This week the Vermont Department of Libraries announced that John Green's Looking for Alaska has won the 2007-08 Green Mountain Book Award. This is the third year of the award, which was previously won by Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper (2006-07 and Angela Johnson's First Part Last (2005-06). This award is chosen by students in grades 9-12 who have read at least 3 of the 15 titles on the list, which is chosen by a committee. The best part is, more students are voting every year and more schools are participating. The whole point of the program is to get more high school students reading for pleasure.

Two criteria for the books are that they have to be available in  paperback and must have been published in the last 5 years. 

I've been a member of the committee for the past two years and have enjoyed the guess work of which titles will be chosen. The selection process itself gives me added respect for the national award committees.