You are currently browsing the daily archive for May 21st, 2008.
Wow aren’t we special, two posts in one day! Just don’t get used to it. And I’ll make this super fast, gotta jet to class.
Reviews for the weeks YA Mats
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
So I’ve read this before and wasn’t overly impressed but since that was ages ago I felt I should give it another go. Not so obnoxious this time around and also I was reading it from a different state of mind. I can totally see why girls go nuts over this book. Super funny, very sassy and its British. I hate to say it but foreign stuff is instantly more awesome. But more so I wasn’t annoyed with Georgia as I was the first time around. Rennison makes these characters very human and very interesting, you just have to see past the melodramatic “Why me/I hate my parents/school/life” moans and groans that are part of going up. Gets a Cool for sure. Probably look at the rest of the series.
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Um…so I think I like this. At first I was resistant, but I can’t really put my finger on why. It’s an interesting subject, girl’s uncle takes her on an adventure to Antartica. Girl survives ordeal by taking to a dead Polar explorer named Titus. For all of it’s odd and scifi like elements, it was still very much a realistic book. Which might be the reason for the conflicting thoughts. For not meant as fantasy it was very fantastic. And not that books need to fall into one slot or genre but it makes it harder then to place the book in someone’s hand. I can’t just say White Darkness is about this… The best parts are oddly when the main character is talking to her “imaginary friend.” It seems more real than the real events that she goes through. A very icey Cool.
A Step From Heavan by An Na
Well, this was the most boring of the 3. I mean that mostly in a good way. There is really only two ways to do the “immigrant coping in a new culture with family issues” story. Straight and poinant or funny and amusing. This was the former. A well done former for sure. I like that the book encompassed her whole story 4-18 and didn’t focus too closely on one part. And the 1st person voice changes as our girl Young Le develops and grows. Sentences are longer and more complex, implying that her thinking and emotions are changing similarly. So a Cool as well.
Just wanted to share this with ya’ll.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136961
A great article in Newsweek by Jamie Reno called “Generation R (R Is for Reader)” about the resurgence of YA Lit and its role in YAers lives. What most struck me was David Levithan’s (author of one of my favs, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, soon to be movie) comments about teen books as apart of pop culture with TV, movies and videogames. Look at Gossip Girl, Harry Potter and the slew of the fantasy/adventure movies that have come out/are still coming out/optioned to come out on film. Eragon, The Dark is Rising (alternately known by the ridiculous title The Seeker), Twilight, City of Ember. And these aren’t small productions either. On the lower end Hannah Montana has her own series of books that tie to the TV show. So although the article lays out the premise of YA Lit being popular is surprising, it really isn’t.
What is surprising is how libraries haven’t overwhelmingly gotten on the YA mothership. There are great programs out there like Los Angeles PL’s Teen’Scape with it’s overwhelmingly awesome website (http://www.lapl.org/ya/) and gorgeous space dedicated to teens. But then there is Michael Casey and Michael Stephen’s recent article in Library Journal “Embracing Service to Teens” (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6556178.html) . Stephens has been following the story of Mishawaka PL which has banned MySpace and Facebook in response to teen behavior issues. It’s troubling to me because many people still see teens as troublemakers and rule breakers. Libraries should be welcoming places for everyone of all ages. We’ve gotten very good at programing for youngsters, storytimes and the like. But what are we doing to keep those readers past preschool? Elementary? Junior High? High School? As more libraries look to gaming and graphic novels there is beginning to be a trend towards getting the YAers in the library at any cost. It’s a trend that’s starting in places like LA, Oak Park IL and other places that I hope to see continue and become a standard for libraries.
