YALSA is calling on you to answer this question: If there was only one shelf of space available for YA materials, what titles should go on it?
YALSA is looking for a micro-core collection of YA titles to share with folks who only have a small space to work with, like book mobiles, classroom libraries, home libraries, recreation centers, doctor’s offices, school buses, etc. The goal of this project is NOT to compile a “best of all-time” list. The goal is to create a list of materials for 12 – 18 year olds that is balanced and represents some great YA authors across the popular teen genres. Ideally, the list would incorporate contemporary titles as well as timeless ones. Please add your suggestions.
(If I only got one shelf at my current library, I think I might fill it with Naruto….)
To add your suggestion to the wiki, click on the edit tab at the top of the page. Create a YALSA wiki account by clicking on login/create account in the upper right corner.
I just checked out the list and was glad to see it already included my “Top Five Must Haves” – Speak, Forever, The Outsiders, Chocolate War, The Book Thief. One thing I noticed in looking at the list is that it’s slanted very heavily to high schoolers and also fairly “vanilla.” Unfortunately, I don’t have much expertise in middle school or titles with diverse characters, so I’m not sure what to add to the list to round it out. But I’m sure someone else is! Please add these titles!
I’ll only add these because they are so very, very popular here:
Maximum Ride The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Cupcake by Rachel Cohn
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Also, because I think it’s a fantastic book:
Girlosophy by Anthea Paul