The America Library Association's 2008 List of The Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults (Best Book Recommendations)

The America Library Association's 2008 List of The Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults

a list by Peter Steinberg, avid reader

The American Library Association's "Young Adult Library Services Association" puts out an annual list of the 10 best books recommended for those ages 12-18. Here's the list for 2008. Enjoy.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_PartTime_Indian');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013684'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_PartTime_Indian');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013684'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_PartTime_Indian');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013684'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_PartTime_Indian');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0316013684'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 240 page hardcover \|$11.55 \|85 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/A_Long_Way_Gone_Memoirs_of_a_Boy_Soldier');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0374105235'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/A_Long_Way_Gone_Memoirs_of_a_Boy_Soldier');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0374105235'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah Amazon says: Wars are now fought now by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. In "A Long Way Gone," Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he'd been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/A_Long_Way_Gone_Memoirs_of_a_Boy_Soldier');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0374105235'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/A_Long_Way_Gone_Memoirs_of_a_Boy_Soldier');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0374105235'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 240 page hardcover \|$14.96 \|377 reviews This book also appears on: Peter Steinberg's Reading List The 2008 Alex Awards The New York Times' 50 Notable Books of 2007 (Non-Fiction) Time Magazine's Top 10 Books of 2007 (Non-Fiction)


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Before_I_Die');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385751559'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Before_I_Die');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385751559'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">Before I Die by Jenny Downham onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Before_I_Die');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385751559'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Before_I_Die');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385751559'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 336 page hardcover \|$10.87 \|40 reviews This book also appears on Some Favorite Books of Gotham Gal


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Your_Own_Sylvia_A_Verse_Portrait_of_Sylvia_Plath');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/037583799X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Your_Own_Sylvia_A_Verse_Portrait_of_Sylvia_Plath');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/037583799X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Your_Own_Sylvia_A_Verse_Portrait_of_Sylvia_Plath');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/037583799X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Your_Own_Sylvia_A_Verse_Portrait_of_Sylvia_Plath');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/037583799X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 272 page hardcover \|$10.87 \|6 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Mister_Pip');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385341067'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Mister_Pip');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385341067'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Mister_Pip');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385341067'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Mister_Pip');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385341067'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 272 page hardcover \|$13.60 \|49 reviews This book also appears on The 2008 Alex Awards


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Skulduggery_Pleasant');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0061231150'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Skulduggery_Pleasant');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0061231150'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, illustrated by Tom Percival onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Skulduggery_Pleasant');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0061231150'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Skulduggery_Pleasant');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0061231150'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 400 page hardcover \|$12.23 \|25 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Tamar_A_Novel_of_Espionage_Passion_and_Betrayal');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763634883'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Tamar_A_Novel_of_Espionage_Passion_and_Betrayal');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763634883'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Tamar_A_Novel_of_Espionage_Passion_and_Betrayal');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763634883'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/Tamar_A_Novel_of_Espionage_Passion_and_Betrayal');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0763634883'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 432 page hardcover \|$12.23 \|13 reviews


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/American_Shaolin_Flying_Kicks_Buddhist_Monks_and_the_Legend_of_Iron_Crotch_An_Odyssey_in_the_New_China');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1592402623'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/American_Shaolin_Flying_Kicks_Buddhist_Monks_and_the_Legend_of_Iron_Crotch_An_Odyssey_in_the_New_China');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1592402623'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly Amazon says: Bill Bryson meets Bruce Lee in this raucously funny story of one scrawny American's quest to become a kung fu master at China's legendary Shaolin Temple. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/American_Shaolin_Flying_Kicks_Buddhist_Monks_and_the_Legend_of_Iron_Crotch_An_Odyssey_in_the_New_China');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1592402623'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/American_Shaolin_Flying_Kicks_Buddhist_Monks_and_the_Legend_of_Iron_Crotch_An_Odyssey_in_the_New_China');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/1592402623'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 384 page hardcover \|$17.16 \|53 reviews This book also appears on The 2008 Alex Awards


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Invention_of_Hugo_Cabret');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439813786'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Invention_of_Hugo_Cabret');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439813786'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by Brian Selznick onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Invention_of_Hugo_Cabret');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439813786'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Invention_of_Hugo_Cabret');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439813786'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 544 page hardcover \|$15.63 \|178 reviews This book also appears on Caldecott Medal Winners


onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Arrival');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439895294'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">	onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Arrival');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439895294'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">The Arrival by Shaun Tan Amazon says: In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life - he's leaving home to build a better future for his family. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy. onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Arrival');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439895294'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow">more on Amazon onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/The_America_Library_Associations_2008_List_of_The_Top_10_Best_Books_for_Young_Adults/The_Arrival');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0439895294'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;" rel="nofollow"> 128 page hardcover \|$13.59 \|27 reviews This book also appears on: The America Library Association's 2008 List of The Top 10 Graphic Novels for Young Adults The New York Times' Notable Children's Books of 2007

Know any books we should add to the list above? .