The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.

2011

JANIS JOPLIN: Rise Up Singing
Ann Angel
Amulet Books/Abrams
ISBN: 9780810983496
Ages 12-up
128 pages
October 2010

40 years after her death, Janis Joplin remains among the most compelling and influential figures in rock-and-roll history. Her story --- told here with depth and sensitivity by author Ann Angel --- is one of a girl who struggled against rules and limitations, yet worked diligently to improve as a singer. It’s the story of an outrageous rebel who wanted to be loved, and of a wild woman who wrote long, loving letters to her mom. And finally, it’s the story of one of the most iconic female musicians in American history, who died at 27.

-Four other books were finalists for the award: THE DARK GAME: True Spy Stories by Paul B. Janeczko, EVERY BONE TELLS A STORY: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates by Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw, SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement by Rick Bowers, and THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.