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 Teens vote for favorite young adult book

Teen readers across the country voted Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as their favorite book to take the #1 spot on the annual Teens’ Top Ten (TTT), sponsored by The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The vote took place during Teen Read Week October 17-23, 2004 and gave teens an opportunity to voice their choice of the best new young adult books. 

TTT is a part of YALSA’s YA Galley Project, which facilitates access to advance copies of young adult books to national teen voting groups. Five teen voting groups, appointed by YALSA’s YA Galley Committee as official Teens’ Top Ten readers, evaluated books that were published from November 2003 to October 2004, and created a list of 44 nominations for the best new books for young adults. Teen voters across the country then cast ballots for their three favorites, creating 2004 Teens’ Top Ten booklist of the best new books for young adults.

Teens were encouraged to vote for their favorite young adult books during Teen Read Week, from the official nomination list posted online at the Teens’ Top Ten site.  Over 2,000 online ballots were cast and the results, combined with the results of a separate vote of the TTT groups, determined the final ranking of the ten top books of the year, as selected by teen readers.

With Rowling’s fifth Harry Potter novel topping the list, the 2004 Teens’ Top Ten includes:

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic, 2003) Fantasy.

2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Knopf, 2003) Fantasy.

3. Pirates! by Celia Rees (Bloomsbury, 2003) Historical Fiction.

4. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce (Random House, 2003) Fantasy.

5 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Chicken House/Scholastic, 2003) Fantasy.

6. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (Delacorte, 2004) Supernatural.

7. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, 2003) Fantasy.

8. Princess in Pink by Meg Cabot (HarperCollins, 2004) Realistic.

9. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler (Candlewick, 2003) Realistic.

10. Curse of the Blue Tattoo by L.A. Meyer (Harcourt, 2004) Historical Fiction.

TTT voting groups include the MLHS Booktalkers at Medical Lake High School in Medical Lake, Wash.; the Teen Advisory Board at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, In.; the Teen Advisory Board: Readers R' Us at Wilson Middle School in Plano, Texas; the Teen Advisory Council at B. B. Comer Memorial Library in Sylacauga, Ala.; and the Teen Review Board at East Lansing Public Library in East Lansing, Mich.

TTT is coordinated by YALSA’s YA Galley Committee whose members include Diane P. Monnier, chair; Edith Cummings; Tracey Firestone; Paulette M. Goodman; Lynn Kaminski; Mary F. Long; and Sydna Wexler.