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"The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. "

consider reading the reviews to determine if these books are suitable for your high school library

2009 Top ten challenged books

The list of 73 titles, drawn from 127 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.

[the YA books in my libraryare] all appropriately reviewed, of course, and many of them are award winners, some several times over-but when it comes to content, they don't pull any punches. So it shouldn't really come as a surprise that I recently got my first book complaint. As librarians, we tend to talk a lot about intellectual freedom and defending our teens' right to read whatever they want. But when push comes to shove, how do we really respond to book challenges in the heat of the moment?

I feel lucky that I have not had to defend a book. I hope I would listen to the parent's concerns, arrange a time to respond to that concern, check our division policy again, do some reviews, and then respond. I try to read all the books of an older nature for a K-8 library, so I know the content. In some cases I've sent books on the Jen at NBCHS, because they are to mature for our students, but are still great books. I know I should spend more time researching the books before I buy them, but sometimes I am buying them based on a student's recommendation.