Letters

I am writing in response to Tasha Saecker’s recent review (July 2006, p. 106) of my young adult science-fiction novel, Mergers (Pelican, 2006). I serve as a reviewer myself for journals specifically in the YA field, so I am familiar with the review process, and Ms. Saecker’s review is in need of correction. She makes the statement that, “the matching powers of the teens and their adult counterparts are never explained, leaving lots of loose ends.” I would like to point her to p. 106, par. 3 and p. 146, par. 4–6, which both offer discussion among the characters of the ancestral passing down of these “inherited abilities.” The opening of chapter seven also provides a detailed explanation of the evolution of the adults’ powers—abilities which manifest themselves again in a later generation (the main characters).

Ms. Saecker further states that the main characters in the story “are saved by four adults who are also of different races and have similar powers.” They are not, in fact, saved by four adults but by three. It would appear a trivial error not worth mentioning, except that an issue is actually made by the main character that there are only three adults who come to the rescue—each of his friends has an adult counterpart except for him—and this is a concern to him. The fourth adult that Ms. Saecker identifies as saving the teens is actually the antagonist of the story and is, in fact, trying to kill them all—not save them.

Given the integrity of SLJ, its proven importance in the library sales market, and its overall reputation among librarians and teachers, I would like to encourage more careful reading and fact-checking on the part of reviewers before their words are put into print.

Steven L. Layne, author, St. Charles, IL

Our Reviewer Responds

I agree that I made an error in the number of adults who aid the children in the story. You are correct, the number should have been three rather than four. I sincerely apologize for my mistake.

Still, I must stand by my statement that the reason behind the matching powers of the teens and the adults is unclear. As a reader of science fiction and fantasy, I am used to adjusting to changed worlds and unique situations. However, especially in these invented realms, authors must make sure that their books are clear about how things occur, especially when they serve as the crux of the story. Yes, the adults are in some way the teens’ ancestors, but that alone is vague and confusing given that that is all the explanation readers receive. I was convinced that in the final chapter it would be further explained, but that didn’t happen. I feel that it was a very large loose end to leave.

I stand by my review of the book, and would mention that I did recommend it for graphic-novel lovers.

Tasha Saecker, librarian, Caestecker Public Library, Green Lake, WI

Media specialist Lynn Spencer, in her letter requesting that SLJ’s reviews include mention of bodily function humor (June 2006, p. 14), used my story collection Invasion of the Road Weenies as an example. I’ll stay out of the debate itself, but I feel moved to point out that in this case such a mention would be superfluous. It’s pretty safe to assume that any book with the word “weenies” in its title will most likely not be devoid of body functions.

David Lubar, Writer with a functioning body