Paper Towns Voted Favorite Book by Teens

Teens across the country chose Paper Towns by John Green as their favorite book in the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten vote. 
 
Teens’ Top Ten is a “teen choice” list. Every year members of teen book groups in school and public libraries around the country nominate 25 books. Then teens choose their 10 favorites by voting online. The Teens’ Top Ten is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The winner of the award was announced on October 19.

The rest of the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten are:

2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
7. Wake by Lisa McMann
8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

“I’m happy to win,” says Green, “but I feel humbled by the experience. There are so many excellent books. I’m grateful to my readers and I’m lucky to have them. They’re not afraid to tell me what they think.”

Paper Towns is a coming-of-age tale, a love story, and a mystery all wrapped into one. Quentin ‘Q’ Jackson idolizes next-door neighbor, Margo. When she includes him in a wild night of revenge and then disappears, Q must follow the clues to find her.

The Teens’ Top Ten award is part of YALSA’s Teen Read Week, which ran from October 18 to October 26. Teen Read Week encourages teens to read for fun. Libraries and schools across the country hosted events to promote literacy and library use.

Green appeared as featured speaker for Teen Read Week at the main library and branches of the Columbus, Ohio, Metropolitan Library. Asked what advice he’d offer to young writers, Green said, “Read a lot and read critically—dig below the surface. For example, don’t take it for granted that the pigs in Animal House are pigs.”

As a teen, Green was passionate about writing, but it took him awhile to find his voice. “If my early stuff ever sees the light of day, it will probably end my career,” he said. “But if you love writing, keep at it. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s a career that’s not available to you.”

Related Links
 

• John Green’s personal Web site is sparksflyup.com. Visit to read more about Paper Towns, practice your anagramming skills, or learn famous last words of U.S. Presidents. Green also posts videos with his brother Hank Green to their own YouTube page every week. To see Green perform these Famous Last Words, view this video of him in action.