 A.D., as foretold by Merlin, fourteen-year-old Rosalind, who will be the twenty-first Pendragon Queen of Wilde Island, has much to accomplish to fulfill …
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Re-gifters
by Mike Carey
Korean-American Jen Dik Seong, known as Dixie to her friends, puts most of her money and energy into the martial art of hapkido, but she …
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Looking for JJ
by Anne Cassidy
Seventeen-year-old Alice, released from prison with a new identity after serving six years for murdering a child, tries to keep her anonymity from the British …
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Beige
by Cecil Castellucci
From the author of "Boy Proof" comes an edgy novel full of humor and heart. Katy really doesn't want to spend two weeks in L.A. …
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One Whole and Perfect Day
by Judith Clarke
Summary: As her irritating family prepares to celebrate her grandfather's eightieth birthday, sixteen-year-old Lily yearns for just one whole perfect day together.
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Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party
by Ying Chang Compestine
Drawing from her childhood experience, the author brings hope and humor to this fascinating story of a young girl growing up and fighting to survive …
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Derby Girl
by Shauna Cross
Bliss Cavendar takes up Roller Derby and soon embarks on an epic journey full of a few not-so-awesome realities. Now adapted as the feature film …
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I Am Rembrandt's Daughter
by Lynn Cullen
In Amsterdam in the mid-1600s, Cornelia's life as the illegitimate child of renowned painter Rembrandt is marked by plague, poverty, and despair at ever earning …
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A Swift Pure Cry
by Siobhan Dowd
Set in Ireland in 1984, this novel tells a story of a pregnant teenage girl who is left to care for her younger siblings following …
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Before I Die
by Jenny Downham
A terminally ill teenaged girl makes and carries out a list of things to do before she dies.
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I Love You, Beth Cooper
by Larry Doyle
Denis Cooverman didn't want to give a typical graduation speech, cherishing memories and embracing challenges and crap. So, instead, he stood up in front of …
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This is what I Did
by Ann Dee Ellis
Bullied because of an incident in his past, eighth-grader Logan, an awkward outcast, is unhappy at his new school and has difficulty relating to others …
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Touching Snow
by M. Sindy Felin
In her debut novel, Felin tells the story of a young girl coming of age amid the violent waters that run just beneath the surface …
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For Now
by Gayle Friesen
In this novel by Gayle Friesen, the sequel to Losing Forever, change and heartbreak make Jes's life more confusing than ever.
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Notes for a War Story
by Gipi
" ... an astonishing urban fable of life in a lawless, war-torn nation, heightened by the uncanny artwork of Italy's maestro graphic novel author."--Front inside …
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Leonardo's Shadow
by Christopher Grey
Fifteen-year-old Giacomo--servant to Leonardo da Vinci--helps his procrastinating master finish painting "The Last Supper" while also trying to find clues to his parentage and pursue …
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Your Own, Sylvia
by Stephanie Hemphill
The author interprets the people, events, influences and art that made up the brief life of Sylvia Plath.
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Beowulf
by Gareth Hinds
A retelling in graphic format of the Anglo-Saxon epic about the heroic efforts of Beowulf, son of Edgetheow, to save the people of Heorot hall …
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, the #1 New York Times bestseller A Thousand Splendid …
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Repossessed
by A. M. Jenkins
In this devilishly funny look at the complexities of being a teen, Jenkins tells the story of an unforgettable--and irresistibly endearing--demon's sojourn on earth, where …
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How it Happened in Peach Hill
by Marthe Jocelyn
When fifteen-year-old Annie Grey and her "clairvoyant" mother arrive in Peach Hill, New York, in 1924, each finds a reason for wanting to finally settle …
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Bone by Bone by Bone
by Tony Johnston
In 1950s Tennessee, ten-year-old David's racist father refuses to let him associate with his best friend Malcolm, an African American boy.
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Mister Pip
by Lloyd Jones
On a copper-rich tropical island shattered by war, on which survival is a daily struggle, eccentric Mr. Watts, the only white man left after the …
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Alabama Moon
by Watt Key
For as long as 10-year-old Moon can remember, he has lived out in the forest in a shelter with his father. When his father dies, …
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Firestorm
by David Klass
His mother is not his mother; his father is not his father. If Jack hadn't broken the high school rushing record that night, he never …
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Dreamquake
by Elizabeth Knox
Aided by her family and her creation, Nown, Laura investigates the powerful Regulatory Body's involvement in mysterious disappearances and activities and learns, in the process, …
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Strays
by Ronald Koertge
Recently orphaned, sixteen-year-old Ted O'Connor is sent to a foster home
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Red Spikes
by Margo Lanagan
A collection of ten tales to take you to places that you do not usually go.
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Skulduggery Pleasant
by Derek Landy
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor–tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton —as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie …