Best Books for Young Adults

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1997 Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults

FAR NORTH by Will Hobbs


Two boys, stranded in the wilderness, endure a brutal winter and attacks by bears, wolves and moose.

A GIRL NAMED DISASTER by Nancy Farmer


When her family arranges her marriage to a cruel man with three lives, Nhamo escapes by canoe.

GOLDEN COMPASS by Philip Pullman


Friends, witches and armored polar bears help Lyra fight the evil forces that are stealing children for horrible experiments.

NATHAN'S RUN by John Gilstrap


Nathan is running for his life after escaping from a juvenile detention center.

ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM by Walter Dean Myers


Well known and not so well known African Americans' lives are celebrated through photographs.

RATS SAW GOD by Rob Thomas


Troubled teen Steve York reflects on his life and his relationship with his famous father.

THE UNITED STATES OF POETRY by Josual Blum, Bob Holman and Mark Pellington


Meet all kinds of poets from Nobel Laureat winners to rappers through their photos and poems.

WHO KILLED MR. CHIPPENDALE? A MYSTERY IN POEMS by Mel Glenn


A high school English teacher's murder is solved in a series of poems.

WRESTLING STURBRIDGE by Rich Wallace


Living in Sturbridge, Pennsylvania, where wrestling is king, high-school senior Benny must compete against his best friend for a spot on the team.

FRAGMENTS by Binjamin Wilkomirski


Found wandering near Aushwitz at the end of the war, a small boy had no language or knowledge of who he was. Here, he shares his fragmented memories of surviving as a toddler.

Best Books were selected by a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½.

The complete list of 1997 Best Books can be found in
ALA's Guide to Best Reading 1997, an interdepartmental project of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½, and
Booklist, a publication of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½.