Home YALSABooklists & Book Awards Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Draft January 2002

The Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Committee, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2002 selections finalized at the ALA Midwinter meeting, held January 18 - 23 in New Orleans. This year's committee produced four lists of selected titles. This year's lists are: Relationships: Friends and Families; War: Conflict and Consequences; Tales of the Cities; and Graphic Novels: Superheroes and Beyond.

Relationships: Friends and Families is comprised of 24 titles concerning relationships that are something other than romance. "The list's strongest asset is its variety - fiction and nonfiction, prose and poetry, comedy and tragedy are all represented," said Shari L. Johnson, coordinator of this subcommittee.

War: Conflict and Consequences was conceived at last year's midwinter meeting, and has proven to be more timely than any of us could have predicted. According to Barbara Meisenheimer, who coordinated the War subcommittee, "Since September 11th, we've seen an increase in requests for war-related materials, about historic conflicts as well as the current one. This list represents 23 of the best and most popular titles available for teens." Included are fiction and nonfiction paperbacks from a variety of perspectives.

Tales of the Cities are stories of urban life. From Bristol to Brooklyn with numerous stops along the way, these 24 titles reflect varying ways teens experience life in the City. Formats and topics also vary, including horror, memoirs, and even a picture book. Bill Stack coordinated this list.

Graphic Novels: Superheroes and Beyond marks the second list PPYA has created made up exclusively of illustrated materials. These 25 titles cover a broad spectrum of current materials popular with teens. Subcommittee coordinator Mike Pawuk said, "There is something here for everyone, from the 12-year-old just moving out of the comic strip collections to the 18-year-old who has read almost everything else. We even have titles to appeal to people who have never tried out the format."

Sarah Dentan, committee chair, was enthusiastic about the selections on all four lists: "I'm very pleased with the quality and breadth of these lists. I'm confident both older and younger teens will find something new to try." The members of the 2001-2002 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults committee are: Sarah A. Dentan, chair, Berkeley, CA; Dawn Rutherford, Bellevue, WA; Emily Dagg, Seattle, WA; Rhonda Glazier, Emporia, KS; Shari L. Johnson, Pearl River, NY; Brenda S. Kilmer, Miami, FL; Eileen M. Kuhl, Towson, MD; Barbara Meisenheimer, Vancouver, WA; Michael G. Pawuk, Brooklyn, OH; Nancy Reich, Los Angeles, CA; Tom K. Reynolds, Edmonds, WA; Gail A. Richmond, San Diego, CA; Bill Stack, Jamaica, NY; Tricia A. Suellentrop, Kansas City, KS; and Sally Anne M. Thompson, Scottsdale, AZ.

Relationships: Friends and Families

Bauer, Cat Harley, Like a Person

Chbosky, Stephen The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Draper, Sharon M. Forged by Fire

Ewing, Lynne Party Girl

Hawes, Louise Rosey in the Present Tense

Hobbs, Will The Maze

Jenkins, A.M. Breaking Boxes

Johnson, Angela Toning the Sweep

Koller, Jackie French A Place to Call Home

Letts, Billie Where the Heart Is

Mah, Adeline Yen Chinese Cinderella The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter

Marsden, John Letters from the Inside

Mikaelsen, Ben Petey

Myers, Walter Dean Somewhere in the Darkness

Nye, Naomi Shihab Habibi

Pelzer, Dave A Child Called "It"

Philbrick, Rodman Freak the Mighty

Rinaldi, Ann The Coffin Quilt The Feud Between the Hatfields & the McCoys

Sones, Sonya Stop Pretending What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

Thomas, Rob Rats Saw God A Comic Emotionally Charged Tale

Voigt, CynthiaIzzy, Willy-Nilly

Wells, Ken Meely La Bauve A Novel

Wittlinger, Ellen Hard Love

War: Conflict and Consequences

Aaseng, Nathan Navajo Code Talkers

Brown, Dee Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee An Indian History of the American West

Edelman, Bernard Dear America Letters Home From Vietnam

Eisner, Will Last Day in Vietnam A Memory

Holliday, Laurel Why Do They Hate Me? Young Lives Caught in War & Conflict

Hunter, Mollie The King's Swift Rider A Novel on Robert the Bruce

Huth, Angela Land Girls

Kubert, Joe Fax from Sarajevo A Story of Survival

Mazer, Harry The Last Mission

Mead, Alice Adem's Cross

Miklowitz, Gloria D. Masada The Last Fortress

Mitchell, Margaret Gone with the Wind

O'Brien, Tim The Things They Carried

Opdyke, Irene Gut In My Hands Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

Orlev, Uri The Man From the Other Side

Paulsen, Gary Soldier's Heart Being the Story of the Enlistment & Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers

Pausewang, Gudrun Final Journey

Remarque, Erich-Maria All Quiet on the Western Front

Reuter, Bjarne The Boys from St. Petri

Rostkowski, Margaret I. After the Dancing Days

Rylant, CynthiaI Had Seen Castles

Sacco, Joe Safe Area Gorazde The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995

Wallace, Terry Bloods An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans

Tales of the Cities

Block, Francesca Lia Missing Angel Juan

Burgess, MelvinSmack

Cross, Gillian Tightrope

Fleischman, Paul Seedfolks

Fong-Torres, Ben The Rice Room Growing up Chinese-American - From Number Two Son to Rock 'n' Roll

Frank, Lucy Oy, Joy!

Hamill, PeteSnow in August

Hinojosa, Maria Crews Gang Members Talk to Maria Hinojosa

Johnson, Stephen T. Alphabet City

Levy, Marilyn Run for Your Life

Mowry, Jess Babylon Boyz

Myers, Walter Dean 145th Street Short Stories

Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A.

Santiago, Esmeralda Almost a Woman

Shusterman, Neal Downsiders

Sinclair, April Coffee Will Make You Black

Smith, Betty A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Soto, Gary Buried Onions

Vizzini, Ned Teen Angst? Naaah... A Quasi-Autobiogrphy

Whelan, Gloria Homeless Bird

Williams-Garcia, Rita Fast Talk on a Slow Track

Wolff, Virginia Euwer Make Lemonade

Woodson, JacquelineIf You Come Softly

Zindel, Paul Rats

Graphic Novels: Superheroes and Beyond

Bendis, Brian-Michael Ultimate Spider-Man Power and Responsibility

Brennan, Michael Electric Girl

Busiek, Kurt Kurt Busiek's Astro City Life in the Big City

Clowes, Daniel Ghost World

Dixon, Chuck and Jordan Gorfinkel Birds of Prey

Fujishima, Kosuke Oh My Goddess! 1-555-GODDESS

Gaiman,Neil Death The High Cost of Living

Groening, Matt Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine-Tingling Spooktacular

Hosler, Jay Clan Apis

Kudo, Kazuya Mai the Psychic Girl

Loeb, Jeph Batman: the Long Halloween

Medley, Linda Castle Waiting Lucky Road

Millar, MarkUltimate X-Men The Tomorrow People

Miyazaki, Hayao Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Perfect Collection Vol. 1

Moore, Alan Promethea Book One

Moore, Terry Strangers in Paradise High School!

Nishiyama, Yuriko Harlem Beat No. 1

Petrie, Doug Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ring of Fire

Sakai, Stan Usagi Yojimbo Grasscutter

Smith, Jeff Bone Out from Boneville

Smith, Kevin Daredevil Visionaries Kevin Smith

Takahashi, Rumiko Ranma 1/2 Volume 1

Watson, Andi Geisha

Winick, Judd Pedro & Me Friendship, Loss, & What I Learned

Winick, Judd The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius