What Are They Reading for Fun?
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compiled by Marlene Charnizon -- School Library Journal, 7/9/2008 12:00:00 PM
Summer reading: series, graphic novels, and tattoos, too.
Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, FL:
In Florida we are well into summer, and patrons here, as elsewhere, are into series: Paul Langan’s “Bluford High” (Scholastic) and D.J. MacHale’s “Pendragon” (S & S) are in great demand. Graphic novels, of course, are hot, especially manga: “Death Note” by Tsugumi Ohba, “Bleach” by Tite Kubo, and Rumiko Takahashi’s “InuYasha” (all Viz Media). John Feinstein’s Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl (Knopf, 2007), Frank Beddor’s Princess Alyss of Wonderland (Dial, 2007), John Flanagan’s The Battle for Skandia (Philomel, 2008), Caroline Cooney’s Code Orange (Delacorte, 2005), and anything by Sarah Dessen, especially Lock and Key (Viking, 2008), are among the fiction that is circulating well. Books on tattoos and on drawing manga have been heavily requested lately, especially by teenage boys.
Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA:
Cecil Castellucci’s graphic novel The Plain Janes (Minx, 2007) is so popular that it is on the school district’s summer reading list for middle graders. It’s interesting–many of the same books are being read all over the country. Action adventure: Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” series, (Hyperion), Anthony Horowitz’s “Alex Rider” (Philomel), and James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” (Little, Brown) are never on the shelves. Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005) and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies (S & S, 2005), along with their sequels, are very strong. The “Clique” books by Lisi Harrison have overtaken Cecily von Ziegesar’s “Gossip Girl” (both Little, Brown) in popularity. Christopher Paolini’s Brisinger is eagerly anticipated, and the earlier books in the trilogy (Knopf) are being reread. The two humorous Wimpy Kid books (Amulet, 2007, 2008) are circulating briskly.
Lillian Hecker, Town of Pelham Library, NY:
Kids surveyed include a teen who loved the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and was inspired to take out the book, by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Several other teens have read Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones (Little, Brown, 2002). “B.W.” started Ann Brashares’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Delacorte, 2001) a couple of summers ago and in subsequent summers read the follow-ups. Zoey Dean’s“A-List” books are on her list too. “G.R.” enjoyed Karen Cushman’s The Ballad of Lucy Whipple (Clarion, 1996), a historical novel about California, and Natsuki Takaya’s manga series, “Fruits Baskets” (Tokypop). Middle-school boys are taken with the exciting fantasy of John Flanagan’s “The Ranger’s Apprentice” books (Philomel). “R.A.” likes Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Among the Hidden (1998) and Among the Betrayed (2002, both S &S).
