What Are They Reading for Fun?
RSSThis article originally appeared in SLJâs Extra Helping. <a href="https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/subscribe.asp?screen=pi8">Sign up now!</a>
compiled by Marlene Charnizon -- School Library Journal, 01/19/2010
In Canada,White Pine Award Nominees
Lisa Marie Williams, East Gwillimbury Public Library, Ontario, Canada:
Teens living in the loosely knit group of villages that make up the town of East Gwillimbury (population 24,000) on the edge of the greater Toronto area are beginning their reading of the White Pine Award Nominees for 2010. Their favorites so far: Hiromi Goto’s dark fantasy, Half World (Puffin Canada, 2009); Shelley Hrdlitschka’s contemporary look at polygamy and religion, Sister Wife (Orca, 2008); and Susan Juby’s fun-filled “detective” story, Getting the Girl (HarperCollins, 2008). They are also still clamoring for last year’s winner, the future-fiction spy thriller Little Brother (Tor, 2008) by Cory Doctorow.
John Green’s Paper Towns (2008) and An Abundance of Katherines (2006, both Dutton) have found homes here this winter. Younger teens and tweens still looking for Twilight read-alikes have discovered Patrice Kindl’s Owl in Love (Houghton, 1993). And speaking of romance, our readers can’t seem to get enough of Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key (2008) and This Lullaby (2002, both Viking). Historical fiction written for a more adult audience is also popular, including Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (Riverhead, 2007) and Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Random, 2005).
Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, Kearns Public Library, Kearns, UT:
Kearns is an urban community southwest of Salt Lake City. In the afternoon we are flooded with teens from the junior high, and they love reading books in series and about anything supernatural. Ellen Hopkins’s Crank (S & S, 2004) and its sequels are so popular they are stolen constantly. We have not avoided the vampire craze here, and Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses (HarperCollins, 2003), Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy (Penguin, 2007), and P.C. and Kristin Cast’s “House of Night” books (St. Martin’s) are favorites.
The boys enjoy Anthony Horowitz’s "Alex Rider" and John Flanagan’s “The Ranger’s Apprentice” series (both Philomel). Two new supernatural hits are Kami Garcia’s Beautiful Creatures (Little, Brown, 2009) and Tonya Hurley’s Ghostgirl (2008) and Ghostergirl: Homecoming (2009, both Little, Brown). Faeries are also the new thing—Melissa Marr’s books, that is—Wicked Lovely, et al (HarperCollins). The teens here, like everywhere else, devour manga, and they love the gory horror of Junji Ito’s “Uzumaki,” Katsura Hoshino's "D. Gray-Man" (both Viz Media), and Shoko Conami's lighter "Shinobi Life" (Topkyopop) and CLAMP's "XxxHOLIC" series (Del Rey).
Alison Donnelly, Collinsville Memorial Public Library, IL:
Young adults here in Southern Illinois are enjoying a variety of genres and titles, and graphic novels have recently been given their own devoted shelf space, much to the approval of teens. “Star Wars” (Dark Horse) and Darren Shan’s “Cirque du Freak” (Little, Brown) series are circulating especially well. Ellen Hopkins’s Tricks (S & S, 2009) was highly anticipated, and her previous poetic novels are rarely, if ever, on the shelf. Popular crossover authors from the adult realm have included Dave Pelzer, Jodi Picoult, and Nicholas Sparks. Frank Warren’s PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordianary Lives (Morrow, 2005) and other titles are popular browsing choices.
