Let Your Voice Be Heard for Best Young Adult Novels

NPR Books is now taking nominations for the 100 Best Young Adult Novels. Lists like these are always controversial because people feel their favorite book didn't get enough attention (or a disliked title got too much attention) but they are great for discovering great books you might have missed.

And I like their answer for what makes a book YA:

"The question is bound to come up: How do we define a YA novel? There are many answers. Some focus on the typically young protagonists in these books, or the themes they take up of self-discovery and the challenges of youth. Librarians typically peg the age range for young-adult readers at 12 to 18 years. In the end, though, a YA book is any book that is either marketed to or claimed by a youth audience — a circular definition, to be sure. We'll assemble a panel of writers and critics that will make any tough calls we face in the judging."

I'll be posting my nominations to their comments, but first I have to put some thought into it. They don't limit how many you nominate, but you can only comment with five at a time. Hmmm.

My first impulses would be these five titles:
1. Ender's Game
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. The Scorpio Races
4. Tomorrow, When the War Began series
5. Lips Touch Three Times


What about you--which YA titles do you think absolutely must be on the list?

Apples to Apples

YA Highway and friends are at it again for Road Trip Wednesday.

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week's topic: what are your comp titles/authors?

This question is bound to come up at some point in the submission process, so it's well worth some thought. But, like queries and pitches, it can be frustrating because comparisons often don't feel like they capture the uniqueness of your book. Makes sense, though--if your book is exactly like another (published) one, why write it? Why would anyone buy it, for that matter?

For YA books, I think mine is most similar to the Blossom Culp books by Richard Peck. Different time period and the protag is younger than mine, but otherwise similar in that Blossom and my Isabelle both communicate with spirits. And those around them react with varying levels of acceptance.

I also think The Historian would be a good comp--except that my book is only about 93,000 words, only a fraction of Kostova's 241,000 word tome. And I'm less likely to use that as a comp anyway because it seems like an overly ambitious choice--sort of like saying "I guarantee this book will be a multi-million copy bestseller" in my query. I've heard not to do that. Or was it that you should do that, I can't remember?