Collection Development Position: Take 2

As a future teen librarian, my primary goal will be to serve and provide resources for the teens in my community: not the teens I hope they become, wish they were, or imagine that all teens are. My starting place in achieving this goal is to get to know the teens my library serves. Following Agosto’s (2013) advice, I would “include teens as much as possible in the process of designing and delivering teen library programs and services, and to make teens themselves our most frequent sources of research data” (p. 42). In practice, this would mean conducting field research in the very neighborhood for which I am developing the collection: talking to teens to determine “their goals for using library resources and services,” then talking to parents, teachers, and other relevant constituents in the community (Agosto, 2013, p. 45). Then, based on the library’s goals as defined by this research, I would go about curating the collection.

I anticipate that I will be serving in a neighborhood made up of a different demographic than the one in which I grew up. It will therefore be all the more important that I get to know my community and actively educate myself to make up for any gaps in cultural competence, as per the discussion in Hughes-Hassell and Stivers (2015).

Building a culturally aware collection around community- and teen-defined goals might mean eschewing popular collection development practices. As outlined by Rawson in Booth & Jensen (2014), simply curating a collection based on bestsellers and award-winners will often insufficiently reflect a diverse demographic and/or teens’ actual reading needs and desires (pgs. 97-104). Instead, I will need to be open to developing a truly diverse collection. My collection will therefore contain:  

• Materials directly reflecting the teens I serve—both in terms of the characters in books and the types of informational resources selected.
• Diversity of genre for every reader (Booth & Jensen, 2014, p. 94).
• Diversity of quality and type of book: popular books that might be of low “critical” quality or provide no objective academic value are included if desired by popular demand (Booth & Jensen, 2014, p. 93).
• Materials from outside the given demographic to build empathy for and understanding of other communities and abilities (Rawson in Booth & Jensen, 2014, p. 98).
• Materials that support academic and other library goals as determined by “field research” with teens and local teachers, etc.
• Media other than books (e.g. video games, digital or maker devices for use in the library), based on meeting the goals of the teen community.

Such a collection may contradict the expectations of the adults in the community, but I will scrupulously guard against any form of self-censorship as I build and augment the collection. When materials are challenged, I will fiercely fight for their place in the collection using the Library Bill of Rights and a formalized Challenged Materials Procedure.

Instead of ignoring or living in denial of the multi-faceted online lives of teens, I will do everything in my power to continuously educate myself and embrace this part of teen culture in both the materials and programming.

In building this collection, I will consult an array of resources, including but not limited to: professional review media, awards lists, blogs, social media, teen choice awards and lists, and other media representing a broad spectrum of teen library services.

The resulting collection will be one in which every student sees him or herself represented in the available media, and in which the available media represents the teen’s needs and desires.

References

Agosto, D. (2013). “Envisaging Young Adult Librarianship from a Teen-Centered Perspective.” In Transforming Young Adult Services, edited by Anthony Bernier, pp. 33- 52. Chicago: Neal-Schuman.

American Library Association (1996). Library bill of rights. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

Booth, H. & Jensen, K. (eds.) (2014). The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services. Chicago: ALA. pp. 91-104.

Hughes-Hassell, S. & Stivers, J. (2015). Examining youth services librarians’ perceptions of cultural knowledge as an integral part of their professional practice. School Libraries Worldwide,21(1), 121-136.

 

 

Book Reviews and Analysis: Part 2

Review of Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World for a teen audience.

Jensen, K. (2017). Here we are: Feminism for the real world. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Young Readers.

If you have ever wondered what’s with all the fuss about feminism or if you are already an avowed feminist, this is the book for you. This scrapbook-style book is full of comics, fun lists, FAQs, poetry, and essays, all by people you know from movies, books, pop culture, and politics. The collection is divided into helpful sections about everything from “Gender, Sex, and Sexuality,” to “Culture and Pop Culture,” and “Confidence and Ambition.” This book will answer all the questions you didn’t know you had about feminism, explaining and expanding upon intersectionality, whether men can be feminists, reclaiming the word fat, feminism and mental health, being Muslim and feminist and so much more. So, if you’ve ever wanted the “Top 10 List of Black Female Friends,” life advice from Mindy Kaling, or to simply better understand what it means to be a feminist today, check out this book!  

Review of The Hate U Give in the style of School Library Journal.

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. 444p. Balzer + Bray. Feb. 2017. 

Gr 8 Up—Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter has spent a lot of time trying not to think about the fact that she straddles two very different worlds. After spending her days in the mostly-white, upper middle class prep school where she has a white boyfriend, Starr goes home to her supportive family and the poor, mostly-black, neighborhood of Garden Heights she loves. Yet when she meets her childhood best friend Khalil by chance at a party and is then the only witness when he is killed by a white policeman, her carefully separated worlds start to collide. Starr must choose between maintaining her status quo or asserting her identity by standing up for her friends and community–even if it means standing up to the people responsible for Khalil’s death. Starr’s struggles as she grapples with her friend’s death, whether to own her voice as the sole witness in the protests that follow, and the growing rifts in her school relationships are nuanced and never contrived. The Carter family is lively and warm, and Starr’s parents exemplify the complex dynamics that keep them—at least initially—raising their family in a poor urban neighborhood while others are desperate to get out. Starr’s first-person voice is rendered with fresh immediacy, and the code-switching in her language and actions as she shifts from Garden Heights to school throw her inner conflicts into even sharper relief. VERDICT—This layered must-have for every YA collection will complement any discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Review Analysis

Professional Reviews

• The SLJ review is surprisingly comprehensive given its brevity.  Along with a relatively thorough summary, this review emphasizes not only Starr’s multiple conflicts but also her father’s as well. This review was the only one to provide any real criticism of the book, saying that the “characterization is slightly uneven” and that “Starr’s friends at school feel thinly fleshed out.” Other than that, though, the review is quite glowing. This review had nothing to say about potential audience (other than recommended grade range) or appeal, but seemed to see it simply as another recommended “issue” book. The end of the review explicitly mentions that the book should be paired with “Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely’s All American Boys to start a conversation on racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement.”
• The Kirkus review can be characterized by its brevity. Although it provided a summary, many facets of Starr’s personal conflict and the conflicts surrounding her were either breezed over or not mentioned, including her family’s nuanced relationship with Garden Heights, or Starr’s relationships from school—including that with her boyfriend. There was little critical analysis of the book other than praise for “Starr’s natural, emphatic voice,” a praise that was indeed a repeated refrain across all the reviews I read. Audience was specified only with regards to recommended age levels.  Overall, this review, though starred, felt a bit lukewarm and lacking to me. One strength, however, was the fact that though the review itself did not compare The Hate U Give to any other books, there was a sidebar that recommended All American Boys, How It Went Down, and American Street (among others), which are all spot-on.
• The Publisher’s Weekly review did a particularly strong job of bringing out the code switching that defines Starr’s home vs. school personas, going so far as to refer to Du Bois’ “double consciousness,” an important part of the story that defines many of Starr’s relationships and that other professional reviews glossed over. In this way, the review gets points for comprehensiveness, despite how short it is.  The review offers little in the way of criticism, but makes the interesting note that “though Thomas’s story is heartbreakingly topical, its greatest strength is in its authentic depiction of a teenage girl, her loving family, and her attempts to reconcile what she knows to be true about their lives with the way those lives are depicted.” This is an interesting emphasis since so many other reviews almost depersonalize the story in the way they place it into the bigger picture of politics and the Black Lives Matter movement. This review, nor any of the other reviews mentioned the striking cover art.

Alternative Review Media

• I wanted to find another review targeted towards librarians but without the stilted speech and constained word limit of the professional review media, so I consulted Amanda MacGregor’s review for Teen Librarian Toolbox. This review bypassed summary altogether by simply providing the publisher’s description, and jumping right into gushy—but still comprehensive—review mode. Although the tone of the review was much more discursive and conversational, the actual usefulness and critical stance was, in my opinion, considerably more pronounced when compared to the professional reviews. MacGregor goes deep into all the reasons she believes this book is for “EVERYONE” (all-caps hers), bringing out the dualities, the questions raised, the complexities, etc. She also nimbly inserts appeal factors as a part of her critical defense of why it is good, mentioning what makes the book funny, timely and timeless, and profound by turns.
• Finally, I decided to read a few pages worth of reviews from Goodreads, mostly because I’ve rarely seen a book with so many reviews on the site (59,607 at this writing) stay above a 4.5 average (currently 4.6). What I found was that all the 5 star reviews weren’t just emotional gushing as I had somewhat expected. Instead, the reviews, while they varied in tone from almost professional to extremely casual and fun, were all quite thorough. Many provided a thorough plot summary, and then a long analysis of everything they thought appealing and critically and personally worthy about the book. The reviews with fewer stars were also for the most part quite thoughtful, recognizing the merits of the book while mentioning parts of the writing or characterization that did not work for the reviewer. Overall, I found the Goodreads reviews very personal, but also critically useful as a reader and librarian.  

*Note: I wanted to analyze the VOYA review, but very weirdly couldn’t find it online. I’m sure this is due to some search error on my part, but this is why I chose to use PW instead, even though it’s not necessarily geared towards a library audience.

Week 11: Merchants of Cool and Generation Like Comparison

Although the two documentaries, Merchants of Cool and Generation Like reveal a fascinating progression in the interaction and relationship between teens and the media, they also reveal that the core desires that drive the relationship have stayed the same. Teens are seeking identity and affirmation, and marketers want to harness that desire for their own benefit. Teens are looking to the media to help them define themselves, while the media is looking at teens to help them determine and sell what is cool, trending, and marketable.

Merchants of Cool (2001) establishes that “teens run the economy” (3:00), and while Generation Like doesn’t make the same assertion in so many words, we can assume that this remains true based on the fact that big corporations remain in such hot pursuit of the teen consumer.  And while the ways that corporations conduct their market research has changed since the generation depicted in Merchants of Cool, the end goal has not. In Merchants of Cool (2001), the viewer learns about “cool hunters,” market researchers who hunt down trend-setting teens and then use them to define new trends and harness their marketability for large corporations (7:00). Since teens look to the media to define what is “cool,” these trend-setters as depicted by large corporations’ marketing, do indeed become the new, marketable “cool.” So is it the teens or the marketers that actually define the trend?  

In Generation Like (2014), we see a different story, but one that has the same end result. Teens continue to look to the media to define and then express themselves, but it takes a different shape. Now teens seek to define themselves by what they like–and what likes them back. Instead of being the more distinct back-and-forth “feedback loop” relationship depicted in Merchants of Cool (2001), the relationship has now reached a new level of symbiosis (42:00). Instead of needing to conduct intensive market research into teens’ “natural habitats” in order to determine what “normal” teens like (Merchants of Cool, 2001, 21:00), teens now freely share everything they “like” (or at least what they want us to think they like) with the world through various social media outlets, giving the market researcher an embarrassment of riches to work with. Yet the end result remains the same: Teens seek to define themselves by what they believe is cool; marketers seek to define their brands by what teens believe is cool. But are teens defining what they like for themselves, or is it being defined for them?

Therein lies the tension. Teens seek to define themselves by what they believe is cool as defined by…who? Marketers seek to define/advertise their brands by what teens believe is cool as defined by…who? Who is really defining cool or trendy to who? As Generation Like reveals, teens are no longer shying away from obvious brand marketing. Whereas in Merchants of Cool (2001) cross-promotional campaigns didn’t want their marketing to show (17:00), teens now seem happy to vocally align themselves with anything they like, to the extent of marketing products/content for the brand (Generation Like, 2014, 34-39:00). They may not know the key role they play in a corporation’s marketing strategy, but would they care if they did?

Merchants of Cool (2001) asks a key question: Is youth culture an act of expression or consumption (14:00)? After watching Generation Like, the question becomes: Is consumption now a (purposeful) act of expression?

As librarians working with teens, how does this dynamic between teen culture and the media affect our work? An ongoing refrain in Generation Like (2014) is teens’ desire to be empowered through expressing themselves (13:00, etc.), and being affirmed for what they are expressing–whether it is their peers that are affirming them or a film/TV fandom or a food. And with “92% of teens…going online daily” and 71% of teens “using more than one social network site,” the means they are primarily choosing to do this through is in their complex online habitats (Lenhart, 2015). In our work with teens therefore, we need to remain aware of these elements. Teens want to build their identity, they want to express who they are, and they want to be heard, and seen, and “liked” for who that is. Currently, the way teens seek to fulfill these needs is through online culture and social networking.

In my work with teens, I cannot allow teens’ immersion in online, app, and social media culture–or my perception it–to cause me to lose sight of teens’ fundamental needs and desires. At the same time, I need to realize that for better or worse, teens define themselves and others by what they consume–including books. If teens absolutely adore a book or series, they may want to promote it to whomever will listen in their social media spheres. As a librarian, I can harness teens’ enthusiasm around the library media they love by having the teens share their love of the media item in their online social networks. Instead of having library social network sites and websites that are one-way librarian-to-teens, I can let teens use the library accounts to promote the library’s collection–as long as I am careful to do it in a structured way that is not exploitative.

On the other hand, if what a teen enjoys reading is not trendy or cool, they may want a degree of anonymity in a world in which many of teens’ choices as entertainment consumers seem like a willfully open book. For these teens, I need to put structures of privacy in place. For example, making sure e-reading is always an option for students who do not want to be seen with certain books or materials. Finally, I realize even as I write this last paragraph, that my response to the documentaries is influenced by my own, often wrong, perceptions of teens. For this reason, it is important to stay current with the landscape of teen media culture and consumption.

References

Rushkoff, D. (2014) Frontline: Generation Like. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/generation-like/

Rushkoff, D. (2001). Frontline: Merchants of Cool. [Video file]. Retrieved from  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

Lenhart, A. (2015). “Teens, social media & technology overview 2015.” Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media- technology-2015/

Five Media Challenge: Adventure/Survival

Adventure and survival stories for young adults often involve danger and fast-paced plots. Characters in adventure and survival stories must persevere and face their fears in order to overcome the odds and make it out alive. Perils could include natural disasters, epidemics, airplane crashes, being stranded on a deserted island, war and terrorism, or deadly predators. Adventure and survival stories can be found in many genres including contemporary, speculative, and paranormal fiction. Nonfiction accounts of survival based on real events can also be included in the adventure/survival genre.

Check out the below for an introduction to adventure/survival:

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet (Brian’s Saga #1). New York: Bradbury Press.

Thirteen-year old Brian Robeson is the only survivor when his plane crash lands in the Canadian wilderness en route to visit his divorced father. Armed with nothing but a small hatchet and the clothes he was wearing when the plane crashed, Brian must figure out how to survive until he is rescued. This first book in the Brian’s Saga series is the quintessential tale of adventure and survival for teens, and an excellent introduction to the genre.

Smith, R. (2007). Peak. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt Children’s Books.

After being arrested for climbing a skyscraper in New York City, Peak, age fourteen, is sent to live with his father in Thailand as a way to stay out of juvenile detention. His father, however, schemes for Peak to be the youngest climber ever to scale Mt. Everest. What follows is a suspenseful adventure in which Peak faces challenges beyond the extreme physical demands of the ascent.

Zemeckis, R. (Director). (2000). Cast away. [Video File].

FedEx executive Chuck Noland’s plane goes down over the Pacific Ocean as he is traveling to Malaysia on business. The only survivor, Noland is marooned on an isolated island and must use his wits and the contents of the crashed airplane to survive. This movie has been a classic of the genre ever since it came out in 2000.

Hillenbrand, L. (2010). Unbroken: a World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption. New York: Random House.

This book tells the stunning true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II airman whose bomber crash lands in the Pacific. Zamperini survives adrift in the ocean for over a month before becoming a prisoner of war in Japan. This tale of survival in wartime serves as a strong entry point for true stories of adventure and survival.

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1). New York: Scholastic Press.

When 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen becomes a tribute in Panem’s (a futuristic dystopian version of North America) annual Hunger Games, she must battle manufactured elements and other teenagers as they hunt each other to the death. Part dystopian adventure story, part survival tale, this suspenseful book shows how speculative fiction can be a part of the Adventure/Survival genre.

Five resources used to develop the list:

Cart, M. (2013). Cart’s top 200 adult books for young adults: Two decades in review. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Michael Cart’s list of adult books for young adults is useful for finding books that are technically outside of the young adult genre. We included two items on our list (Cast Away and Unbroken) that were originally produced for adult audiences, but can appeal to teens as well. Cart’s book gave us the idea to expand beyond strictly young adult books.

Colson, D. (2015, September 22). Booklist: Survival stories. [Blog post]. YALSA: The Hub. Retrieved from http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2015/09/22/book-list-survival-stories/

This article gave us a picture of more current fiction and nonfiction adventure/survival stories for teens. This is where we initially found the title Peak. It also confirmed our idea to use Unbroken, although we opted to use the original version, not the version adapted for young adults as the article recommended.

Engberg, G., & Chipman, I. (Eds.). (2014). Booklist’s 1000 best young adult books since 2000. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions.

This was one of the first resources we turned to. It was not as specific as Teen Genreflecting 3 and instead categorized books into broad genres such as contemporary and speculative fiction. The layout of this book made it difficult to find books by sub-genre. However, in this title both Peak and The Hunger Games were noted as excellent adventure/survival books for young adults.

Herald, D. T. (2011). Teen genreflecting 3: a guide to reading interests. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

This title has an excellent chapter on adventure and survival stories. Books are separated into categories such as action/adventure, survival, war stories, and espionage and terrorism. Each list includes a short description of common characteristics of books in the category. This was helpful to us because we were both unfamiliar with the genre as a whole, and it introduced us to titles beyond the survival category. This title also recommended Peak, confirming it as one of our choices.

School Library Journal. (2017). SLJ’s Top 100 Must-Have YA Books. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebVault/SLJ/SLJ2017_Top100_YA_MustHaves.pdf

This list includes both genre fiction and contemporary fiction, and was helpful in deciding what adventure and survival stories were both excellent representations of the genre, and also widely regarded as excellent books by librarians. Hatchet and The Hunger Games are both on this list.

Week 8: Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales

Hale, N. (2014). Nathan Hale’s hazardous tales: treaties, trenches, mud, and blood. New York: Amulet Books. (GN)

Choosing this week was very easy for me.  Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are very popular in the 3rd-4th grade school library where I work, and they were a relatively high-circulation MyLibraryNYC series at the middle school where I did my observation.  I was somewhat skeptical, especially because of the rather silly concept, but wanted to investigate since they were so popular and I am always looking for a way to get kids excited about history.

This book absolutely blew me away, and I would  recommend it for a YA collection with some qualifiers. Although advertised for upper elementary to middle school, I think it is definitely  appropriate for lower high school, particularly for ELLs and “reluctant readers.” The use of animals to represent the various nations involved in WWI is an ingenious way to visually represent complex battles and an abundance of national leaders without having to constantly explain. The action is nonstop while complex themes are still explored in an accessible way that doesn’t undermine the gravity of the war. Goofy humor will also appeal to many readers.

Grade Level Interest: M-J

Quality: 4Q

Popularity: 3P

Appeal Factors: action-packed, darkly humorous, accessible

Illustration: detailed

I would pair this with a book I know only from Goodreads and personal library browsing. I think this book would be good for students who want to go a little deeper and darker into WWI without leaving the GN format.

Brooks, M. (2014). The harlem hellfighters. New York: Broadway Books. (GN)

 

Grade Level Interest: J-S

Appeal Factors: Action-packed, haunting, sobering, compelling

Illustration: dark, detailed, lavish

Week 7: A Monster Calls

Ness, P. (2011). A monster calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

I chose this book because it had been recommended to me several times, with one recommender in particular, a fellow bookseller at the Strand Bookstore, not wanting to tell me any details to keep it a surprise, making it even more piquant. Based on her recommendation, I believe I hand-sold it a number of times without really knowing what I was selling. Because I had also always wanted to read Patrick Ness, but didn’t have the time to read one of his longer books, and because of the recent film adaptation, this book rose to the top of the list.

This book definitely belongs in every YA collection.  It is the perfect example of a book that uses fantasy as a lens through which to better see and understand our world and our circumstances. This book uses a dark fantasy story line and stark but gorgeous complementary illustrations to explore grief, loss, and anger. This book is not only for older middle schoolers and teens going through grief and loss, but also for all those that that enjoy darker fantasy tied to the real world, or perhaps works with deep symbolism or meaning. The fans may not be many, but they will be fierce.

Grade Level Interest: M-S

Quality: 5Q

Popularity: 3P

Appeal Factors: character-driven, haunting, melancholy, moving

 

Paired Book

Oppel, K. (2015). The nest. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

 

Grade Level Interest: M-J

Quality: 4Q

Popularity: 3P

Appeal Factors: scary, haunting, powerful, dark

 

 

 

 

I paired these two books because they both are dark fantasies set in the real world that depict boys trying to cope with family grief and pain through a seemingly sinister fantastical creature. Both also have dark and haunting illustrations. This book skews for a lower grade level than A Monster Calls but I still think it would be relevant for lower high schoolers. Found via NoveList.

Publisher Profile: HarperTeen

The main landing page for HarperTeen is its page on the HarperCollins Publishers website and can be found here.

HarperTeen does not appear to have a physical catalog available, but it has an extensive catalog available through the HarperCollins website. This catalog contains some 13,000 books, and can be sorted by sale date, title, or author. This catalog can be found here.

HarperCollins was founded one hundred years ago in 1817.  According to its website, it has over 120 branded imprints. HaperCollins is well known in the publishing world to be one of the “Big 5” publishers. So, by extension, HarperTeen is one of the leading publishers of Teen books. Although HarperCollins has other imprints that publish teen literature, HarperTeen is the only one devoted exclusively to teen titles. The imprint’s books tend towards popular realistic fiction, but many types of fiction are represented.

Although all of the HarperCollins imprints as a whole have had a number of extremely recognizable books, perhaps most notably the Divergent series from Katherine Tegen Books, I had trouble finding something as recognizable as this specifically under the imprint of HarperTeen. Far from the Tree by Robin Benwway however, was on the National Book Award Longlist, and is therefore extremely recognizable to me right now and probably many others in the teen lit world.

Two reviews for Far from the Tree:

• Kirkus
• Publishers Weekly

Due to its status as an imprint of HarperCollins, HarperTeen benefits from an extremely visible and active social media presence. While HarperTeen has its own Twitter account, most of its social media presence comes from Epic Reads.

Similar to SimonTeen’s Riveted, and Macmillan’s Fierce Reads, Epic Reads is HarperCollins’ own online reading community. This site has a strong social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, tumblr, and Instagram.

HarperCollins information found on various pages from the website: https://www.harpercollins.com/

Review Work: Part 1

Review of March (vol. 1) in the style of School Library Journal.

Lewis, John & Andrew Aydin. March: Book One. illus. by Nate Powell. 128p. Top Shelf. Aug. 2013.

Gr 6 Up—In this gorgeously rendered graphic memoir, Congressman John Lewis chronicles the early days of the Civil Rights Movement through the lens of his personal experience as a young activist. The first volume of a trilogy, March: Book One opens with Lewis’ childhood in the rural, segregated South, then follows his journey from distant witness to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, to idealistic student activist, to key player in the Nashville Student Movement and lunch counter sit-ins. The volume ends by establishing Lewis as a rising young leader of the movement and setting the stage for the more dramatic events to come in the following years. As and actual eye-witness and participant in the events of the book, Lewis’ account has an immediacy that will be compelling to teen and adult readers alike. Nate Powell’s detailed black and white illustrations add a breathtaking cinematic quality to the events of the not-so-distant past. The panels of illustrations—never designed or arranged the same on any two pages—are easy to follow and complement and extend Lewis’ gripping narrative. Many moments in the story appear to be direct quotes or transcripts of real newspapers, speeches, or other media, so the lack of source notes or resources for further reading are perhaps the only drawback to this otherwise impeccable and incredibly timely graphic novel. VERDICT—This Coretta Scott King Honor Book is a must-have for every YA and adult collection.

Review of Ghost for the teen audience.  

Reynolds, J. (2016). Ghost. New York: Atheneum Books.

Castle Crenshaw—aka Ghost—always thinks of the day his father tried to shoot him and his mom as the day he learned how to run. Always a fast runner, Ghost never thinks about running competitively until the day he decides to see if he can beat one of the best runners on a track team practicing in the park—and wins. But when he joins the team, Ghost doesn’t immediately fit in. He doesn’t have money to get the new track shoes he needs to succeed, so he takes matters into his own hands: He shoplifts a pair of fancy running shoes. In track, Ghost has discovered a sport he loves and new friends that accept him even though he is from the projects in the rough part of his city. But with his first track meet fast approaching, Ghost wonders if he can outrun his secrets forever. What will his teammates think if they find out his dad is in prison for trying to shoot him? And what will Coach do if he finds out about the stolen shoes?

 

 

Week 6: Paper Girls

Vaughan, B. K. (2016). Paper girls. (vol. 1). Berkley: Image Comics. (GN)

This graphic novel first sparked my interest when I read about it on a blog several months before starting this class. After seeing it in the syllabus and reading more about it, I found out that it was science fiction set in the 80s and that the girls were younger than I’d originally thought. I loved Stranger Things and have in general been very much swept up in the current nostalgia for the 80s, so I knew I wanted to read it. That and the very possibility that it might prove a good Stranger Things read-alike for teens.

This book should definitely be a part of a YA collection. The story is immediately engaging and populated by strong, sympathetic, and intelligent female characters teens will identify with. The science fiction plot is not too wacky or complicated to scare off the casual science fiction reader, making this a great book for both boys and girls, hardcore and casual graphic novel readers. The art is also appealingly colorful and bold. It would make a fantastic Stranger Things read-alike for older readers. Teens will perhaps be shocked at some characters’ attitudes and inappropriate language about being gay, but the inclusion of this mindset makes this book an authentic representation of the 80s.

Grade Level Interest: S, A/YA

Quality: 5Q

Popularity: 3P

Appeal Factors: plot-driven, atmospheric, nostalgic, relatable, snarky, spunky, strong female, sympathetic, gritty

Illustration: detailed, muted

About pairing, I am very conflicted:

After scouring our various resources, the best I could find was NoveList’s single read-alike, included primarily I think because of its similar 80s setting and science fiction plot. Yet it seems quite a bit more gritty than Paper Girls and only marketed to adults.

Edwards, T. L. (2014). Vandroid. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse Comics. (GN)

Grade Level Interest: A/YA

Appeal Factors: action-packed, fast-paced, nostalgic, engaging, detailed

So as a second option, I would maybe recommend another much older series by Brian K. Vaughan, that I know only from blogs, word of mouth, Goodreads, etc., but which seems like a good fit because of the super independent teens. (Appeal factors are from NoveList.)

Vaughan, B. K. (2004). Runaways. (vol. 1). New York: Marvel Comics 2004 (GN)

Grade Level Interest: J-S

Appeal Factors: character-driven, intricately plotted, amusing, angst-filled, compelling

Illustration: detailed, muted

I’m super curious to see what other people came up with for their pairings!

Week 5: March

Lewis, J., Aydin, A., Powell, N. (2013-2016) March. (3 vols.). Marietta, GA: Top Shelf. (GN) 


I chose this series for several reasons. First, graphic novels are a type of book I did not start reading until the last few years.  I am therefore simultaneously trying to get caught up on past classics and read the most relevant releases from the last several years. I’m also highly interested in the Civil Rights Movement, but rarely have the time to sit and read a longer nonfiction book on the topic. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, as a future librarian and someone that is passionate about history education, I am always looking for books that make history fresh and compelling for today’s youth.

This book should absolutely be a part of every YA collection—both in public libraries and school libraries. Considering the current political climate and the Black Lives Matter Movement, civil rights movements, both past and present, are a high-interest topic for teens. Students wanting to know more about the precedents for the Black Lives Matter movement, civil rights leaders, or whose interest has been piqued by school assignments are all readers that would devour this book. Additionally, for the avid teen reader of graphic novels, these books are an unquestionably gorgeous and well-crafted addition to the genre.

Grade Level Interest: J-S, A/YA

Quality: 5Q

Popularity: 4P

Appeal Factors: issue-oriented, sobering, dramatic, inspiring, strong sense of place

Illustration: black-and-white, realistic

 

Depending on the readers, I would pair this series with:

Weaver, Lila Q. (2012). Darkroom. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press. (GN)

Grade Level Interest: A/YA, S

Appeal Factors: issue-oriented, culturally diverse, sympathetic, moving

Illustration: black-and-white, realistic

Neri, G. (2008). Yummy: the last days of a southside shorty. New York: Lee & Low Books. (GN)

Grade Level Interest: J-S

Appeal Factors (from NoveList): culturally diverse, sympathetic, emotionally intense, haunting, compelling, gritty

Illustration: black-and-white, realistic

I found both of these read-alikes through NoveList.  I wanted to include both because each graphic novel appeals to different reader interests. Darkroom appeals to the reader wanting to go deeper into the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Yummy appeals to the reader interested in tying the events depicted in March to what has been happening in America over the last few decades.