# Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults was an annual list of popular books geared toward young adult readers, collated by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), which was published from 1988 to 2017. The aim of the list was "to encourage young adults to read for pleasure by presenting to them lists of popular or topical titles which are widely available in paperback and which represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres". Unlike other lists published by the American Library Association and its subsidiaries, books on the list did not have to be published recently. Researchers, librarians, and educators have used the list to better understand books popular amongst young adults.

## History

YALSA first released the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list in 1988. Working with book distributor Baker & Taylor, representatives from YALSA reviewed books available in paperback in five genres: "romance, horror, science fiction, sports, and mystery". In following years, YALSA added more genres to the list (e.g., fantasy, humor, and historical fiction).

## Criteria

To be eligible for the list, books "must be in print and available in paperback", which ensures wider availability across socioeconomic statuses. The judges committee considers the opinions of young adult readers, looking at both young adult and adult books, both fiction and nonfiction. Furthermore, "Popularity is more important than literary quality."

## Recipients

Between 1997 and 2010, YALSA did not select the top ten books annually; instead, they composed longer lists in selected categories.
The top ten books for 2011 to 2017 are listed below.
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Top Ten (2011–2017) :
| Year | Author | Title |
| 2011 | M. T. Anderson | Burger Wuss |
| 2011 | Karen Kincy | Other |
| 2011 | Ryan Mecum | Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your…Brains |
| 2011 | Campbell Ross | Shadoweyes |
| 2011 | Neal Shusterman | Unwind |
| 2011 | Cynthia Leitich Smith | Tantalize |
| 2011 | The Manga University Culinary Institute with Chihiro Hattori (illus.) | The Manga Cookbook |
| 2011 | Lynn Weingarten | Wherever Nina Lies |
| 2011 | Scott Westerfeld with Keith Thompson (illus.) | Leviathan |
| 2011 | Chris Wooding with Dan Chernett (ilus.) | Malice |
| 2012 | Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (ed.) | Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd |
| 2012 | Michael Carroll | Super Human |
| 2012 | Brian Falkner | Brain Jack |
| 2012 | Gail Giles | Shattering Glass |
| 2012 | Paige Harbison | Here Lies Bridget |
| 2012 | April Lindner | Jane |
| 2012 | Matthew Loux | SideScrollers |
| 2012 | Perry Moore | Hero |
| 2012 | Evonne Tsang | My Boyfriend is a Monster |
| 2012 | Heather Waldorf | Tripping |
| 2013 | Elizabeth Eulberg | Prom and Prejudice |
| 2013 | Maureen Johnson | Name of the Star |
| 2013 | E. Lockhart | The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks |
| 2013 | Jon Skovron | Struts and Frets |
| 2013 | Raina Telgemeier | Drama |
| 2013 | Donald Gallo | First Crossing:Stories about teen immigrants |
| 2013 | Brooke Hauser | The New Kids: big dreams and brave journeys at a high school forimmigrant teens |
| 2013 | Ally Carter | Heist Society |
| 2013 | Wendelin Van Draanen | The Running Dream |
| 2013 | Bil Wright | Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy |
| 2014 | Robin Benway | Audrey, Wait! |
| 2014 | Libba Bray | Beauty Queens |
| 2014 | Don Calame | Swim The Fly |
| 2014 | Brent Crawford | Carter Finally Gets It |
| 2014 | Kirstin Cronn-Mills | Beautiful Music for Ugly Children |
| 2014 | Malinda Lo | Ash |
| 2014 | Lish McBride | Hold Me Closer, Necromancer |
| 2014 | Ruta Sepetys | Between Shades Of Gray |
| 2014 | Tanya Lee Stone | Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America'sFirst Black Paratroopers |
| 2014 | Gene Luen Yang | Boxers & Saints |
| 2015 | Derf Backderf | My Friend Dahmer |
| 2015 | Suzanne Collins | Catching Fire |
| 2015 | Jack Gantos | Hole in My Life |
| 2015 | John Green | The Fault in Our Stars |
| 2015 | Ellen Levine | Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories |
| 2015 | Barry Lyga | I Hunt Killers |
| 2015 | Walter Dean Myers | Lockdown |
| 2015 | Brandon Sanderson | The Rithmatist |
| 2015 | Art Spiegelman | Maus I: A Survivor's Tale |
| 2015 | Jonathan Stroud | Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase |
| 2016 | Laurie Halse Anderson | Wintergirls |
| 2016 | Alexandra Bracken | The Darkest Minds |
| 2016 | Shannon Hale | Book of a Thousand Days |
| 2016 | Victoria Jamieson | Roller Girl |
| 2016 | Stephanie Kuehn | Charm & Strange |
| 2016 | John Lewis and Andrew Aydin | March |
| 2016 | Jonathan Maberry | Rot & Ruin |
| 2016 | Marissa Meyer | Cinder |
| 2016 | Mike Mullin | Ashfall |
| 2016 | Jane Yolen | Briar Rose |
| 2017 | Misty Copeland | Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina |
| 2017 | Reyna Grande | The Distance Between Us: A Memoir |
| 2017 | Marjane Satrapi | Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood |
| 2017 | Libba Bray | The Diviners |
| 2017 | Rick Yancey | The Monstrumologist |
| 2017 | Terry Farish | The Good Braider |
| 2017 | Gayle Forman | Just One Day |
| 2017 | Jennifer Niven | All the Bright Places |
| 2017 | Lauren Oliver | Vanishing Girls |
| 2017 | Sonia Patel | Rani Patel in Full Effect |