Today's the Day!

The day the Cybils shortlists are announced, of course! If you are reading this, that means the shortlists have been officially announced, and panelists can break the oath of silence we took during a special ceremony involving three chickens, a duck, and some curly fries. Well, maybe not, but if someone just got a story idea, that's all good. Make sure you also click over to Cybils.com to see what the other panels came up with. Like I mentioned, have your order cards ready! These are the best of the best, so you'll want to make sure your library has them all on hand!

It was incredibly hard to narrow our list of 182 YA titles down to 7, but here they are. Most we have already reviewed, so rather than rehash our take on them, click on the link below each to see what the author had to say!

In no particular order:

by Mark Shulman
Roaring Brook Press
978-1596434172

Click here  for a very funny commentary on where Scrawl came from.

by Tara Kelly
Henry Holt & Co.
978-0805090109

Here Kelly talks about the bliss - or not - of getting published.

by Swati Avashti
Knopf Books  for Young Readers
978-0375863400

We are still reeling from this book! Read here to see how Avashti is using her book's success to help victims of domestic violence. And to learn how to pronounce her name.

Courtney Summers
St. Martin's Griffin
978-0312573805

Amazing how we can like a book so much and hate most of the characters. Here is what Summers has to say about that!

by Lucy Christopher
The Chicken House
978-0545170932

Christopher actually just started blogging this past year, but there is still lots to see on her web site. Her Q&A section answers some of the questions we had about the book...and teases us with others.

by Erin McCahan
Arthur A. Levine Books
978-0545088183

We didn't find any commentary from McCahan about her book per se, but thought her blog was interesting - she does a thing called "The Saturday Seven" in whch she sums up her week in seven words. Hmm, we sense a challenge...

by Watt Key
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
978-0374308636

Click here for a very interesting background to Dirt Road Home (and an explanation of why it wasn't just a sequel to Alabama Moon)

So, there they are! Seven books we are very glad we read, and recommend you do too!