Filed under: Uncategorized
A look at Literature for Today’s Young Adults
by: Alleen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson, Pearson Publishing, (8th ed)
As soon as I opened this book I liked it. The inside of the cover is titled “What is New in This Edition?” and large bullet points indicate the changes from the previous edition. The layout is simple to follow and easy to read. The book opens up with the thoughts of YA writers Michael Cart and S.E. Hinton. There is discussion of the characteristics of good YA literature as well as an “Honor List” of the Best of the Best YA literature from 1980-2007. Any list that starts with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a good list in my esteem. It’s a fine list – not comprehensive – but inclusive of some excellent titles.
The book offers portraits of well-know YA authors and gets to the essence of their achievements. There is an abundance of footnotes which might be helpful for anyone looking for more sources of information. It also includes chapters on different genres and subjects of YA novels such as The Modern Problem Novel, Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Video Games as Interactive Literature, Adventure, What is Fantasy? Utopias and Dystopias, etc.
There’s a chapter that deals with non-fiction including memoirs, biographies and “Nonfiction to Help Teenagers Learn Who They Are and Where They Fit.” A section on YA literature in the English class is fascinating. Although not directly relevant to librarians, it’s important to know how educators view and utilize the growing body of YA literature.
A chapter on censorship is highly relevant to librarians who inevitably will face book challenges at some point. Literature for kids and young adults seems to be the largest source of book challenges in a library system.
This book is current, up-to-date and has an excellent take on YA literature. It would be an excellent resource for librarians and writers too. I high recommend it.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Here it is – my first ever book trailer. Thank you Paulette for getting me to try out a new technology. And thank you Aaron for helping me get this thing onto the blog.
I really loved How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. It’s witty, funny, and full of interesting and wonderful characters. The premise is clever and the wit doesn’t stop throughout the book. I highly recommend it!
