In this session, Pam Spencer Holley presented lists that she and co-author Julie Bartel (who was unable to attend) compiled for their book YALSA Annotated Book Lists for Every Teen Reader. Realizing that one of the biggest problems librarians have is finding the right books for a wide variety of teen readers, they looked to the YALSA-BK discussion list, reading through six years of archives and mining it for categories based on regularly asked questions.’ Bartel and Holley used recommendations offered by others on the listserv, adding newer titles if needed, and also winnowing down when their lists grew too large.
Each attendee was given a long list of recommendations in twelve categories, and Holley spoke briefly of every title listed, beginning each category by discussing the questions that prompted it.’ Some of the categories included were:
- Avid Readers:’ ‘ From a request for “lots of suggestions†for a voracious 9th grade girl whose mother wanted her to avoid stories with sex.’ In addition to YALSA’s Books That Won’t Make You Blush list, Holley and Bartel recommended Wurst Case Scenario by Catherine Clark and the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, as well as others.
- Book Hater: From a teacher, looking for suggestions for a summer project – a teen male who hated to read but loved cars, the band Journey and the movie 300.’ In playing to his interests, several ‘browsable’ books were recommended, including The Band Name Book by Noel Hudson, and Mythbusters: Don’t Try This at Home by Mary Packard.
- Detention Home Girls and Troubled Boys: From a request for a list of titles to purchase for a detention home and had to be available in paperback, as hardcovers were considered a weapon.’ Recommended for these teens were fiction titles like The Last Chance Texaco by Brent Hartinger and The First Part Last by Angela Johnson, and nonfiction such as’ We’re Not Monsters: Teens Speak Out about Teens in Trouble by Sabrina Solin Weill.
- Latina and Latino Teens: This category was inspired by several questions and comments posted to YALSA-BK – one asked for a Hispanic version of Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, while others were looking for books for Accelerated Reader lists.’ Sofi Mendoza’s Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria and The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees were among those mentioned.
- Tweens: Inspired by a request for great books for readers in 3rd-6th grades (ages 8-12), Bartel and Holley suggested the Allie Finkle books by Meg Cabot, and’ M.T. Anderson’s Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware,’ among others.
Other categories discussed were Adult Readers, Beyond Street Lit: Fiction for Urban Teens, Innocent Middle School Girls and Gentlemanly Boys, Punk Readers, Striving Readers (for 9th and 10th graders reading at 1st-4th grade levels), Fiction for Graphic Novel Lovers and Fiction for Manga Lovers.
This session was interesting and very helpful, arming attendees with a wide variety of suggestions for our teen readers.’ It ended with Pam Spencer Holley asking the audience to contribute our own suggestions on posters lining the walls, each bearing one of the categories discussed.
