YALSA's 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.

		Room : a novel Narrator Jack and his mother, who was kidnapped seven years earlier when she was a 19-year-old college student, celebrate his fifth birthday. They live in a tiny, 11-foot-square soundproofed cell in a converted shed in the kidnapper's yard. The sociopath, whom Jack has dubbed Old Nick, visits at night, grudgingly doling out food and supplies. But Ma, as Jack calls her, proves to be resilient and resourceful--and attempts a nail-biting escape. 2011. Donoghue, Emma, 1969- FIC DONOGHU
		The vanishing of Katharina Linden : a novel Reviled in her German village home where her only friends are a fellow outcast and and elderly storyteller, 11-year-old Pia investigates the disappearances of three local girls who she believes are tied to unsolved missing persons cases from decades earlier. 2011. Grant, Helen, 1964- FIC GRANT
		The lock artist Traumatized at the age of eight and pushed into a life of crime by reason of his unforgivable talent--lock picking--Michael sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long. 2011. Hamilton, Steve, 1961- FIC HAMILTO
		Breaking night : a memoir of forgiveness, survival, and my journey from homeless to Harvard The memoir of a young woman who at age 15 was living on the streets but survived to make it to Harvard. Murray's story was featured in the Lifetime Original Movie "Homeless to Harvard." 2011. Murray, Liz, 1980- B MURRAY MURRAY
		Girl in translation When 11-year-old Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life, like her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition, Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles. 2011. Kwok, Jean. FIC KWOK
		The house of tomorrow Jared Whitcomb is a chain-smoking sixteen-year-old heart-transplant recipient who befriends Sebastian, and begins to teach him about all the things he has been missing, including grape soda, girls, and Sid Vicious. They form a punk band called The Rash, and it's clear that the upcoming Methodist Church talent show has never seen the likes of them. Wholly original, The House of Tomorrow is the story of a young man's self-discovery, a dying woman's last wish, and a band of misfits trying desperately to be heard. 2011. Bognanni, Peter. FIC BOGNANN
		The particular sadness of lemon cake : a novel Being able to taste people's emotions in food may at first be horrifying. But young, unassuming Rose Edelstein grows up learning to harness her gift as she becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern. 2011. Bender, Aimee. FIC BENDER
		The Radleys Struggling with overwork and parenting angst, English village doctor Peter Radley endeavors to hide his family's vampire nature until their daughter's oddly satisfying act of violence reveals the truth, an event that is complicated by the arrival of a practicing vampire family member. 2011. Haig, Matt, 1975- FIC HAIG
		The reapers are the angels : a novel For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks. 2011. Bell, Alden. FIC BELL
		The boy who harnessed the wind : creating currents of electricity and hope Young teen William, who taught himself enough physics and engineering to build a windmill and bring electricity to his drought-stricken village, discovered the magic of his Malawi homeland in the miracles of science. 2010 Kamkwamba, William. B KAMKWAM KAMKWAM