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Adult Books 4 Teens
Inside Adult Books 4 Teens

Weekly Reviews: Debut Novels

Reconstructing Amelia

Today’s reviews are all notable debut novels by women. I spent part of my spring break tearing through Kimberly McCreight’s Reconstructing Amelia, and let me tell you — teens are going to eat this up. It came out just yesterday, so go order a couple copies now. There are several appeal elements here. First, the [...]

Contemplating Horror

The Demonologist

I’ve been thinking about horror fiction lately. What are the secrets of its appeal? Why are teens so drawn to it? How can we know which adult horror novels will appeal to teens and which won’t? One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about this lately is because I enjoyed The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper [...]

Weekly Reviews: Portraying the Famous (and Infamous)

Z: a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Today we review three novels with famous people as their subjects. The first is Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Teens continue to be fascinated by the Jazz Age and they read the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, not only in literature classes but also for fun. (So I learned in a recent discussion with [...]

Advanced Review: The Property

The Property

from Francisca Goldsmith, graphic novel guest blogger extraordinaire: Coding How We Speak Family Secrets Rutu Modan has proved to be an adept storyteller as well as creator of visually rich images of both characters and their settings. She’s been published to some acclaim in the US as the author and cartoonist of a collection of [...]

Weekly Reviews: Nonfiction

My Beloved World

This is Sonia Sotomayor’s 8th week on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Best Seller list, up to #4 from #5 last week. (Sandra Day O’Connor’s book, Out of Order, debuts at #11.) I am particularly excited to write about My Beloved World this week because I recently had a chance to booktalk it to a [...]

Author Visit: Reyna Grande

The Distance Between Us

AB4T reviewer Connie Williams has been an enthusiastic supporter of Reyna Grande’s The Distance Between Us ever since she reviewed it here on AB4T last year. Recently, Connie hosted the author at her high school for what was a transformative experience for many of the teens in her community. I thought it would be inspiring to [...]

Weekly Reviews: Sequels

Fuse

Trilogies. How many of us shudder at the thought? How many of us miss those great standalone novels? A whole story arc in one book – imagine! On the other hand, many readers enjoy knowing that there is more to come. In a student bookgroup meeting last week, as we discussed what to read next, [...]

Review: The House Girl

The House Girl

Sometimes a book resonates so strongly with its reviewer that the 250-work limit placed on an official review is simply too constricting. Thank you to AB4T reviewer Carla Riemer for her in-depth look at Tara Conklin’s debut novel, The House Girl. The House Girl is a story of deceptions and the people who benefit from [...]

The Morning News Tournament of Books

Rooster

Are you a fan of SLJ’s Battle of the Kids’ Books? Do you read adult books and wish there was such a contest for you? Look no further! March may find us still shivering & gloomy in the northeast, but it DOES bring The Morning News Tournament of Books. The TOB kicks off today — [...]

Thoughts on Alex: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's

Karyn Silverman, half of the genius behind Some Day My Printz Will Come, joins us to write about the last, lone Alex Award Winner yet to be covered here on AB4T. Take it away, Karyn! Angela and Mark have been covered all of the Alex winners at this point except one. And because Angela saw me [...]