The ALA will be kicking off Teen Read Week on October 15-21, 2006, co-chaired by two Major League Soccer superstars. As my husband puts it, compared to other athletes participating in reading programs, "I actually believe these guys can read." Although we're obliged to professionally hate Kevin Hartman, who is goalkeeper for our former rival team, I approve of his support of Teen Read Week. :)
Also on the ALA site, you can view a list of nominations for Teens' Top Ten for 2006. A former professor of mine and TadMack's, Kathryn Reiss, has a new book on the list, Blackthorn Winter; I'll have to try to find it.
1 comment:
Blackthorn sounds intriguing... I tried to find some early reviews, and what I did find is evenly split between opinions.
A fairly detailed review on TeenReads concludes:
BLACKTHORN WINTER is an exciting combination of a novel about coming-of-age angst and a mystery. Kathryn Reiss does a good job of devoting equal time to each aspect, and of integrating the two themes into a great read. With believable characters, a fascinating setting and a compulsively readable mystery, BLACKTHORN WINTER is a wonderful addition to anyone's library.
- Reviewed by Paula Jolin
From School Library Journal
Broken into its components, this book promises a great mystery: a teenaged heroine with tragic buried memories beginning to resurface; a cold, windswept winter in a colorless English seaside town; a pushy, witchlike busybody mysteriously murdered; a cute guy next door; and two warmly lovable younger siblings for comic relief. Unfortunately, the author has difficulty balancing the plot, the necessary explanations of background, a mysterious tone, and her narrators character. I have a memory problem, Juliana confesses, but it takes another 58 pages of meeting new characters and having strange, weird feelings before she finally tells readers what the problem is and muses upon why she has it. The wonderfully visceral setting and intriguing cast of characters almost make up for the baffling narrator, but ultimately the link between the two simultaneous mysteries proves tenuous, and the identity of the murderer no mystery at all. –Rhona Campbell, Washington DC Public Library
May I just say that I am NOT looking forward to book reviews? I think I shall never read them... It does sound like the characterization is quite strong, however, so I look forward to your Reader's Rants review.
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