What Are They Reading for Fun?
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Compiled by Marlene Charnizon -- School Library Journal, 6/4/2008 8:43:00 AM
More summer reading highlights for teens and tweens:
Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA:
Most kids don’t keep up with new titles except by word of mouth and are happy to browse when they come in. We try to display books, audiobooks, and DVDs together by theme–trucks, pets, fantasy, mysteries not in series, and so on. It’s pretty much true that whatever is on display gets checked out as long as there are multiple copies of titles and they look fairly new, not dog-eared and yellow. Fantasy and horror are extremely popular with readers in grades four and up. Among the titles that we expect to be big this summer are: C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (HarperTrophy), in conjunction with the movie release; Erin Hunter’s Warriors: Cats of the Clans (HarperCollins, 2008); James Patterson’s Maximum Ride: The Final Warning (Little, Brown, 2008); Mike Lupica’s The Big Field (Philomel, 2008); Jeff Kinney’s “Wimpy Kid” books (Abrams); and Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key (Viking, 2008).
Bethany Lafferty, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, NV:
Last summer, novels that topped the list among teens throughout the District were Christopher Paolini’s Eragon (2003) and Eldest (2005, both Knopf), and James Patterson’s School’s Out–Forever, a “Maximum Ride” book (Little, Brown, 2006). Lauren Manoy’s Where to Park Your Broomstick: a Teen's Guide to Witchcraft (Fireside, 2002) has an audience, as does Maria Shaw’s Book of Love: Horoscopes, Palmistry, Numbers, Candles, Gemstones & Colors (Llewellyn, 2005). Among younger readers, the top three fiction picks were J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005, both Scholastic), as well as Lemony Snicket’s The End. (HarperCollins, 2006). In the lead as the 2008 summer reading season approaches are Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (2005), New Moon (2006), and Eclipse (2007, all Little, Brown). James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series is in high demand, too, along with Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” titles (Knopf).
Diane P. Tuccillo, Fort Collins Regional Library District, CO:
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (2005), New Moon (2006), and Eclipse (2007, all Little, Brown) remain by far our biggest hits. Other vampire-book contenders are Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy (Penguin, 2007), Scott Westerfeld’s Peeps (Penguin, 2005), and Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses (HarperCollins, 2003) and its sequels. Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key (Viking, 2008) and her other books are in high demand. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Penguin, 2007) and Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway (Penguin, 2008) are runaway new favorites. It is hard to realize we own multiples of Tamar by Mal Peet (Candlewick, 2007) because it is never on the shelf. Libba Bray’s The Sweet Far Thing (Delacorte, 2007) checks out constantly along with the other novels in the trilogy. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game (TOR, 1994) is still going strong here. Unexpectedly, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams, 2007) is proving to be a top choice to tickle the funny bones of teens as well as children.
