2015 Teens' Top 10

Earlier this month the winners of the 2015 Teens' Top 10 were announced. Teens voted on their favorites from the nominees from August through Teen Read Week and these are are the Top 10 titles:

The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Final book in the Ascendance trilogy. Young King Jaron has had nothing but trouble with his advisors and regents since he ascended the throne of Carthya, and now King Vargan of Avenia has invaded the land and captured Imogen--and Jaron must find some way to rescue her and save his kingdom.

I Become Shadow by Joe Shine
Abducted at age fourteen and trained by the F.A.T.E. Center to become a Shadow, guardian of a future leader, Ren Sharpe, now eighteen, is assigned to protect college science student Gareth Young, but with help from her secret love and fellow Shadow, Junie, she learns that F.A.T.E. itself is behind an attack on Gareth.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Lara Jean writes love letters to all the boys she has loved and then hides them in a hatbox until one day those letters are accidentally sent.

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak
Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
Royal assassin Celaena must travel to a new land to confront a truth about her heritage, while brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
A collection of eleven short stories, previously published online, that illuminate the life of the enigmatic, flashy, and flamboyant High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane, a character in The Mortal Instruments series.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever, a deadly illness that killed many, but left others with strange markings and supernatural powers. Cast out by her family, Adelina joins the secret society of the Young Elites and discovers her own dangerous abilities.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
On the morning of her wedding, Princess Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive--and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets--even as she finds herself falling in love.

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Quiet Emily's sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has disappeared leaving nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks for her to complete, but with unexpected help from popular classmate Frank Porter, Emily gives them a try.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Sparks fly when sixteen-year-old Lucy Patterson and seventeen-year-old Owen Buckley meet on an elevator rendered useless by a New York City blackout. Soon after, the two teenagers leave the city, but as they travel farther away from each other geographically, they stay connected emotionally, in this story set over the course of one year.

Teen recommendations from summer reading

	Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper "It is a perfect book for anyone! There's a little bit of everything, drama, sadness, happiness, betrayal, but most of all HOPE. This is such an amazing book that once you start reading you just can't stop." -- Lizet
	Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles "I recommend this book because it connects us teenagers to the book and how it really is. It's filled with excitement and wanting more." -- Brenda
	The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau "It wins for me against The Hunger Games in the category of dystopian future. Though the books were similar in many ways, The Testing had a more intriguing depiction of what the future might entail. Like The Hunger Games, you could not become attached to a character, for they might die suddenly." -- Liam
	Six Months Later by Natalie Richards "It has a lot of mystery, romance, and suspense. This book makes you not want to stop reading it. It was one of my favorite books and I highly recommend reading it." -- Jasmine
	Four by Veronica Roth "This book was exciting and kept making me want to turn the page to find out more and more about Four before he met Beatrice." -- Jenny
	Asylum by Madeleine Roux "It has many high tension moments and epic cliff hangers that just make you read more. I definitely want to read the sequel!" -- Jocelyn
	Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen "I liked the way the perspectives switched each chapter." -- Colleen
	Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon "I do recommend this book because it's a good story about friendship. It tells you that everybody is special." -- Elizabeth
	Bounce by Natasha Friend "I recommend this book to people who need to figure how to bounce back from their problems and show they can't let people get to them! They need to stand up to the 'Mean Girls' or 'Popular'!" -- Grace
	I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga "It was intriguing to see how Jaz (main character) thought after being raised by a dad who was a convicted serial killer. Lyga uses a style that always keeps the reader guessing even after the last page." -- Keri

Teen recommendations from summer reading

	The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi "It shows a very possible future of America and is very vivid." -- Kylee
	The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti "It is a fictional story about a real historical figure that most people don't know about. This book was inspirational to me." -- Abrah
	A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah "We usually do not see the horrors that go on or have gone on in third world countries or countries in war. This book educates the reader on what went on during Sierra Leone's civil war." -- Ernesto
	The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken "It provided an interesting (and more than a little horrifying) story of what could happen to our country in the future. The characters were equally likeable and distainable. This book's ending and climax provided to be more surprising than that of a mystery I recently read." -- Liam
	Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea "It is such a sweet story. This story is for everyone. I like how the class doesn't like Mr. Terupt at first but then he means the world to them. Overall I definitely recommend this AMAZING book." -- Lizet
	The Eye of Minds by James Dashner "It is what the technology can become, but with a little bit of mystery and action." -- Kylee
	Fear Itself by Matt Fraction "It had a good plot and wonderful art. I am usually a DC fan but I thoroughly enjoyed this title." -- Nathan
	Still Alice by Lisa Genova "It really opens your eyes to Alzheimer's disease, and the readers get to see it through the perspective of the actual victim rather than the caregiver's. It was emotional so if you bawl easily with books, keep a tissue at bay…" -- Deniz
	Light by Michael Grant "It's full of excitement and action. This is also the sixth and last book in the series. There were many suspenseful moments and cliffhangers that I couldn't stop reading! However, there are some gory details, in my opinion they made the story better, but if you're sensitiveto that it may not be for you." -- Jocelyn
	Whispers at Moonrise by C.C. Hunter "It is an amazing story filled with suspense, thrills, excitement, and includes more than one love story." -- Jessica
	Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas "This book is an action book written by a female that does not rely soley on love interests to carry the plot. Simply a fasinating read." -- Kate
	Unwind by Neal Shusterman "I recommend this book because it really makes you think and shows the growth and journey of three people who end up together and try to stop the government. This book is good for you if you enjoyed The Maze Runner series." -- Ellie
	Nimona by Noelle Stevenson "The plot was great. The author managed to make it begin with comedy and slowly morph it into an adventure story." -- Nathan

Read to the Rhythm: Dancers in teen literature

Click here for a printable copy of the list.

	Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina by Michaela DePrince TEEN BIOGRAPHY DEPRINCE Michaela DePrince lived the first few years of her live in war-torn Sierra Leone until she was adopted by an American Family. Now seventeen, she is one of the premiere ballerinas in the United States.
	Dancing in the Dark by Robin Bavati TEEN BAVATI RO TEEN BAVATI Passionate about ballet, Ditty Cohen signs up for dance class despite being forbidden to by her Orthodox Jewish parents, then must face the consequences when the two worlds collide after five and a half years of study.
	Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black TEEN BLACK Fifteen-year-old Vanessa follows her sister Margaret to an elite Manhattan ballet school, not only gaining admission but also earning the lead in a production of The Firebird, while trying to uncover why and how Margaret and other lead dancers have disappeared.
	Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton RO TEEN CHARAIPOTRA Three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet academy compete for the status of prima ballerina, with each willing to sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.
	Pointe by Brandy Colbert TEEN COLBERT Four years after Theo's best friend, Donovan, disappeared at age thirteen, he is found and brought home and Theo puts her health at risk as she decides whether to tell the truth about the abductor, knowing her revelation could end her life-long dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.
	Panic by Sharon Draper TEEN DRAPER As rehearsals begin for the ballet version of Peter Pan, the teenaged members of an Ohio dance troupe lose their focus when one of their own goes missing.
	Bunheads by Sophie Flack TEEN FLACK Hannah Ward, nineteen, revels in the competition, intense rehearsals, and dazzling performances that come with being a member of Manhattan Ballet Company's corps de ballet, but after meeting handsome musician Jacob she begins to realize there could be more to her life.
	Before You by Amber Hart TEEN HART Faith Watters has a picture-perfect life. She's captain of the dance team, popular, happy. She even spent her junior year traveling the world before returning to Oviedo High School for senior year. But she's living a lie. Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn't stand a chance of fitting in, and doesn't want to. His only concern is his secret past, a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him his life. Everyone knows that Faith and Diego don't belong together. But fate has its own plan. All they want is to be free. What they get is something different entirely.
	Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor RO TEEN KANTOR Zoe thought that being cut from her ballet program was the worst thing that could happen, but when her best friend Olivia is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, Zoe quickly learns that not being able to dance is the least of her problems.
	Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy by Elizabeth Kiem RO TEEN KIEM After a harrowing defection to the United States in 1982, Russian teenager Marya and her father settle in Brooklyn, where Marya is drawn into a web of intrigue involving her gift of foresight, her mother's disappearance, and a boy she cannot bring herself to trust.
	Someday Dancer by Sarah Rubin RO TEEN RUBIN In South Carolina in 1959 Casey Quinn dreams of being a ballerina, and though she has never had the money for lessons, she follows her dream to New York City and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
	Various Positions by Martha Schabas RO TEEN SCHABAS When talented, dedicated fourteen-year-old Georgia Slade becomes a student in an elite Toronto ballet academy, her confusing feelings toward one of her teachers lead to disaster.
	The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma TEEN SUMA Orianna and Violet are ballet dancers and best friends, but when the ballerinas who have been harassing Violet are murdered, Orianna is accused of the crime and sent to a juvenile detention center where she meets Amber and they experience supernatural events linking the girls together.

2015 Teens' Top Ten Nominations

The nominations for the Teens' Top 10 were announced April 16 (Celebrate Teen Literature Day). The Teens' Top 10 is a list voted on by teens about their favorite books of the previous year. Voting for the top 10 begins August 15 and runs through Teen Read Week in October. Readers ages 12-18 may vote at ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens. Download a PDF copy of the nominees here, or check out the list below:

	Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid During her cross-country adventures following the tragic death of her family, Leila touches the lives of four strangers--Hudson, Bree, Elliot, and Sonia. While forever changing the lives of these four, Leila also discovers an important truth about herself.
	Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout Seventeen-year-old Sam seems to have everything until she and her best friend, Cassie, disappear one night and now Sam has returned with amnesia, striving to be a much better person and aware that her not remembering may be the only thing keeping her alive.
	Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne Kyra, a highly skilled seventeen-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city
	Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake The escalating war between the gods takes Athena and Cassandra across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and the great warrior, Achilles, and although their alliance is fragile, they must find a way to work together or all is lost.
	The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare A collection of eleven short stories, previously published online, that illuminate the life of the enigmatic, flashy, and flamboyant High Warlock of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane, a character in The Mortal Instruments series.
	The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer In an alternate nineteenth-century America that is still a colony of Britain's industrial empire, sixteen-year-old Charlotte and her fellow refugees' struggle to survive is interrupted by a newcomer with no memory, bearing secrets about a terrible future.
	Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister's mysterious death, her mother's departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.
	Into the Dark: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain In this modern retelling of the Persephone myth, Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, is sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead.
	To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han Lara Jean writes love letters to all the boys she has loved and then hides them in a hatbox until one day those letters are accidentally sent.
	Unhinged by A.G. Howard Life gets complicated once again for teenaged Alyssa when her mother returns home from an asylum and the mysterious Morpheus tempts Alyssa with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland.
	The Young Elites by Marie Lu Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever, a deadly illness that killed many, but left others with strange markings and supernatural powers. Cast out by her family, Adelina joins the secret society of the Young Elites and discovers her own dangerous abilities.
	Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas Royal assassin Celaena must travel to a new land to confront a truth about her heritage, while brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world.
	Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson Quiet Emily's sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has disappeared leaving nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks for her to complete, but with unexpected help from popular classmate Frank Porter, Emily gives them a try.
	The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Nielsen Young King Jaron has had nothing but trouble with his advisors and regents since he ascended the throne of Carthya, and now King Vargan of Avenia has invaded the land and captured Imogen--and Jaron must find some way to rescue her and save his kingdom.
	My Life with the Water Boys by Ali Novak Devastated when her parents are killed in a car accident, sixteen-year old Jackie moves from New York City to Colorado to live with her mother's best friend, who has twelve children, including two boys who start to show an interest in Jackie that goes beyond brotherly.
	The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson On the morning of her wedding, Princess Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive--and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets--even as she finds herself falling in love.
	The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski An aristocratic girl who is a member of a warmongering and enslaving empire purchases a slave, an act that sets in motion a rebellion that might overthrow her world as well as her heart.
	Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott Tella's brother Cody is sick and getting worse, so when she finds instructions on how to become a contender in the dangerous Brimstone Bleed race where she can win a cure for him, she jumps at the chance--but there is no guarantee that she will win, or even survive.
	I Become Shadow by Joe Shine Abducted at age fourteen and trained by the F.A.T.E. Center to become a Shadow, guardian of a future leader, Ren Sharpe, now eighteen, is assigned to protect college science student Gareth Young, but with help from her secret love and fellow Shadow, Junie, she learns that F.A.T.E. itself is behind an attack on Gareth.
	Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith Austin Szerba narrates the end of humanity as he and his best friend Robby accidentally unleash an army of giant, unstoppable bugs and uncover the secrets of a decades-old experiment gone terribly wrong.
	The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith Sparks fly when sixteen-year-old Lucy Patterson and seventeen-year-old Owen Buckley meet on an elevator rendered useless by a New York City blackout. Soon after, the two teenagers leave the city, but as they travel farther away from each other geographically, they stay connected emotionally, in this story set over the course of one year.
	Boys Like You by Juliana Stone When Monroe Blackwell, who is spending the summer at her grandmother's Louisiana bed-and-breakfast, meets Nathan Everets, who has a court-appointed job there, they share, and begin to recover from, their respective feelings of loss and guilt.
	We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist The Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker documents his coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor and his efforts to investigate past dates gone wrong to discover why he was still single.
	Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley In 1959 Virginia, Sarah, a black student who is one of the first to attend a newly integrated school, forces Linda, a white integration opponent's daughter, to confront harsh truths when they work together on a school project.