2011 Teens' Top Ten Reading Challenge!

The Teen's Top Ten nominees have been announced & there are some very exciting nominees this year. First, a little history. Every year, YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) polls 16 book clubs around the country about what books they think should make the list of the best teen books published in the last year. The nominees are announced on Support Teen Literature Day during National Library Week in April & the voting takes from late August to early September. The winners are announced during Teen Read Week, which will be October 16-22 this year & have the theme Picture It @ your library.

This year there are 25 nominees that teens (12-18) can vote on between August 22nd and September 16th. If you want more information on any of these events, please visit the YALSA website.

The 2011 nominees are:

Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Drought by Pam Bachorz
I Am J by Cris Beam
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Lies by Michael Grant
Love, Inc by Yvonne Collins
Matched by Ally Condie
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The False Princess by Ellis O'Neal
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

See some familiar names up there? That's because in order to be nominated, the book has to have been released within the last year, so some of them have been out for a bit. Because I like to read as many of them as possible so that I can recommend them to my teens during the summer and fall to gear up for voting, I thought it would be fun to make it into a challenge to see who else would like to join me! Since I'm (sadly) over 18, I can't vote, but I still feel like a part of it all when I read the books. There are 3 different levels to the challenge.

Wallet: Reading 1-8 books

Frame: Reading 9-17 books

Canvas: Reading 18-26 books

Get it, "Picture It" & picture sizes? I'm a dork, I know.

The deadline is September 16th as that is the last day of voting. I will be giving away a prize pack of books to one lucky person in each category. Simply sign up using the Mister Linky below. Your post should contain a link back to the challenge, your level choice, and the books that you've read to complete the challenge. Since some of these books came out in 2010, if you have already read the book, you can still consider it in the challenge. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REVIEW THE BOOKS IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, you simply have to keep your post updated once you've read the book. Many of these books can fit into other challenges that are in the blogosphere like the Debut Authors Challenge hosted by The Story Siren or the 111 in '11 Reading Challenge hosted by Life is Short, Read Fast.

There will be book pack prizes for completion! If you complete the challenge by September 16th then you be entered to win a prize pack of books. There will be 1 winner in each category. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!



P.S. No you don't have to leave a comment after linking, but they're always welcome!

2011 Teens' Top Ten Reading Challenge!

Support Teen Literature Day & Rock the Drop!!

Yay for Support Teen Literature Day & Rock the Drop! Be sure to drop a book (preferably a "Banned Book") in a public location with the Operation Teen Book Drop logo on it.



As I stated on Tuesday, the best part of today is the announcement of the Teens' Top Ten nominees. And they are as follows:

Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Drought by Pam Bachorz
I Am J by Cris Beam
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Lies by Michael Grant
Love, Inc by Yvonne Collins
Matched by Ally Condie
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The False Princess by Ellis O'Neal
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Zombies vs. Unicorns by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins


That is an impressive list. Congratulations to all the nominees & a double congratulations to Rachel Hawkins who managed to get both her books on the nominee list! Again this year I will be hosting a Teens' Top Ten reading challenge. The details will be up early next week, but if you really can't wait until then to a chance to win a prize, then enter the Purple Daze giveaway here!

Support Teen Literature Day & Rock the Drop!!

National Library Week: Teen Literature Day!

Thursday is a very special day during National Library Week. Thursday is Support Teen Literature Day!! This is a relatively new "day" during National Library Week and rightfully so. Support Teen Literature Day highlights that the literature written for young adults isn't just for teens & can't be confined to one specific genre. Young adult literature provides so much to its readers ranging from heart-wrenching realistic fiction to in-depth, finely tuned paranormal series. The writers for this genre are even more amazing because they range from struggling college students to mom's with a knack for verse.

The absolute BEST part about Support Teen Literature Day is that the nominees for Teens' Top Ten. Teens' Top Ten is a whole other set of crazy fun where teens get to vote on their top ten favorite books from the pre-determined list. Last year's winner was Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins. I hosted a Teens' Top Ten challenge last year. I learned a lot & have decided to continue it this year. This time I'm hoping to get some really great prizes for my wonderful participants. Be sure to keep a look out for more information on that front.

Also, readergirlz coordinates & hosts Operation Teen Bookdrop. They have donated books to underfunded schools & given them to hospitals for teen patients. This year they are asking that you DROP the book in a public location so that others can find it. I intend to get rid of several of my ARCs & personal copies I no longer need. If you live in the Raleigh, NC area, be on the lookout. You just might score a special treat!

So go out & celebrate your library! If you need any hints on how, click here. If you can't celebrate your library, then at least celebrate the blogging library workers & librarians below:
Super Librarian
Book Love
One Librarian's Book Reviews
Goddess Librarian

National Library Week: Teen Literature Day!

Teen's Top Ten Nominees & Challenge (with prizes)!

I don't know if you all noticed, but the Teen's Top Ten nominees have been announced. Every year, YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) polls 15 book clubs around the country about what books they think should make the list of the best teen books published in the last year. This year there are 26 nominees that teens (12-18) can vote on between August 23rd and September 17th. The Teen's Top Ten choices are announced during Teen Read Week in October. This year's theme for Teen Read Week is "Books with Beat."If you want more information on any of these events, please visit the YALSA website.



The 2010 nominees are:

Abbott, Ellen Jensen. Watersmeet

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls

Brown, Jennifer. Hate List

Carter, Ally. Heist Society

Cashore, Kristin. Fire

Clare, Cassandra. City of Glass

Clayton, Emma. The Roar

Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire

Dessen, Sarah. Along for the Ride

Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron

Fitzpatrick, Becca. hush, hush

Forman, Gayle. If I Stay

Garcia, Kami and Margaret Stohl. Beautiful Creatures

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd. Edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci.

Golding, Julia. Dragonfly

Jinks, Catherine. The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Lieb, Josh. I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President

Ockler, Sarah. Twenty Boy Summer

Patterson, James. Witch and Wizard

Peters, Julie Anne. By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

Pierce, Tamora. Bloodhound

St. Crow, Lili. Strange Angels

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver

Tanigawa, Nagaru. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan

Yep, Laurence. City of Fire

See some familiar names up there? If you've been reading my blog for a while you should, as I have read and reviewed a few of them. Because I like to read as many of them as possible so that I can recommend them to my teens during the summer and fall to gear up for voting, I thought it would be fun to make it into a challenge to see who else would like to join me! Since I'm (sadly) over 18, I can't vote, but I still feel like a part of it all when I read the books. There are 3 different levels to the challenge.

Solo: Duet: Three-Part Harmony:

Reading 1-8 books Reading 9-17 books Reading 18-26 books

The deadline is September 17th as that is the last day of voting. I will be giving away a prize pack of books to one lucky person in each category. Simply sign up using the Mister Linky below. Your post should contain a link back to the challenge, your level choice, and the books that you've read to complete the challenge. Since some of these books came out in 2009, if you have already read the book, you can still consider it in the challenge. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REVIEW THE BOOKS IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED. Many of these books can fit into other challenges that are in the blogosphere like the Debut Authors Challenge hosted by The Story Siren or the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

Example:

Laura (Tattooed Books) Solo

[link to blogpost about challenge choices]

Teen's Top Ten Nominees & Challenge (with prizes)!

Teen's Top Ten Voting is going on NOW!!

Do you want a say in what are considered the top ten teen books of 2009? Then hop on over to the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) website and get your vote on!

Every year 15 book groups in libraries and schools from around the country narrow down all the books published in the last year to a listing of about 25 books. That list is released on Support Teen Literature Day during National Library Week, which is usually in the early spring. Then you have all summer long to read the books, that you haven't already read, and then you get to vote.

This year voting is open between Aug. 24th and Sept. 18th. Anyone between the ages of 12 and 18 can vote online here or they can stop by their local library to see if voting is going on there. Check out this year's list here.

Also, check out my reviews of some of this year's competitors and/or their prequel/sequels. Enjoy!

City of Bones, Chosen, Flygirl, The Hunger Games, The Graveyard Book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Teen's Top Ten Voting is going on NOW!!