This looks great!
I have a Wicked Cool book up myself.

Connie Willis: Bellwether, Doomsday Book, her short story collections (Impossible Things and Firewatch)

Also, my daughter went crazy over Stephen King's The Stand. I've never read it, but she's read it probably five times.

The following comment was sent to me via email from Dave Elzey - he tried to post but couldn't get the lovely MT registering thing to work. (The bane of my life this whole comments process is!):

As one of the Cybils judges I don't believe the fact that Long Tack Sam is considered an "adult" memoir isn't relevant criteria. I believe the criteria for Cybils nomination is that the book was published in English in 2007. A large number of graphic novels published are simply graphic novels and not considered adult or children's titles.

That said, I agree that teens would find this book compelling and deserving of attention but I consider this an illustrated biography and not a graphic novel, just to quibble over terminology.

Dave, I don't want to pick on the Cybils and please don't think that is my intent. I did see several comments across the genres though where folks nominated a book and were reminded that it was published for adults, so I know that is a criteria for judging in some places (or seems to be). And I think that is fine - if anything I would suggest the addition of an "adult books for teens" category if the Cybils wanted to add these books to the loop.

I referred to Long Tack Sam as a graphic novel because that is what the publisher (and author) did. I agree with you that it is more of an illustrated novel than conventional gn (it's not a single plot driven story that's for sure). And I saw in other places that it was referred to as "an adult memoir", etc. so it seemed clearly not for teens...but I guess that doesn't matter unless the publisher specifically states it's adult? Does the pub have to specifically state a book is for teens for the book to be Cybils considered or it says nothing about age group is it up for inclusion?

I don't want to take away from the point of my post - which is to generate a list of adult titles (in any format) for teens, but if you guys could clarify the gn nominating process for the future I'd appreciate it. Are you saying that basically any gn published in the appropriate period is up for nomination? Is this just a genre that doesn't distinguish between adult and children's books so you accept any and all nominations?

Thanks - and thanks for posting!

(And hey - how about giving us some nominations of adult books for teens?!)

Okay, I don't want to be seen as the voice of either the Cybils, publishing or even the gn panel, but I do want to try and answer your questions.

The whole graphic novel field right now is a mess with regards to books for non-adults. For decades this was a subgenre in publishing, outside the mainstream, and the rules were different for content and even distribution. Only in the last couple of years did the adult world (publishers, librarians, teachers, the ALA) decide to include graphic novels as "legitimate" reading for kids. The result has been publishers trying to capitalize on the comics market, the comics folks trying to get a slice of the mainstream pie and, in the middle, everyone else trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

So when it comes down to what's for kids and what's for adults the lines can get super blurry. I wasn't in on the nominating panel (I'm in the final judging panel) and I'm not sure what titles you're talking about that were disqualified as being adult. I did recommend that Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid be moved over to middle grade fiction because it didn't follow the generally accepted rules for being a gn but that's all I'm aware of.

One thing that does come up (though again I'm not sure if this is what you are referring to) concerns Japanese manga many of which are intended for adult audiences in Japan but because Americans assume anything that looks like a comic book is for kids get marketed as a kid's title when they are released here. The chain bookstores are mostly responsible for this problem because they put the manga sections close to the YA and prey on that captive audience and don't police who's reading what (I once worked for th chains, I know they do this on purpose).

So, when it comes down to nominating, well, the Cybils are open to everyone. The first round of screening judges (or whatever they're called) should be the ones that vet the appropriateness of a title. We're in the middle of making final decisions so I'm not really able to address issues of age and categorization because it's come up, but I think I can safely say the publishers don't have any say in this area.

As for Long Tack Sam I can't find my copy, but didn't the publisher print "illustrated memoir" on it as it's genre/category? I think I remember seeing that because I hadn't realized that was a new possible genre until I saw it.

Finally, adult titles suitable for teens. This is such a weird can of worms because I feel I could go on for days with this one. I stopped reading "kids" books when I was fourteen -- YA didn't exist then -- and tread into Vonnegut and Stephen King territory. Is that what you're looking for? I'd say Cat's Cradle and The Stand off the top of my head there.

Also, I think an area that gets short shrift is adult biography. Not of the rich and famous but of the average and unusual who can give kids insight into the fact that growing up is hell the world over no matter where or how old you are. Jim Knipfel's Slackjaw will make any reader shake their head in I-can't-believe-this humor and shock.

Hmm. Let me think about this some more. (and here's hoping the comments go through this time!)

Thanks Dave - and I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I was very confused about what Long Tack Sam was supposed to be. On the cover it does say "illustrated memoir". At Riverhead's site (the pub - division of Penguin) it's referred to as a "graphic memoir". At her site, author Fleming refers to it as a graphic novel and Diamond (the comics distributor) listed it in the comics/graphic novels section of their huge monthly catalog (that's where I first saw it) and not in the book section. Amazon seems to be listing it as a biography but Powells is shelving it in the graphic novel section.

Nobody knows what this book is, it seems! ha!

Anyway, yes both Stephen King's The Stand and Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle are excellent choices. I will also be checking out Slackjaw as it seems like an excellent addition as well (and I agree that adult biography is often pitch perfect for teens - wouldn't Haven Kimmel's book work well here also? Anyone who read that want to let me know?)

Thank you so much again Dave - I really appreciate the time you've taken on this!

Oh, I have a good one! One I've been planning on reviewing this week. I'll make sure to enter it in!

I look forward to hearing about it Kelly!

And I'm adding "Innocence" by Jane Mendelsohn

It was a lovely surprise to see Connie Willis as the first suggestion here, and I want to second the recommendation enthusiastically. To Say Nothing of the Dog was a huge hit with both my daughters when they were younger, and with their cousin, who'd gone into a bit of an early teens boy reading slump before that. Bellwether was another for my two, and they both read The Doomsday Book while I was too scared of the tragedy.

The only warning I'd mention is about the short story "All My Darling Daughters", which was in Firewatch and has been included in the new collection, The Winds of Marble Arch. It's an amazingly powerful story about child sex abuse, which doesn't shock by being obviously explicit - it sneaks under your guard by seeming to be just about a rather controlling father, but the ending is horrific. Definitely one to be careful about with younger readers.

I vote for Max Barry's "Jennifer Government" A laughable, wholly likable , cynical look at our society at sometime in the future if it continues on the path of outlandish consumerism. Barry prose has a very tongue-and-cheek feel with a good helping of Douglas Adams to temper the aforementioned cynicism.

Lady-S I'm right there with you on "All my Darling Daughters" - that story completely and totally freaked me out. It would certainly only be suitable for older high school students and even then, I think they would need to talk about it after reading. (I still need to talk about it!)

I'll check out "Jennifer Government" Upquark (otherwise known as my fabulous cousin Neil) - I haven't heard of this one until now!

Adding:

Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

I went ahead and tagged Just Like That as a WCOB.

http://slayground.livejournal.com/320133.html

An adult novel kids will love, which I probably mentioned last year: As Simple As Snow by Gregory Galloway.

I would nominate The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy, a great coming-of-age story about a teen struggling with his sexual identity in 1970s Minnesota. There are so many things I love about this book--the deft prose, the heartbreaking accuracy of the protagonist's turmoil--but I can't describe my favorite thing about the book without giving up a small spoiler. I'll simply say that the protagonist's quest for...satisfaction ends differently than one might think.

Both books added guys - thanks so much for contributing your thoughts.

And I'll be sure to update on the WCOBs from around the net this weekend!

Also added:

Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? by Jamie S. Rich.

I have one more to suggest. It is a favorite of mine since having read it once in HS. I haven't read it since, but the story is seemingly fresh in my memory.

S.R Donaldson's " The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever".

From Wikipedia "

The main character is Thomas Covenant, a cynical writer afflicted with leprosy, shunned and despised by society, who is destined to become the heroic saviour of an alternate world - or, perhaps, only of his own sanity. Covenant struggles against the evil Lord Foul - "The Despiser" - who intends to break the physical universe to escape its bondage and wreak revenge upon his arch-enemy "The Creator". "

Yup, there are giants, some magic, friendship, kindness, cruelty and more throughout the book. It is a well written, engrossing story of a man who cannot believe that he is given a second chance, but to save his friends and himself, he must risk his own sense of self and self preservation. The story is about doing thing we know are right, but feel terribly wrong as they are way outside of own comfort zones all the while displaying it all to our friends and enemies. We usually hide, as best as we may, our own displeasures whilst in public. Thomas does not have that luxury.

Thomas is a hero you truly love to hate. In fact, he is the kinda of character that rescues the girl, gets the bad guy, saves the town, and you still hope he just rides off into the sunset.

Mr. Donaldson wrote 6 books for Thomas Covenant, but I recommend only the first 3 - which stand on their own rather well. The last books are a bit redundant.

One last observation. I hesitated in recommending this book as there is a violent rape scene in the very beginning of Book 1. Donaldson doesn't shy away from it and his brief description of the event encapsulates all that is evil and wrong about rape. I dunno, maybe I am too old fashioned. Regardless, definitely HS or above.

My nomination is The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King. The entire series, really - these are the books that made me realize I do, in fact, like mysteries. Teenage girl who can match wits with Sherlock Holmes does just that, becoming his pupil and then partner - putting him in his place when necessary. What's not to love?

Geez Neil, the Donaldson sounds amazing! Thanks for the thorough description and the warning I should tag it with.

Sarah I have been meaning to read this series for ages. Her latest crossover novel (that includes both the Holmes and her other series storylines - can't think of the title right now!) sounds excellent as well. I'll happily add this one.

Also add: Popco by Scarlett Thomas

The Art of Detection - good story, fabulous surprise ending for the detective. Enjoy it!

Let's see, where was I?

Okay, the summer before the movie came out I read JAWS and, man, that made me think twice about going to the beach. (I still did, and once had an encounter with a basking shark. Long story, another time).

I also think THE GODFATHER (warning: violence) and THE EXORCIST (warning: religious violence) and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (beware the under toad) are probably good cannon fodder. These three are classics of a type.

There's a book that *should* be YA but is often shoveled off into regular fiction, C.D. Payne's YOUTH IN REVOLT (sexual situations).

I'd recommend some Elmore Leonard but can't settle on a title. But that man can write, and I don't care if it is seen as genre, if half of what's printed read as clean as his prose...

Perhaps THE HANDMAID'S TALE, or is that too obvious?

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Mark Haddon is one that started in the adult section and ended up being YA in some places. Worth a look-see.

I don't know if this group is any sort of help...

I also read Jaws around the age of 11-12...maybe even younger. It was when it was in the Reader's Digest Condensed Books. I grew up on the ocean in FL and it was so hard to get back in the water after reading that book but my father didn't give me an inch - he made me go back out there. (Thank heavens!) It made a huge impression and I LOVE the movie; it's one of my all-time favorites (I like it even better than the book because of the ending.)

All of these are great suggestions David and I think because they aren't considered classics at first glance they get overlooked (too popcorn maybe) but they are defining titles in our culture, and a good time to tackle them is certainly around 15 or 16 years old (or younger if you are a shark obsessed and bored preteen.)

Hi Colleen:

I've finally made my nomination:

http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/2008/02/you-should-read-this-award-nomination.html

Awesome post Kelly - Junot Diaz's The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao is added!

Also add: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and Haven Kimmel's two memoirs.