2017 Teens’ Top Ten Book Groups Announced
CHICAGO, IL — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has selected 20 public and school libraries from across the country to serve as official book groups for YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten.
The Teens’ Top Ten is a booklist created entirely by and for teens. These 20 groups will nominate books published in a calendar year to create the official Teens’ Top Ten nominations. Teen voters across the country then cast ballots for their favorites, creating the Teens’ Top Ten. Final nominations for the 2017 Teens’ Top Ten vote will be posted on the Thursday of National Library Week, April 13 at www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten.
In addition to creating the official Teens’ Top Ten nominations, the groups also evaluate books for publishers. More than 30 publishers provide advanced reading copies to the teen book discussion groups in libraries and in exchange, teen readers evaluate them.
The 2017-2018 official book groups begin their terms in January 2017. They are:
- ACPL Teen Advisory Board; Allen County Public Library; Fort Wayne, IN, advised by Katie Jacobs
- Atlantic High School Book Club; Atlantic High School; Port Orange, FL, advised by Kristine Smith
- Basalt Teen Book Club; Basalt (Colorado) Regional Library, advised by Erin Hollingsworth
- Blueprint; Santa Margarita Catholic High School; Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, advised by Maricar Laudato
- Book High; Independence High School; Frisco TX, advised by Allison Stone
- Carmel (Indiana) Clay Public Library; advised by Hope Baugh
- Cocoa Bar-Masterman Library Teen Advisory Board; Julia R. Masterman School; Philadelphia, PA, advised by Bernadette Kearney
- Dusenberry-River Teen Advisory Board; Dusenberry-River Library; Tuscon, AZ, advised by Jusdina Nolin-Brown
- Johnson County Library YAAC; Johnson County Library; Overland Park, KS, advised by Peggy Hendershot
- KPL Teens; Kalamazoo (Michigan) Public Library, advised by Andrea Vernola
- Lone Star College & Cy-Fair ISD: Books for All; Lone Star College-CyFair; Cypress, TX, advised by Melanie Wachsmann
- PW Book Club; Plymouth Whitemarsh High School; Plymouth Meeting, PA, advised by Sara Frey
- SJCDS Book Group; St. Johns Country Day School; Orange Park, FL, advised by Lucretia Miller
- SMFHS Book Club; Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library; Stow, OH, advised by Christina Getrost
- Speak Up! Book Club; Salem (Ohio) Public Library, advised by Sonja Somerville
- Teen Book Club of Awesomeness; Perry Branch Library, Gilbert, AZ, advised by Jenn Lopez
- Teen Books and Bites; Prescott (Arizona) Public Library; advised by Jennifer Kendall
- The Boise Bookmarks; Boise (Idaho) Public Library; advised by Jennifer Wills
- The Perks of Being a Teen Reader; Gloucester City (New Jersey) Library; advised by Alana Phelan
- Volunteer Reading Club; Nashville, TN; advised by Beth Frerking
YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten Task Force chooses new groups every two years. This year’s members are: Chair, Stacy Holbrook, Morgan Brickey, Stephanie Charlefour, Pamela Jean Penza, Dr. Karin Perry, Ramona Price and Celeste Rhoads.
For more information on the Teens’ Top Ten, including previous winners and tools for teachers and librarians, please visit www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten.
The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.
