The best young adult fiction

Have you heard the news, Reader? Thanks to my Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Facebook feed - where would I be without that? - I learned this week that National Public Radio is cultivating a list of the Top 100 Best Young Adult Fiction Reads.

FUN! Right?! It's no secret over at Miles and Laurel that yours truly loves young adult (YA) fiction.

Basically, awhile back, NPR put out a call for nominations. From those responses, staffers whittled the list down to 235 finalists. (Can you imagine that project?!) You can review the finalists here - or if you'd like to vote for your own top 10, visit this link instead.

First things first. I cast votes for the following titles:

1. The Book Thief, one of the best books I've read in a long time. I didn't even know it was technically classified as YA until after I finished it, which is part of the fascinating conversation of what constitutes YA.) 
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which like The Book Thief I also read earlier this year.
3. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (I laugh out loud just thinking of those books!) 
4. The Giver, which is labelled a series. I only read one! It's really a series?!
5. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (All of them! My sister and I adore these books. I think we read them when she was actually the target age bracket and I was already past it.)
6. Stargirl, which I wrote about in March when I went to Arizona because the saguaros reminded me of it. I know at least one of you is a Stargirl fan already. It is a beautiful book!
7. To Kill a Mockingbird (I need to re-read this one. I know I believe it belongs on this list, but I need to re-read to provide more elegant commentary.)

Huh. I didn't see any Sweet Valley High or Sweet Valley University books on the list. There must've been another page I missed.

And then there are confessions! Most of the nominations were new to me and reminded me that there is great YA fiction - old and new - out there to discover. These in particular are now on my library list:

1. The Outsiders (Can you believe this?)
2. House on Mango Street (I actually have a copy of this one but just need to read it.)
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Some people in the comment section called this one of the best they've ever read. I need to investigate.)

Also: I don't mean to be totally square, and I know there are some fans of this series among my readers, but I hate that the Twilight series is on this list!

And now, for a few words I've never strung together before: I loved reading the online comment section for this project. The poll's comment section is completely ablaze with passionate arguments. I think this is a marvelous and pointed illustration of how truly formative YA fiction can be - the books you read over and over and still love to revisit as an adult. There are comments cheering for favorite titles on the list, lamenting omitted titles, and discussing what constitutes YA fiction. I appreciated one reader who suggested grouping titles into classic and contemporary categories. (Maybe I could accept Twilight in the latter category. But seeing it on the same list as Anne of Green Gables feels very strange.)

And what about the omissions?

1. One of the main problems in the comments was the omission of A Wrinkle in Time and the Narnia books.
2. Someone mentioned Hatchet, and I said quietly to myself , "Yes, Hatchet!" And then someone further down the thread wrote, "NO GARY PAULSEN BOOKS!!! Are you insane!?" (I told you I loved the comments!) and I have to say that I agree that Hatchet should be on the list.
3. Holes by Louis Sachar came up in the comments and it was one of my ideas, too (not to mention the Wayside School series, which I read many more times than Holes).
4. I feel most strongly perhaps about not seeing more Lois Lowry on the list, particularly Number the Stars, which may have been omitted because of its Newbery status. (I also re-read A Summer to Die many times.)

Okay, now it's your turn. What would you vote for, Reader? What do you think got left off the list? Do you think lists like these are weird, impossible ideas or fun starting points for discussion? (Obviously I see this last in the latter category.) And what do you love to see on the list, and does anything make you cringe? I can't wait to hear what you guys think!