This year, we’ve seen a lot of quality novels, but we’ve also seen some notable short story collections and anthologies.  Short story collections might not sell huge numbers, but they do provide for worthy discussions and make a great choice for both teens and librarians who are short on time but want an enjoyable, complete story.  I’ve been a big fan of short stories all my life, from fairy tales to Shirley Jackson to Margo Lanagan.   Here are some books that will both complete and diversify your collection.

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We’d done “Books That Don’t Make You Blush.” We’d done “Religion: Relationship with the Divine” and “Read ‘em and Weep. It was time for Popular Paperbacks to take a walk on the wild side. In 2007, the committee decided it was time to put together a list about teens’ decisions to have sex, or not. It’s no secret that teens are fascinated by sex, and that they receive mixed messages about it on a daily basis. We wanted to put together a list of books that would show how complicated the decision to have sex, or not having sex, can be. After much debate and a few raunchy jokes, the seven members of Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults given the charge of constructing and giving focus to this list, including myself, got down to business. (more…)

When I first saw the author’s name on this book, I thought, “There is no way it’s the same Michael Thomas Ford.”  I have known about Michael Thomas Ford’s (very) adult works for years, but I didn’t think he would ever write a young adult novel.  He has, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed.

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Everyone has moments in life they wish they could rewind, erase, and do over.  For movie buff Kyle, that moment is the one where he killed his best friend Jason.  No matter how many times Kyle replays that moment, no matter how many different ways he can think of to film it, it always ends up the same.  Jason is dead and Kyle has to live with the consequences, and that is the setup for Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe, coming in October.

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Tyrell might be one of my favorite YA novels of all time, so you can imagine my joy when I opened a box from Scholastic that contained Coe Booth’s second novel, Kendra, coming in October.  For those worried about a sophomore slump, I have one word for you:  Don’t.  Kendra is every bit as raw and thought-provoking as Tyrell was, even though the voices sound very different.

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It may be 90 degrees and humid here in New Jersey, but “A Very Supernatural Christmas” is on the TV and I’m craving Chinese food, so this seems like the perfect time to write about Let It Snow: Three holiday romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, coming in September. (more…)

I admit it, I’m old school. I became a librarian because I like to read, and I became a teen librarian because YA is my favorite genre (and, y’know, I don’t think teens are half bad, either). So as my new project for the YALSA blog, I’ll be writing a regular mini-feature called “Books to watch out for,” which is…exactly what it sounds like. With Fall ‘08 releases just around the corner, I’m really excited to be starting these entries now. (more…)