Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults was an annual list of popular books geared toward young adult readers, collated by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), which was published from 1988 to 2017. The aim of the list was "to encourage young adults to read for pleasure by presenting to them lists of popular or topical titles which are widely available in paperback and which represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres". [1] Unlike other lists published by the American Library Association and its subsidiaries, books on the list did not have to be published recently. [2] Researchers, librarians, and educators have used the list to better understand books popular amongst young adults. [3] [4] [5] [6]
YALSA first released the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list in 1988. Working with book distributor Baker & Taylor, representatives from YALSA reviewed books available in paperback in five genres: "romance, horror, science fiction, sports, and mystery". [1] In following years, YALSA added more genres to the list (e.g., fantasy, humor, and historical fiction). [1]
To be eligible for the list, books "must be in print and available in paperback", [2] which ensures wider availability across socioeconomic statuses. [1] The judges committee considers the opinions of young adult readers, looking at both young adult and adult books, both fiction and nonfiction. [2] Furthermore, "Popularity is more important than literary quality." [2]
Between 1997 and 2010, YALSA did not select the top ten books annually; instead, they composed longer lists in selected categories. [7]
The top ten books for 2011 to 2017 are listed below.
Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels.
Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Jonathan Anthony Stroud is a British writer of fantasy fiction, best known for the Bartimaeus young adult sequence and Lockwood & Co. children's series. His books are typically set in an alternative history London with fantasy elements, and have received note for his satire, and use of magic to reflect themes of class struggle. The Bartimaeus sequence is the recipient of the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire and Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. Stroud's works have also been featured on ALA Notable lists of books for children and young adults. In 2020, Netflix announced a TV series based on Lockwood & Co., with filming initiated in July 2021.
Todd Strasser is an American writer of more than 140 young-adult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of non-fiction, some written under the pen names Morton Rhue and T.S. Rue.
Dakota Lane is an author. She has been nominated for an American Library Association award three times and cited as a Best Book for Young Adults for Johnny Voodoo and 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
Margaret Stiefvater is an American writer of young adult fiction. She is best known for her fantasy series The Wolves of Mercy Falls and The Raven Cycle.
Stephanie Kuehn is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her William C. Morris Award-winning debut novel Charm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, and Complicit. Her novels often explore themes of mental illness and psychology.
Emily Jenkins, who sometimes uses the pen name E. Lockhart, is an American writer of children's picture books, young-adult novels, and adult fiction. She is known best for the Ruby Oliver quartet, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and We Were Liars.
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina is an autobiography by Misty Copeland, written with Charisse Jones, published March 4, 2014 by Aladdin. In the book, Copeland discusses her history toward becoming the only African-American soloist with the American Ballet Theatre following a life in which she and her family lived in poverty.
Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction. She is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."
The Bluford Series is a widely read collection of contemporary American young adult novels set in the fictional inner-city high school of Bluford High in Southern California. Bluford is named for Guion "Guy" Bluford, the first African-American astronaut. The series was created and published by Townsend Press and was co-distributed by Scholastic. As part of an effort to promote reading in underfunded school districts, Townsend Press originally made the Bluford Series available to schools for a dollar each. As of 2018, over 11 million Bluford Series novels were in print.
The American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults, previously known as Best Books for Young Adults (1966–2010), is a recommendation list of books presented yearly by the 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 it 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.
Julie Berry is an American author of children's and young adults books and winner of several national book awards.
The Darkest Minds, written by American author Alexandra Bracken, is a young adult dystopian fiction series consisting of four novels and several novellas compiled in Through the Dark.
The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division.
Ron Koertge is an American poet and author of young adult fiction. Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, California. Koertge's honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a California Arts Council grant, and inclusion in numerous anthologies. His young-adult fiction has won many awards, including Friends of American Writers Young People’s Literature Award, New York Library’s 100 Best Children’s Books, ALA Best Book, New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, and P.E.N. awards. In 2017, he was awarded a Pushcart Prize.
Mindy McGinnis is an American writer of young adult fiction. Her most notable works include Be Not Far from Me (2020), Heroine (2019), The Female of the Species (2016), and A Madness So Discreet (2015).
The Good Braider is a young adult novel in verse by Terry Farish, published May 1, 2012 by Marshall Cavendish.
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers is a book list created annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The list identifies fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels that may encourage teenagers who dislike reading to read.
The American Library Association's Great Graphic Novels for Teens, established in 2007, is an annual list presented by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division of graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction geared toward individuals ages 12–18.