NPR has polled it's audience and come up with a list of the Top 100 YA Novels. Now National Public Radio's audience may be skewed toward the literary and the liberal, and there's no breakdown of the ages of people who voted, but when I read the list, I found only a few surprises.
Does it say something about the age of the voters that the Anne of Green Gables series ranks so high - #14? I was interested to read the link within the NPR article to a blog about what the judges thought constitutes YA as opposed to middle grade. Don't you think the Anne of Green Gables books would be considered MG these days? Perhaps I'm not remembering the last book in the series correctly.
As you look down this list, what comments do you have?
Friday, August 24, 2012
The Top 100 Teen Novels
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It's an intriguing list - nice to see a mix of literary and commercial on there. Wonder the ages of who they polled. I wouldn't call Farenheit 451 or The Hitchhiker's Guide series YA the way I know it...same goes for Tolkien, but it goes to show you that there are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes a YA. (at least outside of publishing guidelines) I wouldn't categorize Tuck Everlasting as a YA either. High middle grade? Lots of John Green!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robin about wondering about some of those books being classified as YA. Surprised 13 Reasons Why was not on the list, but it probably came close
ReplyDeleteRobin and Ann,
ReplyDeleteWould agree about Tuck Everlasting - as a librarian I introduced Tuck to 5th graders. That prologue is a really fun lesson/introduction to teach!
Was 13 Reasons Why a close call? I would imagine so. Can't remember when it was published and wonder whether there have been other titles since that carried the same themes into deeper territory?
I definitely found some surprises on the list. I was familiar with more of the books than I would have guessed considering I am not a huge reader of current YA. Like Robin, I wonder about the ages of those who were polled.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak on the list! These were both YAs I loved!
Seeing A Ring of Endless Light on the list brought back good memories! I loved that book when I was a YA.
Surprised to see Betsy-Tacy books on the list. I loved them as a kid, but I never would have thought to vote for them as YA.
Interesting list, Gale! Thanks for sharing!
it's a great list -- but there are many more great YAs than 100.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I had to pick my favorite 10 (or 100), I bet my list would be different every week. Reading is all about emotional connections, and how we connect changes every week, no?