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Best Of 2010
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Best Of 2010 POSTS
Best Adult Books 4 Teens, 2010
Many of you doubtless received the latest issue of School Library Journal and enjoyed the Best Books 2010 article, either online or in print. You probably missed the Adult Books for High School Students list. I always looked forward to that list myself. When this blog was created to fill the void left by the […]
The Power of Music
The Bells is less about opera than about the power of music, the melodrama of being an outcast and a victim of thwarted young love. This is a book about a boy nearly overpowered by his senses and emotions. For him, sound is a physical sensation. Teens, both artistic and not, may identify with the […]
First Novels
Several first novels stood out this year, many with appeal to young readers. Many of them have already been reviewed here: Girl in Translation, The Girl who Fell from the Sky, The House of Tomorrow, Matterhorn, The Outside Boy, and The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Let’s add one more. A paperback original, Finny is a coming-of-age novel […]
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Hot Nonfiction Monday
I thought I would kick off the Thanksgiving holiday week with two nonfiction titles that are garnering both critical praise and a great deal of publicity. They will likely end up in many a Christmas stocking this year. How do they stack up for young adult readers? First, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the much anticipated new […]
Alternate History, in two parts
Connie Willis considers her World War II alternate history/time travel saga to be one book. She calls it Blackout-All Clear, even though Blackout was published in February and All Clear in October. So we decided to publish one review encompassing both. While yes, both books are long (very long), there are teens out there who have no problem […]
Fairytales
Today’s book, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, has an undercurrent of fairytale themes, and brought to mind a conversation I joined recently. One of the advantages of living in New York City is the ability to attend Bookfest each fall. Formerly hosted by the New York Public Library, this year it was titled Bookfest@BankStreet and […]
Contemplating Fear
It has been a long time since I was genuinely scared by a book, especially one featuring zombies or vampires. Maybe it is the fact that they are everywhere these days, mixed with humor or social commentary that dilutes the horror itself. The last time I came close was reading Justin Cronin’s The Passage, but […]
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