Teen Book Buzz Webcast 2009 Introduces 60 New YA Titles
By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/2/2009
More than 60 new YA titles were introduced in 60 minutes during Teen Book Buzz Webcast 2009, sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's BookGroup, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Follett Library Resources, and School Library Journal.
Moderated by SLJTeen Editor Dodie Ownes, the October 22 Webcast offered an exciting and diverse range of new and forthcoming books, with representatives from 12 imprints lavishing attention on their favorites. Follett Library Services provided an order form so attendees could create their own YA title wish lists.
Lisa DiSarro and Jennifer Groves from the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group introduced L.A. Meyer’s Rapture of the Deep, which features a unique lead female character, Jacky Faber, who combines street urchin smarts with a love of the ocean and adventure. Coupled with historical fiction and swashbuckling, fans of the Bloody Jack Adventure series are certain to scoop this up. Meanwhile, L.K. Madigan’s Flash Burnout offers a more contemporary story about 15-year- old Blake, who finds himself torn between the needs of his girlfriend and Marissa, a friend from photography class. Blake has a good relationship with his parents, a nice switch in YA fiction, and thinks and acts like a typical teenage boy as he struggles with helping his friend find her drug-addicted mother.
Two nonfiction titles from Houghton stood out. James Cross Giblin’s The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy provides a look at this legendary figure known for his anti-Communism crusade during the Cold War. Due out in December, the book has already picked up great reviews and is the first book about McCarthy written just for teens. Also, from the spring 2010 list, readers can look forward to They Called Themselves the KKK: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, who actually embedded herself with the Ku Klux Klan while researching for the book.
Tim Jones, Jeanne McDermott, and Katie Halata of the School and Library Marketing Group from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group presented a pair of ‘brother’ stories that made for an interesting comparison. Andrew Smith’s In the Path of Falling Objects is a gritty examination of loyalty and family set in the Vietnam era. Jonah and Simon have been abandoned by their mother and decide to set off to meet their father in Arizona when he’s released from prison. Their plans are quickly changed when they take a ride from a sociopath. Set in England in 1684, Katherine Sturtevant’s The Brothers Story, involves a twin who decides to leave his simple-minded brother behind by heading to London to find work. While Kit’s life improves, he finds himself haunted by the question “Is he, or is he not, his brother’s keeper?”
Macmillan’s nonfiction offerings for young adults include Episodes: My Life As I See It by Blaze Ginsberg, a high functioning 21-year-old with autism. This funny and revealing memoir is arranged in a progression of television series, inspired by the Internet Movie Database. Another notable nonfiction title, Bruce Weinstein’s Is It Still Cheating If I Don’t Get Caught, deserves a spot in both the classroom and the library for its intelligent and teen-focused discussion of ethics, from being a good neighbor to how to break up.
The Teen Book Buzz Webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing. Visit www.slj.com/webcasts to register for this and many other free Webcasts.
