One of my favorite books, Finding Nouf (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), I only discovered when it won a 2009 Alex Award. I use it regularly for booktalks and it was a hit with the student bookgroup. Then it became a favorite with the faculty/staff bookgroup as well. (I have been raiding the Alex Award lists for [...]
A recent listserv request sought read-alikes for The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. This book made a big impression on me during college, and inspired me to read a spate of Vietnam War titles that included A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo and The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff. “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” [...]
Post by Francisca Goldsmith: A number of adult books of sequential art have treated poetry across the past couple of decades—so small a number that one can count them all pretty much on one hand. An all time favorite of mine for booktalking with teens who are learning English is the folio sized and darkly [...]
Last Wednesday I attended the “Librarians’ Sneak Peek Book Preview 2011″ sponsored by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). It is always a pleasure to hear about upcoming titles from the publishers themselves, and there are several with teen potential to look forward to. Of course, it is impossible to be sure of appeal until [...]
Canadian fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay is always a good possibility for teen fantasy readers, but he has outdone himself with Under Heaven. Known for setting fantasy in a slightly altered historical context, this time he bases his world on China. Young protagonists coming of age, love, war and adventure combine in an epic story recommended [...]
I have been telling everyone I know about Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok ever since reading it last spring. It makes a great booktalk (I used it several times at the end of the school year), and would be a satisfying bookgroup choice for either adults or teens. Publishers Weekly printed a short interview [...]
Before sharing today’s review, two matters of housekeeping. First, the RSS feed for this blog will be available early next week. Please do check back for that. Second, I have been asked to introduce myself. So here goes… I am a school librarian in New York City, Head Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart, [...]
We all know that nonfiction is more popular than fiction with certain teen readers. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival has been gathering strong buzz and reviews since its release in late August. Turns out it also has teen appeal, and is a strong recommendation for fans of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer. [...]
Zombies are everywhere these days, even infecting Day Two of the Adult 4 Teen blog. I would fight it, but Feed by Mira Grant is entertaining and smart, and as a paperback original it might have escaped notice. First in the Newsflesh series, this particular zombie apocalypse centers around social media, blogging, the future of [...]
The Adult Books 4 Teens blog was created to replace the School Library Journal print column, Adult Books for High School Students, last seen over 9 months ago. I’m sure many of you shared my dismay when we realized the column had come to an end. The adult book publishing world releases thousands of general [...]
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