Justine Larbalestier

reading, writing, eating, drinking, sport

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BBYA happiness

The Young Adult Library Services Association has just announced its lists of recommended books for 2005. Getting on one of these lists is a very big deal because they are frequently used as a guide for building a collection etc. The two main lists are the Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) and the Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

This year both Scott and me were on the BBYA. I’m so thrilled. Magic or Madness is one of the best young adult books of the year! Woo hoo! Even cooler, Scott made the list with two books, Peeps and Uglies, and Peeps was on the top ten BBYA of the year. How bout that?!

Here’s my pick of the other books on the lists:

Black, Holly. Valiant: a Modern Tale of Faerie (on both lists!)
Bray, Libba. Rebel Angels
Castellucci, Cecil. Boy Proof (on both lists!)
Green, John. Looking for Alaska
Halam, Ann. Siberia (Go Gwyneth!)
Hartnett, Sonya. Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf
Johnson, Maureen. 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Lockhart, E. The Boyfriend List : 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and Me, Ruby Oliver
Lanagan, Margo. Black Juice (will the accolades ever stop? I hope not!)

Here are the books I’m sad didn’t make either list:

Cabot, Meg. Ready or Not (It’s nuts this didn’t make the Quick Picks list!)
Haitani, Kenjiro. A Rabbit’s Eyes (I simply adore this book. In a just world it would’ve won the Printz! Not that Looking for Alaska didn’t deserve it, mind.)
Nelson, R. A. Teach Me (Raw and intense just like it was for me being a teenager! Though I understand that’s very unusual . . . )

Now, I’m looking forward to catching up on the many books on the lists I haven’t read yet. Sigh! We are living in a golden age of young adult publishing.

Posted by Justine at 7:26, 26 January 2006 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Scott's books, Vainglory, Young Adult literature | 13 Comments »

Comments

  1. John Klima Says:

    Justine, did you see the list that YALSA put out about what to recommend to kids who’ve seen/read Narnia and want more? I mention it here: http://evzine.blogspot.com/2006/01/if-you-liked-narnia-movie-you-should.html

    January 26th, 2006 at 7:43 AM

  2. 2. Justine Says:

    No, I hadn’t seen this. That’s a fab list. Yay Holly! My only crit would’ve been to put way more Diana Wynne Jones on it. What were they thinking? She is the crack.

    January 26th, 2006 at 7:49 AM

  3. John Klima Says:

    LOL! True, true. Muy mucho congrats on the BBYA for 2005! That’s way cool. I’m sure the second book is out now and I’m way behind in picking up my copy and reading it. :(

    January 26th, 2006 at 7:58 AM

  4. 4. Justine Says:

    Thanks! Nah, it’s not out until March. There haven’t even been any reviews yet, and as we all know books don’t exist until they’re reviewed!

    January 26th, 2006 at 8:01 AM

  5. Romance gal Says:

    I love Diana Wynne-Jones! And oyour book too! Congrats! W00t!

    January 26th, 2006 at 4:25 PM

  6. Romance gal Says:

    Can’tt wait for the next one of your magic books!

    January 26th, 2006 at 4:25 PM

  7. Veronica Schanoes Says:

    Congrats you! You have to read Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge. It’s brilliant.

    January 26th, 2006 at 4:45 PM

  8. 8. Justine Says:

    Romance Gal: Thank you!

    Veronica: Thanks! Never heard of Fly by Night–tell me more! But not in a spoilery way.

    January 26th, 2006 at 5:28 PM

  9. claire Says:

    “bbya” sounds like the slang encouraging cheer of some hybrid subculture: “big booty on ya!” or something like that. so i won’t say congrats, i’ll shout out: bbya!

    January 27th, 2006 at 11:49 AM

  10. 10. Justine Says:

    Tee hee. I do indeed have a booty of some bigness. So thank you!

    January 27th, 2006 at 1:28 PM

  11. chrisbarnes Says:

    congrats on all your recent successes, justine!

    I notice that kazu kibuishi’s ‘daisy kutter’ made the bbya list too. he’s a comic artist – or should that be graphic novelist? – and his stuff can be seen here: http://www.boltcity.com/

    i really like his series ‘copper’, about a boy and his dog. the art reminds me of miyazaki’s best anime artwork.

    January 29th, 2006 at 4:27 PM

  12. 12. Justine Says:

    Thanks! And for the head’s up.

    January 30th, 2006 at 12:24 PM

  13. niall harrison Says:

    Fly by Night. Not perfect, but definitely worth a look, and deserves more attention than it seems to have been getting.

    February 3rd, 2006 at 5:04 AM

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