For immediate release | January 13, 2011

YALSA names 2011 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

91´«Ã½

SAN DIEGO — The (YALSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), announced its 2011 list of (PPYA). The list, drawn from 192 official nominations, is presented annually at the 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting. The complete list of 99 titles, including annotations, can be found at .

This year’s PPYA committee produced four lists of titles arranged by the following topics:
  • Thrillers & Killers: May cause anxiety… don’t read at home alone.
  • What’s Cooking?: Tasty reads to fill your belly and warm your soul.
  • What If…: It’s the end of the world as we know it.
  • Zombies, Werewolves & Things with Wings: Because vampires suck.

The committee also selected the following titles as its Top Ten list:

  • Anderson, M.T. “Burger Wuss.” Candlewick, 2008.
  • Kincy, Karen. “Other.” Flux, 2010.
  • The Manga University Culinary Institute. "The Manga Cookbook." Illus. by Chihiro Hattori. Manga University, 2007.
  • Mecum, Ryan. “Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your…Brains.” How, 2008.
  • Ross, Campbell. “Shadow Eyes.” Illus. by Campbell Ross. SLG, 2010.
  • Shusterman, Neal. “Unwind.” Simon & Schuster, 2009.
  • Smith, Cynthia Leitich. “Tantalize." Candlewick, 2008.
  • Weingarten, Lynn. “Wherever Nina Lies." Point, 2010.
  • Westerfield, Scott. "Leviathan." Illus. by Keith Thompson. Simon Pulse, 2010.
  • Wooding, Chris. "Malice." Illus. by Dan Chernett. Scholastic, 2009.
“Teen readers are always looking for books that are interesting and fun, and like the librarians that serve them, is a very diverse group,” said Franklin Escobedo, committee chair. “We hope that this year's list will bring about some creature diversity in what teens are reading, not just another vampire story. We also wanted to highlight popular titles in other genres that librarians and teens may have overlooked. In this years list readers will find a great mix of books that will make their heart race, to those that will make them laugh, and of course, zombies!”
Members of the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Committee are: Franklin Escobedo, chair, Oceanside (Calif.) Public Library; Kay I. Bowes, Brandywine Hundred Library, Wilmington, Del.; Amber Creager, Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library; Valerie Davis, Campbell County Public Library, Newport, Ky.; Sarah B. Hill, Paris (Ill.) Cooperative High School; Jennifer H. Korn, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; Renee C. McGrath, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, N.Y.; Kelly C. Metzger, Dedham (Mass.) Middle School; Elizabeth Schneider, Monrovia (Calif.) Public Library; Mari S. Smith, Cicero, Ill.; Shanna Smith, Mesa County Public Library District, Grand Junction, Colo.; Kate Toebbe, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; Sarah Townsend, Norfolk (Va.) Public Library; Melanie Wachsmann, Lone Star College-CyFair Branch, Cypress, Texas.
For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to , or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390, or e-mail, yalsa@ala.org.

Contact:

Jaclyn Finneke

Communications Manager

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

jfinneke@ala.org

800-545-2433 ext.2128