Shana Youngdahl, an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine at Farmington, is racking up recognition for her first young adult novel, “As Many Nows As I Can Get,” published this year by Dial Books.

Shana Youngdahl’s first novel, “As Many Nows As I Can Get,” is being recognized as one of the best books of the year for young readers. Photo courtesy of UMF

The New York Public Library included the book among the 10 on its Best Book of 2019 for Teens list. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review for being of exceptional merit, and Kirkus and Seventeen magazine both selected “As Many Nows As I Can Get” as one of the Best YA Books of the year.

“This novel is a first for me,” Youngdahl said in a press release. “Before this, I’d always written and published poetry, but I wanted to tell this story in a different genre.”

Youngdahl teaches writing at UMF and directs the university’s Longfellow Young Writers’ Workshop. She also teaches a Coming of Age seminar to first-year students. In “As Many Nows As I Can Get,” she tells the story of a small-town high school senior who encounters guilt and grief when she arrives at college in Maine. The novel is about reconciling who you are with who you need to be.

Youngdahl will discuss her book at 2 p.m. Jan. 26 at Webster Library in Kingfield and at noon Feb. 20 at the Portland Public Library.