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2011 Best Books for Teens: The Complete List

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Cover art for DELIRIUM
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2011
Kirkus Star DELIRIUM
by Lauren Oliver
"The abrupt ending leaves enough unanswered questions to set breathless readers up for volume two of this trilogy. (Science fiction. 14 & up)"
Oliver's artfully detailed prose reveals, brick by brick, the sturdy dramatic foundation of an initially implausible premise. Read full book review >
Cover art for I AM J
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2011
Kirkus Star I AM J
by Cris Beam
"It was just good and bad and interesting and fucked-up and very human, like anything else." (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Finally, a book about a transgender teen that gives its central character a life in which gender and transition matter but do not define his existence! Read full book review >
Cover art for STRINGS ATTACHED
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2011
Kirkus Star STRINGS ATTACHED
by Judy Blundell
"National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) delivers a brilliantly conceived novel set against the backdrop of the 1950 Kefauver mob hearings and the Red Scare with a story of redemption and truth at its core. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)"
Caught up in dreams of dancing on Broadway, Kit Corrigan unwisely accepts an apartment and a nightclub job from mob lawyer Nate Benedict in exchange for keeping tabs on his son Billy, who's enlisted in the Army along with Kit's brother, Jamie. Read full book review >
Cover art for BLINK AND CAUTION
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 8, 2011
Kirkus Star BLINK AND CAUTION
by Tim Wynne-Jones
"Wynne-Jones' finest, most beautifully written novel yet, one more in a career full of distinguished works. (afterword) (Mystery. YA)"
Two teenagers hurt by life "with its never-ending snares and pitfalls and dire consequences" come together in this elegantly constructed noir mystery and love story. Read full book review >
Cover art for CHIME
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 17, 2011
Kirkus Star CHIME
by Franny Billingsley
"Delicious. (Fantasy. 14 & up)"
"I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged. Now, if you please." Read full book review >
Cover art for BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 22, 2011
Kirkus Star BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY
by Ruta Sepetys
"Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling. (maps, timeline, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up, adult)"
This bitterly sad, fluidly written historical novel tackles a topic woefully underdiscussed in English-language children's fiction: Joseph Stalin's reign of terror. Read full book review >