In our ongoing series about our first encounters reading adult books, reviewer Amy Cheney discusses many of her favorites as a young teen, but offers a special shout out to the power of Harlequin Romances. For more thoughts on Romance novels, check out this fascinating article from The Atlantic, discussing the genre’s ongoing interaction with [...]
Following Stiff, Spook, Bonk and Packing for Mars, Mary Roach is back with Gulp, in which she maintains her punning, entertaining writing style, as well as her willingness to go to the gross-out extreme. There were actually moments in this book that made me nauseous, and there is one chapter in particular that I believe [...]
April is National Poetry Month, and unlike short stories, poetry is one form of literature that I, at least, have never had trouble getting teens interested in. Every April (except this one–my library is doing some construction) I try to hold at least one poetry event–an open mic, or a poetry slam–and they tend to [...]
In our continuing series on the first adult books we read as teens, reviewer Jamie Watson talks about the limited access she had to adult novels: When did I start reading adult books? I’ve thought about this question before, because I’ve used it as in icebreaker in workshops before. Especially in the “OMG the GOSSIP [...]
Two items to enjoy this morning. Six times each year I have the opportunity to interview a debut author whose first title exemplifies an adult book with teen appeal. My interview with Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia, is out today. If you subscribe to the SLJ Teen Newsletter you will find it in your [...]
Today we highlight three recent historical novels set in a variety of time periods and locations. I also thought it would be fun to highlight one of our AB4T reviewers, Connie Williams, who has been reviewing historical fiction since the blog began. First, a brief introduction to the reviews. Orphan Train moves between contemporary Maine and [...]
And now for another installment of Adult Books 4 Teens: First Encounters, our reviewers’ thoughts on the first adult books they read. Today’s guest post is from Sarah Flowers: I remember four books as my first adult books. They may not have been the very first I read (like Diane, I’m sure I read Readers’ [...]
In what I believe is the first AB4T post about a professional resource, I cannot resist sharing my thoughts about a new ALA Editions book, just out: Cart’s Top 200 Adult Books for Young Adults: Two Decades in Review by Michael Cart. I have been looking forward to reading it ever since I spied it in [...]
Today’s reviewed novels are most likely to appeal to strong, mature teen readers looking for a challenge. Yet each includes a teen character, an authentic teen voice, that will keep the adventurous reading. The starred review belongs to A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. This novel is difficult to categorize. It begins [...]
In The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (ALA, 2009), Joyce Saricks divides genre fiction into four categories: Adrenaline Genres, Emotion Genres, Intellect Genres, and Landscape Genres (h/t to Jonathan Hunt for pointing me to this wonderful resource–and click through that link to read some fascinating commentary on the categories). I find this categorization much more [...]
Recent Comments