Wednesday, January 20, 2016

YALSA 2016 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Every year since 2007 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) section of the American Library Association (ALA) has created both a long list and a top ten list of "great graphic novels for teens". You can see all the lists here. Previously they had included some graphic novels on their "best books for young adults" lists.

That means that this is the tenth year that they've done this list! Awesome!

A couple of years ago I was invited to give a guest lecture on the history of comics and graphic novels for children and young adults. I looked at the YALSA lists and realized that I had read less than half of the book on the top ten lists (and hadn't even heard of many!). As a so called "expert" on graphic novels in libraries I didn't really think that this was appropriate, and decided to read as many of the volumes that I hadn't read as possible.

I then decided to review them as I read (or reread) them, and I've been (very slowly) doing so since December 2013. I've so far written reviews of 39 of the now 100 title long list. At my current rate I will finish in about four years.

This page will eventually contain links to all the books from 2016. Here's the full list of nominations from 20016, and the top ten list. They occasionally have weird formatting or credits.

Before this list had been released I had read 0.6 of the entries (vol. 1 of Lumberjanes and the first issue of Squirrel Girl).

Also, how is Giant Days not even on the long list?

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova.

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown.

Lumberjanes vol. 1-2 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, and Brooke Allen.

Ms. Marvel vol. 2-3 by G. Willow Wilson, Jacob Wyatt, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Elmo Bondoc.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson.

Sacred Heart by Liz Suburbia.

A Silent Voice vol. 1-3 by Yoshitoki Oima.

Trashed by Derf Backderf.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vol. 1-2 by Ryan North and Erica Henderson.

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