Lists of Bests & Other Stories

So this list of the top 100 young adult books has been making the rounds of book blogs (I don't know who compiled it, though) & I don't know if I particularly agree with it. By which I mean I don't agree with it. (Sometimes, I try to be diplomatic & fail a little bit. By which I mean I fail miserably.) It looks to me like a list of the most popular contemporary young adult books, but, as anyone who's read the House of Night series can attest to, most popular doesn't always mean best. By which I mean everybody's tastes differ & one person's best may be another person's worst. (Sometimes I do the diplomacy thing backwards.)

Anyway, I've bolded the books I've read & italicised those I've been meaning to read for positively ages.

Top 100 Young Adult Books:

1. Alex Finn – Beastly
2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter – Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie – Matched
5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)
17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)
18. Christopher Paolini – Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest
28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green – Looking for Alaska
38. John Green – Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)
44. Lemony Snicket – Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
48. M.T. Anderson – Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting – Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson – Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot – All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot – The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
60. Meg Rosoff – How I Live Now
61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)
63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)
67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion
68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind
69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)
74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere Carnal Over 40 Winks
79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen – Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever
84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
85. Scott Westerfeld – Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld – Uglies (1, 2, 3)
87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephenie Meyer – The Host
93. Stephenie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)
96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)
97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)
99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

(I've bolded Melissa Marr's first Wicked Lovely book even though I'm only halfway through it because I'll have finished it by tomorrow. So far I like it, even though it involves fairies & employs that terribly over-used Supernatural Hunky Bad Boy Borderline-Abusive Stalker Who Wins Our Heroine's Heart trope. I'm hoping that if I continue thinking positive thoughts it'll go away.)

How many of these have you guys read? Are there any in particular you'd recommend? Do you agree that this represents the best 100 young adult books?

Also, does The Lovely Bones really count as young adult fiction? I'd consider some of these general fiction (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, for example, & The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), & I'd consider others more children's fiction than essentially young adult (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, A Series of Unfortunate Events & Harry Potter, for example, as well as Coraline, The Graveyard Book, the Tiffany Aching books, & even His Dark Materials). Do you agree? Disagree? A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who studies science fiction told me that she considers Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden's Tale to be a sci-fi novel. I guess that reading age-groups, like genre, can be slippery things.

Bitch Magazine also compiled a list of young adult books earlier this year, & it looks very different to the list above (& not just because I couldn't figure out the list formatting). Also I know there were all kinds of kerfluffles about the removal of certain books from this list, & while I agree with a lot of what was said on the matter, I'm choosing to ignore that for the sake of staying on topic. Also because it was ages ago. Also also because this post is long enough as it is. 

100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader:

1. Estrella's Quinceañera by Malin Alegria
2. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
3. Choir Boy by Charlie Anders4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. Alt Ed by Catherine Atkins
7. The Rhyming Season by Edward Averett
8. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
9. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black
10. Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
11. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
12. Forever by Judy Blume
13. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
14. Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers
15. All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
16. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
17. The Plain Janes by Cecil Castelluci and Jim Rugg
18. This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn by Aidan Chambers
19. Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone
20. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
21. Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP
22. Celine by Brock Cole
23. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
24. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
25. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
26. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
27. Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
28. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
29. For the Win by Cory Doctorow
30. Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole
31. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
32. El Lector by William Durbin
33. The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake
34. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
35. Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn
36. Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
37. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
38. The Year They Burned the Books by Nancy Garden
39. Sticks and Stones by Beth Goobie
40. Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) by Justina Chen Headley
41. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
42. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
43. It’s Not What You Expect by Norma Klein
44. Uncommon Faith by Trudy Krisher
45. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
46. Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson
47. The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
48. Another Kind of Cowboy by Susan Juby
49. White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages
50. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’engle
51. Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
52. Voices by Ursula K. Le Guin
53. Ella Echanted by Gail Carson Levine
54. Gravity by Leanne Lieberman
55. Ash by Malinda Lo
56. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
57. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
58. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
59. Sold by Patricia McCormick
60. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
61. Thunder Over Kandahar by Sharon E. McKay
62. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
63. The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton
64. Night Flying by Rita Murphy
65. Revenge by Taslima Nasrin
66. A Step from Heaven by An Na
67. Skip Beat! By Yosiki Nakamura
68. Simply Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
69. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
70. Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
71. Rampant by Diana Peterfreund
72. Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters
73. Luna by Julie Anne Peters
74. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
75. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce
76. What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci
77. Imani All Mine by Connie Rose Porter
78. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
79. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
80. Beneath My Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar
81. The Sweet In-Between by Sheri Reynolds
82. Flygirl by Sherri Smith
83. Lucy the Giant by Sherri Smith
84. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
85. Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught
86. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
87. Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
88. Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt
89. Cress Delahanty by Jessamyn West
90. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
91. When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams
92. Blue Tights by Rita Williams-Garcia
93. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
94. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
95. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
96. The House You Pass on the Way by Jaqueline Woodson
97. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
98. When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright
99. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
100. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Interestingly enough, there are no vampire texts on this list... Could it be because the majority of them are not particularly feminist (by which I mean really not feminist at all, *cough*Twilight*cough*)? Although Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy is a refreshing exception to that rule.

Also, Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat books are still my favourite things ever. There aren't many books I was obsessed with as a teen that stayed with me through adult re-readings, but Weetzie Bat is still kinda my hero.

Speaking of which, I think I might have to re-read my old favourite young adult books & make up a little list of my own. What about you guys? What would be on your list of best young adult books?

ETA: Here's a great list of 36 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Adult compiled by the wonderful Rie at Friend of Dorothy Wilde, who constantly expands my Books-To-Read list.