2009 Best Books for Young Adults
(Listed in alphabetical order by title)
**All nominations are listed; winners are in
italics.
**Top Ten Books for Young Adults are in
Red.
Fiction


ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS by James Lecesne
THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary E. Pearson
AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER by Jacqueline Woodson
AIRMAN by Eoin Colfer
ALL WE KNOW OF HEAVEN by Jacquelyn Mitchard
ALL WE KNOW OF LOVE by Nora Raleigh Baskin
ANOTHER KIND OF COWBOY by Susan Juby
ANTSY DOES TIME by Neal Shusterman
THE APPRENTICE'S MASTERPIECE: A STORY OF MEDIEVAL SPAIN by Melanie Little
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein
ARTICHOKE'S HEART by Suzanne Supplee
AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway
BABY by Joseph Monninger
THE BIG GAME OF EVERYTHING by Chris Lynch
BLACK BOX by Julie Schumacher
BLACK RABBIT SUMMER by Kevin Brooks
BLISS by Lauren Myracle
BOG CHILD by Siobhan Dowd
BONECHILLER by Graham McNamee
THE BOOK OF JUDE by Kimberley Heuston
THE BOY WHO DARED by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
BRETT MCCARTHY: WORK IN PROGRESS by Maria Padian
BROOKLYN BRIDGE by Karen Hesse
THE BROTHERS TORRES by Coert Voorhees
THE CABINET OF WONDERS: THE KRONOS CHRONICLES by Marie Rutkoski
CAUGHT BETWEEN THE PAGES by Marlene Carvell
CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson
CHALICE by Robin McKinley
CHAMELEON by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
CHERRY HEAVEN by L.J. Adlington
CLIMBING THE STAIRS by Padma Venkatraman
THE COMEBACK SEASON by Jennifer E. Smith
THE COMPOUND by S.A. Bodeen
CONCEPTION by Kalisha Buckhanon
CROSSING TO PARADISE by Kevin Crossley-Holland
A CURSE DARK AS GOLD by Elizabeth C. Bunce
CYBELE'S SECRET by Juliet Marillier
THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DOGS: A PARODY BY REX AND SPARKY by Joe Garden
DANI BENNONI: LONG MAY HE LIVE by Bart Moeyaert
DARK DUDE by Oscar Hijuelos
DAUGHTER OF WAR by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
DEADVILLE by Ron Koertge
THE DEATH OF JAYSON PORTER by Jaime Adoff
DEBBIE HARRY SINGS IN FRENCH by Meagan Brothers
THE DEVIL'S BREATH: DANGER ZONE by David Gilman
THE DIAMOND OF DRURY LANE: A CAT ROYAL ADVENTURE by Julia Golding
DIRTY WORK by Julia Bell
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart
DOWN TO THE BONE by Mayra Lazara Dole
ELEPHANT RUN by Roland Smith
ELEVEN by Patricia Reilly Giff
THE ENTERTAINER AND THE DYBBUK by Sid Fleischman
EVERYTHING YOU WANT by Barbara Shoup
EXODUS by Julie Bertagna
FANCY WHITE TRASH by Marjetta Geerling
FEATHERED by Laura Kasischke
THE FOLD by An Na
FOREVER CHANGES by Brendan Halpin
THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE by Deb Caletti
GET WELL SOON by Julie Halpern
GHOST MEDICINE by Andrew Smith
THE GHOST'S CHILD by Sonya Hartnett
THE GHOSTS OF KERFOL by Deborah Noyes
THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES by Jody Feldman
GONE by Michael Grant
GOOD ENOUGH by Paula Yoo
GRACELING by Kristin Cashore
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
GUARDIAN by Julius Lester
HE FORGOT TO SAY GOODBYE by Benjamin Alire Saenz
HERE LIES ARTHUR by Philip Reeve
HIGH DIVE by Tammar Stein
THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer
HOUSE OF DANCE by Beth Kephart
HOUSE OF MANY WAYS by Diana Wynne Jones
HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR by Jennifer Ziegler
HOW THEY MET, AND OTHER STORIES by David Levithan
HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE by Dana Reinhardt
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
HURRICANE SONG by Paul Volponi
HUSH: AN IRISH PRINCESS' TALE by Donna Jo Napoli
I AM APACHE by Tanya Landman
I'M BEING STALKED BY A MOONSHADOW by Doug MacLeod
IDENTICAL by Ellen Hopkins
IMAGINARY ENEMY by Julie Gonzalez
IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin
INTO THE VOLCANO by Don Wood
IVY by Julie Hearn
JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
KEEPING CORNER by Kashmira Sheth
KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH by Hope Anita Smith
KENDRA by Coe Booth
THE KING'S ARROW by Michael Cadnum
THE KINGDOM ON THE WAVES: THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, VOLUME II by M.T. Anderson
THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO: CHAOS WALKING by Patrick Ness
THE LAST EXIT TO NORMAL by Michael Harmon
THE LAST KNIGHT: KNIGHT AND ROGUE by Hilari Bell
THE LATENT POWERS OF DYLAN FONTAINE by April Lurie
LAVINIA by Ursula K. Le Guin
LIFE IS FINE by Allison Whittenberg
LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow
LIVING DEAD GIRL by Elizabeth Scott
LIZARD LOVE by Wendy Townsend
LOCK AND KEY by Sarah Dessen
THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY by Siobhan Dowd
LOOKS by Madeleine George
THE LUXE by Anna Godbersen
MADAPPLE by Christina Meldrum
MARCH TOWARD THE THUNDER by Joseph Bruchac
ME, THE MISSING, AND THE DEAD by Jenny Valentine
MEXICAN WHITE BOY by Matt de la Pena
MILAGROS: GIRL FROM AWAY by Meg Medina
THE MISSING GIRL by Norma Fox Mazer
MUDBOUND by Hillary Jordan
MY ENEMY'S CRADLE by Sara Young
MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR: A NOVEL OF LOVE, MARY POPPINS, AND FENWAY PARK by Steve Kluger
NATION by Terry Pratchett
NEWES FROM THE DEAD by Mary Hooper
NIGHT ROAD by A.M. Jenkins
NINER by Theresa Martin Golding
THE ORDER OF ODD-FISH by James Kennedy
OUTSIDE BEAUTY by Cynthia Kadohata
OVER AND UNDER by Todd Tucker
OWNING IT: STORIES ABOUT TEENS WITH DISABILITIES edited by Don Gallo
PAPER TOWNS by John Green
THE PATRON SAINT OF BUTTERFLIES by Cecilia Galante
PLAYING WITH MATCHES by Brian Katcher
PRETTY MONSTERS: STORIES by Kelly Link
PRIMAVERA by Mary Jane Beaufrand
PRINCESS BEN by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
THE RED NECKLACE by Sally Gardner
RINGSIDE 1925: VIEWS FROM THE SCOPES TRIAL by Jen Bryant
ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME by Maureen McCarthy
RUNEMARKS by Joanne Harris
THE RUNNING MAN by Michael Bauer
SAFE by Susan Shaw
SANTA CLAUS IN BAGHDAD: AND OTHER STORIES ABOUT TEENS IN THE ARAB WORLD by Elsa Marston
THE SAVAGE by David Almond
SAVING JULIET by Suzanne Selfors
SEABORN by Craig Moodie
SEASON OF ICE by Diane Les Becquets
SHIFT by Jennifer Bradbury
SKIM by Mariko Tamaki
THE SMELL OF OLD LADY PERFUME by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
THE SMILE by Donna Jo Napoli
SNAKEHEAD by Ann Halam
THE SPECTACULAR NOW by Tim Tharp
STEALING HEAVEN by Elizabeth Scott
THE STONEKEEPER: AMULET by Kazu Kibuishi
SUCKERPUNCH by David Hernandez
SUITE SCARLETT by Maureen Johnson
SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW by Jessica Day George
SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH by Walter Dean Myers
THE SWEET FAR THING: THE GEMMA DOYLE TRILOGY by Libba Bray
SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr
TEEN, INC. by Stefan Petrucha
TEN CENTS A DANCE by Christine Fletcher
TEN MILE RIVER by Paul Griffin
TENDER MORSELS by Margo Lanagan
THAW by Monica M. Roe
TROUBLE by Gary D. Schmidt
THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY by Adam Rex
UNDERCOVER by Beth Kephart
UNDONE by Brooke Taylor
UNRAVELING by Michelle Baldini & Lynn Biederman
UPRISING by Margaret Peterson Haddix
VOICES IN FIRST PERSON: REFLECTIONS ON LATINO IDENTITY edited by Lori Marie Carlson
WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor
WAKE by Lisa McMann
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell
WHAT I WAS by Meg Rosoff
WHAT THEY ALWAYS TELL US by Martin Wilson
WHEN I CROSSED NO-BOB by Margaret McMullan
WHEN THE BLACK GIRL SINGS by Bil Wright
THE WILD GIRLS by Pat Murphy
WOULD YOU by Marthe Jocelyn
YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME by Rachel Cohn



Non-Fiction

AIN'T NOTHING BUT A MAN: MY QUEST TO FIND THE REAL JOHN HENRY by Scott Reynolds Nelson
BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY by Carole Boston Weatherford
BEFORE THEIR TIME: THE WORLD OF CHILD LABOR by David L. Parker
THE BITE OF THE MANGO by Mariatu Kamara & Susan McClelland
THE BROTHERS' WAR: CIVIL WAR VOICES IN VERSE by J. Patrick Lewis
FAR FROM HOME: LATINO BASEBALL PLAYERS IN AMERICA by Tim Wendel & Jose Luis Villegas
GENERATION GREEN: THE ULTIMATE TEEN GUIDE TO LIVING AN ECO-FRIENDLY LIFE by Linda & Tosh Sivertsen
I AM SCOUT: THE BIOGRAPHY OF HARPER LEE by Charles J. Shields
IT'S COMPLICATED: THE AMERICAN TEENAGER by Robin Bowman
LAIKA by Nick Abadzis
MY LETTER TO THE WORLD AND OTHER POEMS by Emily Dickinson
NO CHOIRBOY: MURDER, VIOLENCE, AND TEENAGERS ON DEATH ROW by Susan Kuklin
NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: SIX WORD MEMOIRS BY WRITERS FAMOUS AND OBSCURE
edited by Rachel Fershleiser & Larry Smith
PEACE: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A SYMBOL by Ken Kolsbun
PITCH BLACK by Youme Landowne & Anthony Horton
PUNK ROCK ETIQUETTE: THE ULTIMATE HOW-TO GUIDE FOR DIY, PUNK, INDIE, AND UNDERGROUND BANDS by Travis Nichols
THE REAL BENEDICT ARNOLD by Jim Murphy
STUDENTS ON STRIKE: JIM CROW, CIVIL RIGHTS, BROWN, AND ME
by John A. Stokes with Lois Wolfe
THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM by Margarita Engle
THOREAU AT WALDEN by John Porcellino
THREE LITTLE WORDS: A MEMOIR by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
TIME BANDIT: TWO BROTHERS, THE BERING SEA, AND ONE OF THE WORLD'S DEADLIES JOBS
by Andy & Jonathan Hillstrand with Malcolm MacPherson
THE TROUBLE BEGINS AT 8: A LIFE OF MARK TWAIN IN THE WILD, WILD WEST by Sid Fleischman
WAR IS...SOLDIERS, SURVIVORS, AND STORYTELLERS TALK ABOUT WAR edited by Marc Aronson & Patty Campbell
WHAT IT IS by Lynda Barry
WHAT THE WORLD EATS by Faith D'Aluisio