"The books on this list will give you the opportunity to see yourself and the world in a new way; to reconnect with memories; and open doors to discovery, knowledge, adventure, and enchantment. They will inspire you to think about life, universal truths, and the human experience. This list is intended as a tool for a variety of audiences -- college bound students, educators, librarians, and parents....In selecting these works for the list, the committee used a variety of criteria: readability, cultural and ethnic diversity, balance of points of view, contemporary and classical works, different genres, and availability." The list is revised every 5 years by a committee of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association (ALA). This is the 1999 list.
