The world's largest reviewer of books, multimedia, and technology for children and teens
A week after the “big reveal” at the American Library Association’s midwinter meeting, everyone is still talking about the latest award-winning titles. Young Adult Library Services Association committees select books for teens from 12 to 18 years of age, with a broad range of reading abilities and maturity levels. Whether they are edgy or informative, these buzz-worthy books will circulate among your students for years to come.
Our latest column features two contemporary stories, one fantasy, and another take on Out of the Easy. Gayle Forman’s Just One Day illustrates the benefits and dangers of opening up to the world, while Sarah Skilton’s Bruised defends the right to close down and protect yourself. A Corner of White, from Jaclyn Moriarty, explores what can happen to someone who’s trying to balance two worlds, both seemingly real.
What a delight to see that Paper Mario is back in action, paperizing everything in sight! Our music reviews highlight two very different performers, both chart leaders in their own genres, who sweep away listeners with their unique voices and styles.
Our teen reviewers from Bookmarked are back up to speed and full of opinions on new and upcoming titles, including a mystery, a dystopian fairy tale, historical fantasy fiction, and yes, an apocalyptic tale involving a virus. If your library has fans of fairy tale retellings, stay tuned for next month’s Media Mania column, which will feature a fine list of titles which are sure to satisfy their fancy.
Although I didn’t come up with this column’s name—YA Underground—I’m appreciating it more and more. The kids I serve are living underground both metaphorically and literally. My library is in a 350-bed lockdown facility Amy Cheney juvenile cellthat serves adolescents ages 11 to 19, and it’s in one of three rooms with windows. I have the only room with windows that are at eye level. The sunlight streams in and looking out, you can see trees, grass, clouds, sky, and sunsets beyond the barbwire. When Jonas (not his real name), an avid manga fan, was in the library on his every-other-week visit, I heard him describe the library as “a lonely bright spot.” He was talking about books—but aren’t books windows?
Our teen reviewers are still catching up from the holiday break. Bruno Mars first came to fame after his vocals were featured on the song “Billionaire,” which he worked on with Travie McCoy in 2010. Now he has released his second studio album, Unorthodox Jukebox, building on his musical creativity—he cowrote all the songs—while still perfecting the art of chart-topping singles. And how did I not hear about an auto-racing game set in Colorado? (My family might tell you that every time I drive, it’s like an auto race… ) I may have to give Forza Horizon a try myself.
Beautiful Creatures is a story of star-crossed lovers with a supernatural edge and atmospheric Southern setting. The film adaptation of the first novel in Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s fan-favorite series (2009, Little, Brown) is fittingly scheduled for release on Valentine’s Day, 2013. Tempt teens who just can’t get enough of these Beautiful Creatures to keep reading by booktalking or displaying a selection of page-turning tales forged with mystical wonder and touched by true love. Encompassing copious coming-of-age themes and a variety of writing styles, these titles also make excellent choices for book discussion groups.
I guess we’re going make this an annual thing. Last January, SLJTeen ran my top choices for 2011, and here I am again with my 2012 picks. As you may remember, Coe Booth’s Bronxwood and Simone Elkeles’s Chain Reaction were on last year’s list. In a blog post, Booth wrote that she purposefully deleted the new novel she was working on. That takes courage and commitment. Her novels show her dedication to excellence, and teens respond. Elkeles is working on a new four-book series about football entitled Wild Cards. When I asked if there were also girls and guns in it, she replied, “There are always girls and romance and guys with lots of testosterone! No guns in the first book, but it gets gritty in the second when one of the boys gets caught up in gang activity.”
Bookmarked really rallied after the Thanksgiving hiatus! We have a fabulous combination of books reviewed this issue, from mystery to thrillers to fantasy, all with a dash or more of romance. The 2012 titles are ready for reading over the holiday break, so get your holds placed now.
Want to save Middle-earth without getting off the couch? The new Lego Lord of the Rings videogame makes that completely possible. For those that never tire of zombie hunting, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will not disappoint. And it’s just possible that the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Motion Picture Soundtrack could provide appropriate background music for the zombie hunters, with its “soulful sound” and “a bit of wailing.”
OK, the column title isn’t exactly accurate this time. To pick up the Thanksgiving holiday slack, Elizabeth Kahn, the leader of our fine young adult reviewers at Bookmarked, has also contributed a review. Liz reviewed the debut novel Colin Fischer—and her write-up is a beauty. As is the review of Greg Takoudes’s When We Wuz Famous, due out March 2013. Our final review is a second take on Jessica Brody’s Unremembered, and like the original review, gives the novel a big thumbs up.
Starting on January 16th, Amy Cheney from Alameda County (CA) Library, Juvenile Hall will be contributing a column to SLJTeen titled YA Underground: Teen Books You Might Have Missed. Scheduled to run every other month, Amy will write about books she’s reading and authors that are of interest to teens—particularly those from poverty classes and/or incarcerated youth.
Sleep Like a Tiger (Logue), Illustration by Pamela Zagarenski
Preschool to Grade 4
FYLEMAN , Rose. Mice . illus. by Lois Ehlert. S & S/Beach Lane. 2012. p. 90.
HANLON , Abby. Ralph Tells a Story. illus. by author. Amazon. 2012. p. 91.
LOGUE , Mary. Sleep Like a Tiger . illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. p. 94.
OBED , Ellen Bryan. T welve Kinds of Ice. illus. by Barbara McClintock. Houghton Harcourt. 2012. p. 96.
SMITH , Lane. Abe Lincoln’s Dream. illus. by author. Roaring Brook. 2012. p. 100.
If you’re looking for official justification for the purchase of graphic novels, look no further than the Common Core State Standards. In grades 6-12, students will be required to apply the Reading standards to a variety of text types, including graphic novels. For mature readers, this fall’s releases offer stories of war, madness, gangs, and failed dreams. Young adult patrons will have much to think and talk about after reading these selections.
Our latest music reviews feature the bad old boys (Aerosmith)… and the good new boys (One Direction)—and it sounds like their albums couldn’t be more different from each other. The Avengers finally make it to the gaming table with some superhero moves, and NBA2K13 is bound to please those who are looking for action on the hardwood.
Take Me Home, One Direction (Columbia)
One Direction is certainly a phenomenon in the music world. This Simon Cowell-created boy band is so popular with its [...]
If there was any doubt that 2012 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist Ruta Sepetys could meet readers’ expectations after Between Shades of Gray, put those fears aside—her upcoming title, Out of The Easy, confirms that this writer is here to stay. Lost memory remains a popular convention in YA lit, as Unremembered and Being Henry David remind us, and for romantics, Meant to Be offers a fun frolic through the streets of London.
The idea of a book within a book is not a new idea—The Book Thief, Inkheart, and Fahrenheit 451 all explore this theme. It’s fun to think that the characters you are reading about may show up in your living room, ready to interact and share their literary lives with you. In some cases, such as Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, the books become characters themselves. For a light-hearted and quick read, check out It’s a Book by Lane Smith. Although it’s a children’s picture book, the humor will definitely appeal to teens.
Go ahead, have a second helping of stuffing and gravy—Just Dance 4 will keep it from going right to the hips! Feeling nostalgic, missing Ash and Pikachu? Fire up Skylanders Giants for a battle fix. And dear sweet Taylor Swift is not one to stay in that country box—she’s even experimenting with dub-step, and clearly it’s working. Her new album Red earned the highest sales of any album since 2002 (Eminem’s The Eminem Show), with 1.2 million copies sold in the record’s opening week.
Some genres have year-round appeal. Enter the ghost story. This fall’s ghost stories combine other elements our students enjoy reading. A girl dies too soon. A crime needs to be solved. The Titanic. These books have short, cliff-hanging chapters with no good stopping place. You can almost read them in one sitting―unless your fear factor is released. Like me, you may have to do Pinterest between chapters, and refrain from reading them before bed! Happy haunting!
Tales of aliens and bounty hunters, rockers and assassins, and a true story about addiction that reads like fiction are all part of this issue’s contributions from Bookmarked’s readers.
