10. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror: Heebie-Jeebie Hullabaloo

Groening, Matt. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror: Heebie-Jeebie Hullabaloo. New York: It Books, 1999.

Justification for rejection:
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror presents a collection of short stories in graphic novel form. Many of the stories within parody horror movies, reflective of "The Simpsons" television show's halloween special. Any fan of this series will find a lot to enjoy in this book. 

This work is very accessible, and one can pick it up, and finish a story in a very short amount of time. The individual chapters are funny and very quick reads. The art is lovely and eye-grabbing. This is an excellent work for a reluctant reader, as the alternate format can help engage those that may be unlikely to read traditional books. The horror elements of the book will also appeal to many YA readers.

In the context of considering the work for nomination status, the shortcomings of Treehouse of Horror are many. This book is built around humor, and does this well. It does not utilize humor to really address anything of substance. Real world troubles are not explored with any depth, and all the material is kept at the surface level. In a great young adult work, the themes addressed must be substantive, and show respect of the reader. In this case, mature themes are not addressed at all, preventing this from occurring. Further, the characters are not built in any way that allows a reader to build a connection, which is crucial to a great YA work.

Treehouse of Horror is a work that many will enjoy. It is funny, face-paced, and engaging. This is a great work for a reluctant reader. Unfortunately, the lack of depth in addressing mature themes and failure to build relatable characters prevents it from receiving consideration as a nomination title.

Genre: Humor, Graphic Novel, Supernatural, Horror, or Vampire

09. Pure

Baggott, Julianna. Pure. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2012.

Annotation: After the detonations, people of the dome look down on the deformed wretches managing to survive below with pity. Will their society survive actually meeting one of them?

Justification for rejection:
Pure tells the story of Pressia, a 16 year old girl who lives in the post-apocalyptic landscape of the eastern United States. She, like all the survivors of the detonations, has fused with the objects near her at the time of the detonations. Floating above the wreckage is the Dome, a refuge that a lucky few people managed to reach before the detonations. People in the dome are "pure", that is, they do not possess any deformities.

One resident of the Dome is Partridge, an adolescent who is about to receive his coding, which essentially reprograms a person to fit into what the leaders of the Dome have decided is necessary. Worlds collide when Pressia and Partridge eventually meet, and their preconceptions of the other are challenged.

This is an adult-market novel which has received the Alex award, meaning that it has been honored as an exceptional adult-market novel for teen readers. This novel certainly possesses many of the hallmarks of a great piece of YA literature. First and foremost is the heavy focus on a quest. This is most certainly the focus of the work, and both of the main characters on the novel are on their own quests, which intertwine wonderfully. Through this quest, the characters definitely come of age, and see both extremes in the world of good and evil. Characters changing from being juvenile and naive to mature and wise is certainly another hallmark of great YA literature.

The characters themselves are certainly relatable to the teen reader. They are adolescents themselves, and the challenges are definitely placed directly on their shoulders. The content examined is very "adult" in nature, and the horrors of the world are not hidden from the reader. These are all requirements of a work that an adolescent will relate to, and feel respected by.

The writing is very fast paced, and the story is expertly told. Neither of the main story lines ever drags, and the reader is left excited whenever the narration switches viewpoints.

This is a very excellent book, and one that any YA reader would likely enjoy reading. There is one aspect of the work that does not receive enough focus to achieve a recommendation. This is in its emotional content. The story itself is grounded in narrative, not in emotion. The story certainly does have emotional moments, but these are driven by occurrences in the plot. The emotional content that is present is well formed, and feels legitimate. There is just too little of it to truly be an exceptional YA work.

Pure is a great novel. However, when viewed through the lens of it's value as YA literature it only rises to the level of very good due. This is due to its lack of emotional focus.

Genre: ALEX Award Winner and/or Adult “Market” Author, Coming of Age, Science Fiction or Fantasy

08. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2007.

Annotation: Junior lives on a reservation where he attends school and is subject to bullying, while Arnold is a middle class teen who attends a white school. Both are the same person, and must decide who they truly are, and where they belong.

Justification for nomination:Junior is an adolescent from a poor family, who attends school at the reservation on which he lives. After having some behavioral problems and with encouragement from a teacher, he decides to begin attending school off-reservation at a white high school. This angers his best friend, Rowdy, and causes a significant rift between them. At the white school, he is known as Arnold. He manages to establish himself in the school, and after many trials, manages to find happiness in life.

The first thing a reader will notice about this work is how real the interactions between the characters are. No punches are pulled, and the language is as rough and tumble as the teens using it. This does not in any way feel overdone, it accurately reflects the way that teens interact. The raw emotionality of adolescence is capture expertly, and definitely demonstrates the required understanding of this stage of life to be a great YA work.

Like many great YA works, this novel explores self discovery. Arnold must decide who he is, and decides to break out of the situation that life has dealt him. In the process, he forges himself his own, unique identity. This quest motif is expertly used to lead the reader on a journey that is utterly gripping.

This novel has been challenged many times. This is due mostly to the very high level of vulgarity in the language, and also likely for the sexual content. Neither of these elements are extraneous, and removing them would leave a book failing to accurately reflect the adolescent experience.

This is among the greatest of YA works. Any adolescent will connect with it immediately. It grabs the reader, and does not let go.

Genre: Censored, Challenged and Banned Books, Coming of Age/Search for Identity, Multicultural Novels