Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

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. ^[1]

Researchers, educators, librarians, parents, and teenagers have used the list to identify books reluctant young adult readers may enjoy. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

Criteria

When selecting books for the Quick Picks list, the judges consider: ^[1]

• Physical appearance (e.g., the cover, print style, format, and artwork/illustrations)
• Writing style

For fiction novels, judges consider whether the book has: ^[1]

• High interest "hook" in first 10 pages
• Well-defined characters
• Sufficient plot to sustain interest
• Plot lines developed through dialogue and action
• Familiar themes with emotional appeal for teenagers
• Believable treatment
• Single point of view
• Touches of humor when appropriate
• Chronological order

For informational books, judges consider the accuracy and objectivity of the book, as well as whether technical language is well-defined. ^[1]

Recipients

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers Top Ten (2016-2021)

Award Year	Author	Title
2016 [9]	Victoria Aveyard	Red Queen
	Holly Black and Cassandra Clare	The Iron Trial
	Fonda Lee	Zeroboxer
	Sam Maggs	The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks
	Julie Murphy	Dumplin'
	E. C. Myers	The Silence of Six
	Daniel José Older	Shadowshaper
	Kate Schatz	Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History
	ND Stevenson	Nimona
	Nicola Yoon	Everything, Everything
2017 [10]	Julie Buxbaum	Tell Me Three Things
	Jeff Garvin	Symptoms of Being Human
	Nadia Abushanab Higgins	Feminism: Reinventing the F-Word
	E. K. Johnston	Exit, Pursued by a Bear
	Jeff Lemire	Plutona
	Amy Lukavics	Daughters Unto Devils
	Marieke Nijkamp	This Is Where It Ends
	Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely	All American Boys
	Meredith Russo	If I Was Your Girl
	Sarvenaz Tash	The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love
2018 [11]	Alison Deering with Bob Lentz (Illus.)	Sandwiches!: More Than You've Ever Wanted to Know About Making and Eating America's Favorite Food
	Keith Giffen with Howard Porter (Illus.)	Scooby Apocalypse
	Karen M. McManus	One of Us Is Lying
	Doreen Rappaport	42 Is Not Just a Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero
	Jason Reynolds	Long Way Down
	Jason Reynolds	Miles Morales: Spider-Man
	Jason Reynolds	Patina
	Nic Stone	Dear Martin
	Angie Thomas	The Hate U Give
	Scott Westerfeld with Alex Puvilland (Illus.)	Spill Zone
2019 [12]	Elizabeth Acevedo	The Poet X
	Laurie Halse Anderson with Emily Carroll (Illus.)	Speak: The Graphic Novel
	Tommy Greenwald	Game Changer
	Jarrett Krosoczka	Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction
	Gretchen McNeil	#MurderTrending
	Jason Reynolds	Track series (Sunny [vol. 3] and Lu [vol. 4])
	Aisha Saeed	Amal Unbound
	Chana Stiefel	Animal Zombies!: And Other Blood-Sucking Beasts, Creepy Creatures, and Real-Life Monsters
	Courtney Summers	Sadie
	Jen Wang	The Prince and the Dressmaker
2020 [13]	Ashley Elston	10 Blind Dates
	Eva Darrows	Belly Up
	Mindy McGinnis	Heroine
	Colleen AF Venable with Ellen T. Crenshaw (Illus.)	Kiss Number 8
	Rainbow Rowell with Faith Erin Hicks (Artist)	Pumpkinheads
	Danielle Vega	The Haunted
	Kim Liggett	The Unfortunates
	Karen McManus	Two Can Keep a Secret
	Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan	UNpregnant
	Malala Yousafzai	We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories From Refugee Girls Around the World
2021 [14]	Gretchen McNeil	#NoEscape
	Mindy McGinnis	Be Not Far From Me
	Joseph Bruchac	Found
	Carl Deuker	Golden Arm
	Alice Oseman	Heartstopper Vol. 1
	Jason Reynolds with Danica Novgorodoff (Illus.)	Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel
	Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam	Punching the Air
	Kat Leyh	Snapdragon
	Ben Oliver	The Loop
	Leah Johnson	You Should See Me in a Crown
2022 [15]	B. B. Alston	Amari and the Night Brothers
	Dusti Bowling	The Canyon's Edge
	Crystal Frasier with Val Wise (Art)	Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms
	Abby Howard	The Crossroads at Midnight
	Lee Knox Ostertag	The Girl from the Sea
	L. L. McKinney	Nubia: Real One
	Isaac Fitzsimons	The Passing Playbook
	Christian Allaire	The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures
	Lily Sparks	Teen Killers Club
	Sugar Rodgers	They Better Call Me Sugar: My Journey from the Hood to the Hardwood

References

1. "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-03-02. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
2. Jones, Leigh Ann (May 2006). Do "Quick Picks" book covers appeal to middle school readers? The impact of covers on self-selection of fiction books in the middle school library setting (PhD dissertation). Texas Woman's University. hdl:11274/11177. ProQuest   3215110. Archived from the original on 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
3. Mundy, JaNae Jenkins (2000). Best books for young adults: An analysis of the structural, stylistic, and thematic characteristics of the 1998 Best Books for Young Adults and 1998 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (PhD dissertation). Texas Woman's University.
4. Roy, Loriene (April 2008). "Circle of Knowledge: Sap Boiling Moon Month or Iskigamizige-Giizis" (PDF). American Libraries. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
5. Carr, Carolyn Marie (2009). The portrayal of teenage sexuality in young adult literature (Graduate research paper). University of Northern Iowa. Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
6. "Young Adult Literature" . Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 23 (2): 109–110. 1998. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1250. ISSN   1553-1201.
7. Blasingame, James; Pace Nilsen, Alleen; Donelson, Ken (September 2004). "The 2003 Honor List: A Book for All Reasons". The English Journal. 94 (1): 88–94. doi:10.2307/4128854. JSTOR   4128854.
8. Broadway, Marsha (2016-08-09). "Children's Literary Awards and Recommended Lists on the Net". Children's Book and Media Review. 28 (2). Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
9. "2016 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-12-28. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
10. "2017 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-01-22. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
11. "2018 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2018-01-31. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
12. "2019 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2019-01-17. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
13. "2020 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2020-01-07. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
14. "2021 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2021-01-05. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
15. Serbekian, Michael (2022-02-04). "YALSA names 2022 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-05.