Y.A. and OK

What did you read as a teen?

I read Mills & Boon (and, when I was 14, wrote a scathing essay about the series in a self-published zine), Sweet Dreams romances, Anna Karenina (I re-wrote all my favourite scenes with different names and descriptions of clothes and people), Little Women, Brideshead Revisited, What Katy Did and its sequels, The Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz, F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise, the Little House books, poetry (especially Keats, A. E. Houseman, Shakespeare and Lord Byron) etc. Basically, I read what I liked and, even then, my tastes were pretty catholic.

Today, teens have more choices than ever, and they're really not confined to books that are published as young adult lit and marketed as such. Those who love books learn very quickly not to restrict themselves in any way, for example by genre, author or age-targets. After all, as this New York Times article reveals, not all books that end up on the YA shelves were written with young adults in mind. You really never know where you might find a book you love so don't go putting up mental blocks or you might miss out on a gem.

Sunday July 20, 2008

Sorting the wheat from chaff

TOTS TO TEENS
By DAPHNE LEE

SO how many of you have recommended a much-loved book to someone only to have him declare it's not his cup of tea? It happens to me sometimes and I always feel both personally affronted ("What? Are you saying my taste sucks?") and hurt on the behalf of the author ("What do you mean Diana Wynne Jones isn't as good as J. K. Rowling?!"). Of course, it all depends on personal taste. My recommendations are based on what I like and all I can do is guess what the person I'm recommending to will enjoy.

Of course I can make an educated guess based on the sort of books he's already read and liked. Even then, there's no guarantee. After all, I may like most books by Diana Wynne Jones, but I don't like them all. The only way to find out if you'll like a book is to read it.

The Ultimate Teen Book Guide and The Rough Guide to Books for Teenagers are books that aim to aid in the task of recommending reading material to the bright young things in your life. The latter is a pocket-size compilation of book reviews by Julia Eccleshare (The Guardian's children's book editor) and Nicholas Tucker, a British academic who specialises in children's literature.

The books are divided into categories like "love, sex and change", "in danger", "into the future" and "real lives", and the titles chosen are decidedly sophisticated, considering that the guide is marketed as "an inspiration for anyone aged eleven and up". When I think of most of the 11 year olds (and many 20-somethings even) I know, I can't imagine how they'd react if I suggested they read Homer's The Odyssey, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh or One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Eccleshare and Tucker are obviously preaching to the converted, kids who already read widely and voraciously, not reluctant readers or anyone whose idea of a ripping yarn is Gossip Girl or Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

The Ultimate Teen Book Guide is, I feel, a better reference for teens. It's more realistic, more accessible, friendlier and more creative. More than 700 books are listed in this guide, and wider tastes and reading levels are catered to. Homer, Solzhenitsyn and Waugh are here, but so are books by Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl),  Zoey Dean (The A-List) and Charles Higson (Young Bond) (and yes, so is Cecily von  Ziegesar's Gossip Girl) - none of which feature in the Rough Guide.

The editors of Ultimate seem less snobbish, less intent on recommending "worthy" titles and more interested in actually helping kids choose books that they will simply enjoy.

The reviews (arranged in alphabetical order, by title) are bite-size and to the point, and each one is accompanied by a sidebar recommending similar titles, based on genre, subject or style. There are handy Top 10 lists, divided into genres like horror, graphic novels, dystopian worlds and war.  There are short articles on different genres (pink lit, science fiction) and themes (racism, coming of age); and "featurettes" which are simply lists of titles according to subjects like "bad breakups" "African American women tell it like it is", "the monster of my dreams" and "books about the bomb".

Reviews, recommendations and articles are written by reviewers of teen lit as well as authors like Celia Rees, Anthony Horowitz, Kevin Brooks and Geraldine McCaughrean.

Once again, just because an "expert" thinks a book is good, doesn't mean everyone will like it. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Some like sponge and custard; others prefer sago gula melaka.

My advice is to use such guides to narrow your choices and then visit a bookstore and read a chapter or two of the likeliest titles before you surrender your cash. Or see if you can find the books at your local library. That way, if you don't like the story, you can just return the book and you won't have wasted a sen.

Comments

[Daphne]

Hey Hal!
How's the encyclopaedia coming on?

[tunku halim]

So true ... reading requires us (and hopefully makes us) open minded.

[Ann]

Daphne, I came across your blog while looking for books for my toddler.

I love your concept of the Reading Room. I hope it is going well. Can you give me the address of where it is and what are the operating hours like. I would love to come and visit.

Cheerios to good reading habits!