When I was online approving holds tonight (yes, I'm working at night; and yes, my students can put holds on books from home), I checked out the Top 10 and it inspired me to create this post. So I offer you, the Evergreen JH Library's "Student Top 10."
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book has not been in the Top 5 for quite some time, though it never really drops out of the Top 10. I think its push to the top right now reflects that it won our schoolwide Evergreen Young Adult Book Award voting (see previous post), and students that hadn't read it clearly want to know why it's so popular!
2.The Compound by S.A. Bodeen. This book has consistently been in the Top 5 since the fall when we started our award nominee reading. It came in 2nd in the voting, and all the students that didn't get a chance to read it before are currently eating it up like crazy. Even some of our teachers are reading it based on student feedback.
3. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. This book is the reason I think our system doesn't calculate the Top 10 based on all factors. It should clearly be the number 1 book in my opinion based on the fact that we have 15 HOLDS on the book right now, in addition to the 6 copies checked out. But I do love that it proves the power of booktalking. This book hardly got checked out until everyone finished The Hunger Games trilogy and I would tell anyone who would listen that they MUST read it. Last week, I spoke with all of our 7th and a few of our 8th grade classes about it...and presto! Everyone wants it!
4. Beastly by Alex Flinn. Another one that is not a surprise right now, but has made a recent surge into the Top 10 because of the movie. And because it is one of my favorite books? Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I have more sway than Alex Pettyfer with my students.
5. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. A consistent performer that has been somewhere in the Top 10 since its release in October.
6. Num8ers by Rachel Ward. I love this book and have been promoting it like crazy in advance of the sequel. I think we have 10 holds on 5 copies right now. What more could you want than a red eyeball on the cover to get teens interested in reading it?
7. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. Again, another book that I've been talking up quite a bit as the sequel just came out. It takes place in Washington, so our students really like the connection. But it is a good murder mystery with just the right amount of creepy and supernatural.
8. The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa. This great first book in the Galahad series has made a sudden surge into the Top 10. I am hoping that the interest in this series continues through the remaining books. I really loved the premise behind the book, and I know my students do also.
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney. One of the Wimpy Kid books can always be found in the Top 10, but I attribute the popularity right now to the fact that I've been showing the movie preview in the library and we are all excited about the next movie. You know where I'll be on the 25th!
10. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. As wildly popular as Sarah Dessen is with my 8th grade girls (and since it's spring, my 7th graders are starting to discover her), her books typically don't crack the Top 10. But if the system could track Top 10 authors, she would be in the Top 5 without question. All of our copies of all of her books are ALWAYS checked out.
So that is a look into the current reading habits of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in my little corner of the world. What is popular where you live? What are your favorites right now?
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5 comments:
Thanks for the tip on Num8ers--that's the only one on your list my library doesn't have, and I'm sure it will be a hit. My students have several of the same favorites, plus the Evermore series by Alyson Noel and Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.
Thanks Laurie! Where is your library? We want to do an informal survey of what's popular around the country right now. What grades do you serve?
Love this post, and love how zealously you are recommending books kids will truly love. Thanks for all you do!
Martina
I have about 12 7th-8th grade boys on the waiting list for Rot and Ruin by J. Maberry. They are whipping through it and I even overheard a conversation about it in the hallway!
I have Ship Breaker and can't wait to read it! I've started it, but had to put it down due to other obligations. I agree with a lot of the other top 10. I loved Desires of the Dead. And the Body Finder, though I realize that was last year. Guys Read Funny Business is a great book of short stories for kids that have a hard time with attention span. Authors like Jon Scieszka, Kate Dicamillo, Jeff Kinney, Eoin Colfer, David Yoo, and many more.
I've already read 51 books this year, so many good ones. Some from last year. On my blog we're weighing in on digital books replacing the printed book. If you get a chance I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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