LJ Best Books 2016

A jury of our peers discussed, debated, disagreed, and finally declared LJ’s annual Top Ten Best Books of the year, selected by our editors, as well as Top Five lists for genre fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, and SELF-e titles. VISIT THE WEBSITE

The One and Only Dorothy, Coding Girls, a Beauty & a Beast | Fiction & Nonfiction for Young Adults

Bayerl, Katie. A Psalm for Lost Girls. Listening Library. ISBN 9781524750145. Readerpsalm TBA.
Gr 7 & Up—A debut YA series, told through alternating perspectives, begins with a modern saint named Tess Da Costa. At least, the hometown folks think she is a saint. When she dies suddenly, people want her declared a saint officially by the Pope. But Tess’s sister, Callie, knows the real Tess and is determined to prove that Tess was something far more important than a saint—she was her sister and her best friend.

Collins, Lily. Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661661. Read by Lily Collins.
Gr 6–12—For the first time ever, actress Collins, star of Mortal Instruments and the upcoming Rules Don’t Apply, shares her life and her own deepest secrets, underlining that every single one of us experiences pain and heartbreak. We all understand what it’s like to live in the light and in the dark. For Collins, it’s about making it through to the other side, where you love what you see in the mirror and where you embrace yourself just as you are. She’s learned that all it takes is one person standing up and saying something for everyone else to realize no one is alone.

Eves, Rosalyn. Blood Rose Rebellion. Listening Library. ISBN 9780735-07134. Reader TBA.
Gr 7 & Up—Six of Crows fans might like this first book in a YA fantasy trilogy.
Sixteen-year-old Anna Arden is barred from society by a defect of blood. Although her family is part of the Illuminati—powerful users of magic—she is Barren, unable to perform the simplest spells. Anna would do anything to belong. But her fate takes another course when she discovers her gift is for breaking spells. Now she must choose: deny her unique power and cling to the life she has always wanted, or embrace her gifts and change that world forever.

Girl CodeGonzales, Andrea & Sophie Houser. Girl Code. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661623. Read by Andrea Mallon.
Gr 6–12—Gonzales and Houser journeyed from average teens to powerhouses through the success of their video game. With unprecedented access to some of the biggest start-ups and tech companies, they’re sharing what they’ve seen. Get ready for an inside look at the tech industry, the true power of coding, and some of the amazing women who are shaping the world. The ladies reveal not only what they’ve learned about opportunities in science and technology but also the true value of discovering your own voice and creativity.


Heilig, Heidi.
The Ship Beyond Time. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661777. Read by Kim Mai Guest and James Fouey.
Gr 6–12—In the sequel to The Girl from Everywhere, Nix has spent her whole life trekking to places both real and imagined aboard her father’s time-travel ship. And now it’s finally time for her to take the helm. Fans of Rachel Hartman, Rae Carson, and Outlander  might enjoy.

Higgins, Wendy. The Great Pursuit. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661609. Read by Saskia Maarleveld.
Gr 6–12—In the dramatic sequel to The Great Hunt, the kingdom of Lochlanach has traded the great beast that once terrorized the realm of Eurona for something far more dangerous: the ire of powerful Lashed woman Rosaria Rocato. Rosaria demands that Eurona overturn the laws prohibiting magic, or an innocent will be killed each day. Despite the king’s resistance, Princess Aerity believes they must make peace with the Lashed, and though she’s accepted a betrothal to the man who took down the beast, she cannot help thinking about Paxton, the Lashed man who stole her heart and disappeared.

Ness, Patrick & A.K. Benedict. Class: The Stone House. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062686923. Reader TBA.
Gr 6–12—In one of three companion novels, set in the universe of the new Doctor Who spin-off show, Class, Tanya keeps having bad dreams about the old stone house around the corner from Coal Hill School—and a girl trapped there, screaming and terrified. When Tanya and her friends go to investigate the strange house covered in cobwebs, they stumble onto their own worst nightmares come to life. But there is a presence haunting the house that is even more powerful than their individual horrors.

Oseman, Alice. Radio Silence. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062474612. Read by Aysha Kala.Radio
Gr 6–12—Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. Guess what?  They don’t fall in love. They make a podcast! In a world determined to shut them up, knock them down, and set them on a cookie cutter life path, Frances and Aled struggle to find their voices over the course of one life-changing year. Will they have the courage to show everyone who they really are? Or will they be met with radio silence?

Paige, Danielle. Dorothy Must Die. Vol. 3: Order of the Wicked; Dark Side of the Rainbow; and The Queen of Oz. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062656803. Read by Devon Servari.
Gr 6–12—In this third collection of prequel novellas to the New York Times best-selling “Dorothy Must Die” series, Paige reimagines L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Before Amy Gumm lands in Oz in Dorothy Must Die, Dorothy Gale rules a twisted land where the Good have become truly Wicked—and it’s up to the Wicked to stop her reign. Follow your favorite witches from Dorothy Must Die as they form an elusive, secretive group known as the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and begin training their own army to defeat Dorothy. If the Order wants to save Oz, it will need every recruit it can find. But who has what it takes to join the cause?

Reichs, Brendan. Nemesis. Listening Library. ISBN 9781524750107. Reader TBA.
Gr 7 & Up—The riveting new sf thriller, from the cowriter of the “Virals” series presents Min, who has had a recurring experience since she was six years old. Every other year, on her birthday, a strange man finds her. He doesn’t speak. He is carrying a gun. And he shoots her dead. But the next morning, Min wakes up in a field outside of town—unhurt and full of questions. Why is this man after her? How is she capable of returning to life?

AlmostRose, Arden. Almost Adulting: All You Need To Know To Get It Together (Sort Of). Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062682802. Reader TBA.
Gr 6–12—For fans of Grace Helbig and Alexa Chung, Rose tells you how to survive your future adulthood. By the end of the book—a mashup of essays, lists, and artwork—readers will have learned not only how to dress themselves but how to travel alone, how to talk to strangers online, and how to date (in PERSON!).

Saenz, Benjamin A. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. Listening Library. ISBN 9781524734558. Reader TBA.
Gr 7 & Up—Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican American family, and his best friend Samantha. But it is senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal is not who he thought he was, who is he?

Spooner, Megan. Hunted. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661685. Read by Bahni Turpin.
Gr 6–12—A Beauty and the Beast story for the modern age. Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering its secrets. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance: the Beast.

Vincent, Rachel. 100 Hours. Harper Audio. ISBN 9780062661708. Read by Justis Bolding 100and Kyla Garcia.
Gr 6–12—Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends. While Maddie craves family time for spring break, Genesis seeks novelty—like a last-minute getaway to an untouched beach in Colombia. And when Genesis wants something, it happens. But paradise has its price.

Zentner, Jeff. Goodbye Days. Listening Library. ISBN 9781524709471. Reader TBA.
Gr 9 & Up—It used to look like Carver Briggs had it all—three best friends (Mars, Eli, and Blake), a great family, and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school. The next day it all crashed and burned, literally, with a text sent to Mars. Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the fatal accident it caused, and, even worse, a powerful judge is pressuring the district attorney to open up a criminal investigation. In order to go with this life, Carver must make peace with the dead. But trying to do so might just push him over the edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share
Comment Policy:
  1. Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  2. Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  3. Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  4. Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media, per our Terms of Use.

We are not able to monitor every comment that comes through (though some comments with links to multiple URLs are held for spam-check moderation by the system). If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

We accept clean XHTML in comments, but don't overdo it and please limit the number of links submitted in your comment. For more info, see the full Terms of Use.

Speak Your Mind

*
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2017/01/media/audio-in-advance/the-one-and-only-dorothy-coding-girls-a-beauty-and-a-beastfiction-and-nonfiction-for-young-adults/
reviews.libraryjournal.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2017-13
94041
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:5GZBMXPJIWQXUS2RELHKL5SRXZMTKACY
<urn:uuid:03bbda10-8c6c-46cf-9757-ff00d2478b42>
2017-03-23T10:32:26Z
216.70.86.237
sha1:FEGIYCKKVYYS47AIADAQHNXKCWNWH4GL
<urn:uuid:455c9b5f-d28e-461f-a99f-1a7789e85b13>
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2017/01/media/audio-in-advance/the-one-and-only-dorothy-coding-girls-a-beauty-and-a-beastfiction-and-nonfiction-for-young-adults/
length
response
<urn:uuid:ebe82fd7-5b7d-47c2-8917-d3e6feb83dbc>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-13
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for March 2017
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf