Teen Lit: Books That'll Rock 'em
Alicia Eames -- School Library Journal, 8/23/2007
Looking for surefire recommendations to add oomph to the perennial genre study? If you’re a teacher or librarian, keeping up with young adult literature can be a daunting pursuit, especially while juggling a million other daily tasks. Fortunately for us, there are wizards in the field who make it their business to keep us informed. The titles below provide lots of great suggestions for teens who are hungry (and ready) for more, and tips for getting the most reluctant readers going. 
Combining vast book knowledge with a wealth of experience, Anita Silvey offers recommendations of 500 Great Books for Teens (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). More than a simple guide, it’s a treasure trove of suggestions, grouped by genre, and featuring insightful summaries and observations. An appended “Beyond the 500” lists additional titles of interest.
Another expert of note, Nancy Pearl, librarian action-figure model and the reigning “queen of readers’ advisory,” has recently published Book Crush (Sasquatch, 2007). While her recommendations might engender some good-natured squabbling among readers about favorites and must-reads, everyone will enjoy Pearl’s entertaining musings, quirky categories (“This Is My Life,” “It’s a Guy Thing”), and suggestions by age group.
Educators looking for reproducible annotated booklists will find Nancy J. Keane’s The Big Book of Teen Reading Lists (Libraries Unlimited, 2006) useful. In this book, titles are grouped under the broad headings, “Genres,” “Characters,” “Books About Self,” “Setting,” “Subjects,” and “Audience.” Social studies teachers wishing to incorporate literature into the curriculum can turn to the lists under “Setting,” which focus primarily on major topics in American history.
And finally, if you’ve ever wondered if the books you promote make a difference in your students’ lives, look for Joan F. Kaywell’s Dear Author (Philomel, 2007). This compilation of letters written by contemporary teens to their favorite authors, and the authors’ often detailed responses, opens a window onto young adults’ experiences, feelings, and thoughts while underscoring the impact of good literature.
