Thursday, December 9, 2010

Persnickety Snark's Top 100 YA Novels

I got this list via Misty over at Book Rat, so thanks to Misty for providing the link to the list and for Persnickety Snark for analyzing the data for the list!

I've bolded the ones I've actually read and/or I own and will be read soon. There are lots I haven't even heard and look forward to acquainting myself with these. I also am a bit disappointed in a few of the choices on the list...

What ones have you read? Which ones are a disappointment? What do you recommend I should read next on the list? What one/ones should be on the list?

Persnickety Snark's Top 100 YA Novels for 2010


  1. The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins (great dystopia series)
  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J.K. Rowling (another must-read series!)
  1. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee (a true classic for all)
  1. Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson (a much needed discussion about rape)
  1. Northern Lights
Philip Pullman (very interesting story...only read the first book, though)
  1. The Truth About Forever
Sarah Dessen
  1. The Book Thief
Markus Zusak (excellent book about books and Death is the narrator!)
  1. The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton
  1. Twilight
Stephenie Meyer (brain candy and then blah)
  1. This Lullaby
Sarah Dessen
  1. Looking for Alaska
John Green
  1. Just Listen
Sarah Dessen
  1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J.K. Rowling
  1. Little Women
Louisa May Alcott (The March sisters are wonderful!)
  1. City of Bones
Cassandra Clare (bought it from a seconhand store but haven't gotten around to it yet...)
  1. On the Jellicoe Road
Melina Marchetta
  1. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger (I've heard great things, still on the shelf)
  1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
J.K. Rowling
  1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
  1. Along for the Ride
Sarah Dessen
  1. Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater (Interesting werewolf mythology...nothing special, though.)
  1. Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead
  1. Graceling
Kristin Cashore (Excellent female character and story!)
  1. Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher
  1. Sloppy Firsts
Megan McCafferty
  1. The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien (Wonderful story but a bit wordy throughout)
  1. Alanna: The First Adventure
Tamora Pierce
  1. Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card (Just really interesting, worth a read)
  1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
J.K. Rowling
  1. Uglies
Scott Westerfeld (OK)
  1. A Great and Terrible Beauty
Libba Bray
  1. Tomorrow, When the War Began
John Marsden
  1. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
E. Lockhart
  1. Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen (My fave Austen)
  1. The Westing Game
Ellen Raskin
  1. Paper Towns
John Green
  1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling
  1. Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
  1. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
Betty Smith (Beautiful coming-of-age story)
  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
  1. Lock and Key
Sarah Dessen
  1. The Amber Spyglass
Philip Pullman
  1. Evernight
Claudia Gray (Better than the usual vamp story)
  1. Sabriel
Garth Nix
  1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling
  1. Beautiful Creatures
Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl (Looking forward to this series)
  1. Forever
Judy Blume
  1. I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
  1. Ella Enchanted
Gail Carson Levine (I've heard the movie is better--I love the movie)
  1. The Princess Diaries
Meg Cabot
  1. Stargirl
Jerry Spinelli
  1. Howl's Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones (been sitting on my shelf since I saw the movie...)
  1. The Dark is Rising
Susan Cooper (movie horrible but hear book is good)
  1. Hush, Hush
Becca Fitzpatrick (Torn...want to read but have heard it's not so great)
  1. Saving Francesca
Melina Marchetta (One of my fave reads for 2010)
  1. Second Helpings
Megan McCafferty
  1. Dreamland
Sarah Dessen
  1. Eclipse
Stephenie Meyer (More blah)
  1. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (movie was fun)
  1. Fire
Kristin Cashore (it's beckoning me!)
  1. The Chocolate War
Robert Cormier
  1. Weetzie Bat
Francesca Lia Block
  1. The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank (classic)
  1. Looking for Alibrandi
Melina Marchetta
  1. How I Live Now
Meg Rosoff
  1. City of Glass
Cassandra Clare
  1. Keeping the Moon
Sarah Dessen
  1. Breaking Dawn
Stephenie Meyer
  1. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Louise Rennison
  1. If I Stay
Gayle Forman (Really enjoyable)
  1. The King of Attolia
Megan Whalen Turner
  1. Wintergirls
Laurie Halse Anderson
  1. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
Robin McKinley
  1. The Blue Sword
Robin McKinley
  1. Feed
M.T. Anderson
  1. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
Ann Brashares (Cute movie, too)
  1. Go Ask Alice
Anonymous
  1. Wicked Lovely
Melissa Marr
  1. Lord of the Flies
William Golding
  1. Someone Like You
Sarah Dessen
  1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Carrie Ryan (zombies and a moral!)
  1. Jacob Have I Loved
Katherine Paterson (very disappointing)
  1. The Knife of Never Letting Go
Patrick Ness
  1. Poison Study
Maria V. Snyder
  1. Shadow Kiss
Richelle Mead
  1. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Avi
  1. An Abundance of Katherines
John Green
  1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon
  1. A Ring of Endless Light
Madeleine L'Engle
  1. Glass Houses
Rachel Caine (a bit put-out that the series is soooo long)
  1. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
M.T. Anderson
  1. Walk Two Moons
Sharon Creech
  1. Whale Talk
Chris Crutcher
  1. Perfect Chemistry
Simone Elkeles
  1. Going Too Far
Jennifer Echols
  1. The Last Song
Nicholas Sparks
  1. Before I Fall
Lauren Oliver (Also beckoning me)
  1. Hatchet
Gary Paulsen (I might have read this as a kid...don't remember for sure, though)
  1. The Pigman
Paul Zindel
  1. The Hero and the Crown
Robin McKinley


5 comments:

  1. I've read about 35 of the books listed, i think. i kept loosing track because I was like, "Ooh, I've been meaning to read that," or, "I loved that book!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. So I was thinking this was a great list to use for books to try to get my 15yo to read. But then you mentioned some you were disappointed by. Which ones, pray tell, so I won't foist those off on her and turn her permanently off reading?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lisa, my main gripe about the list is the Twilight series. It's an interesting take on the vampire mythology, but a horrible example for girls, imo. I wouldn't want my daughter to read this series until she could understand why Bella and Edward aren't great role models...if I had a daughter! I hear that Hush, Hush might be a little like that, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I read Catcher in the Rye this year--symbolic, yes, but confused as to what was so special about it. Really enjoyed Curious Incident in the Night time. I Capture the Castle was just okay for me.

    Just read a great review for The Clockwork Three.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I remember loving The Westing Game when I was a young teen and I read The Pigman last year and loved it. It's old fashioned and wonderful.

    ReplyDelete

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