Free Book for Writing Teen Book Reviews

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• Want to read books before they're even available for purchase?

The Z Street Team is Zondervan Publishing's teen advisory board and they need feedback (from both teens and adults) on books that they're about to publish. Membership is free and members get access to behind-the-scenes details about the books. Each month, members get to choose between two upcoming titles to review in advance. Just for signing up you'll get a choice of a free book to keep. To sign up, visit Zondervan's website.

Anything But Typical Book Review

I recently read Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin with my Teen Book Club. It is the story of a twelve year old boy named Jason who has autism. Jason relates the story in first person perspective so we get his perspective on what it’s like to interact with a world full of neuro-typicals (NT’s). Jason doesn’t think and react like the NT’s and this leads to trying times at school. His one outlet is writing stories on an online forum called Storyboard. There he can share his ideas anonymously without people focusing on his autism. Through Storyboard, Jason meets a girl named Phoenixbird that enjoys his stories and corresponds with him. Jason becomes infatuated with her and the boost to his self esteem helps at school. His parents decide to take him to the Storyboard Convention as a reward and Jason is horrified when he finds out that Phoenixbird will also be attending. Phoenixbird doesn’t know how to act so she runs away. Jason is crushed and decides that he will never write again. But he changes his mind after he attends a writing workshop and in the end Phoenixbird hopes they will keep in touch because she enjoys his stories.

The author did a fantastic job in describing Jason’s feelings. His anxiety like pinpricks across his skin and the feeling of disconnect between his head and his body. She makes us understand that people with autism do not process information the same as other people and we should not expect them to do so. Jason’s parents are wonderfully portrayed as his dad accepts and understands Jason’s differences but his mother struggles with it. Phoenixbird’s initial reaction was realistic because she didn’t know what to think upon meeting Jason and you can tell that her request to stay friends at the end comes from a new understanding.

This was an interesting title for my Book Club because we usually read the popular fantasy and adventure stories. Most of them thought the book was “boring” so we had an engaging discussion about the genre of Realistic Fiction versus Fantasy. We tried to figure out the story arc and we tried to decipher what the climax would be without a supervillain that had to be destroyed. They all agreed that the story did provide an awareness and understanding of people with autism. And they learned that stories can be entertaining even though there are no car chases or bloody battles.

Family Place Library

This month we began our second round of Family Place Parent/ Child Workshops at the Logan Heights Library. Last year we were fortunate to become one of the first Family Place libraries in Southern California and we hosted our first Parent/Child Workshop for parents/caregivers and children ages birth to 3 years old.

The core component of our program is the 5 week Parent/Child Workshop where we provide developmentally appropriate toys and activities for children to learn and develop through play. We also conduct early literacy activities and craft activities for young children. Another component of this workshop, is connecting parents and caregivers to resource specialists with experience in different areas such as child development, nutrition, speech, play, and art. During our sessions children and parents play together in various stations and specialists circulate, chat with parents and answer any questions they may have regarding their child's development. We also provide an informational table with free books and informational resources regarding additional services available in the community for families with young children.

We normally have 11 to 15 families participating in the workshops once per week for a period of 5 weeks. The goal of the program is to promote learning through play, provide a special time where parents interact and bond with their child, facilitate a space where parents and young children can meet socialize and interact with other families and connect parents with other library and community resources available to them. Last year this program received a very positive response and lead to the highest Summer Reading Program participation of babies and toddlers at our branch. When we evaluated this program and asked parents what they liked about the library for their young children, an overwhelming majority mentioned that it was a welcoming place for their children with a space where they could play and read books.


In addition to the workshops, our library has a space with toys and low book shelves with board books reserved for families with young children. With the exception of our computer lab, this is probably the second most popular area of our library. I have to admit that I was I bit worried about staff being skeptical or resistant about bringing in toys to the library, but I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed staff jump on board right away and even get excited about when the new toys started arriving. Having toys does require some extra work and special cleaning and we did have to develop a special system to monitor and clean the toys daily. Watching parents interact and read books with their child as well as participate in other library programs, makes this extra work well worth it though!

In addition to the workshops we have a space in the children's area with toys and low book shelves with board books reserved for families with young children. Besides the computers, this is probably one of the most popular areas of our library. I have to admit that I thought that staff might be a bit skeptical or resistant about bringing in toys to the library, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw staff jump on board and even get excited about some of the new toys we were receiving. It is extra work and we had to develop a cleaning system for the toys, but watching how the families interact and read with their children as well as participate in other library programs and visit the library regularly, makes the extra work well worth it!

Trilogies and Quartets Galore!

Sometimes a good story can’t be condensed into one book. Or even two books. In many instances, it takes three (!) or even four (!!) books to tell a riveting tale. Given the recent proliferation and popularity of such trilogies and quartets as The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), The Mortal Instruments (Cassandra Clare), The Inheritance Cycle (Christopher Paolini), and Chaos Walking (Patrick Ness), it seems only fair to ask: why does this storytelling format appeal to young readers?

From a marketing standpoint, it’s pretty lucrative for publishers and authors to space out an epic storyline. Marketing aside, it’s a daunting task to try and promote a 700+ page book to children and young adults (especially reluctant readers). However, if an epic tale is broken up across several books, the story gains unbelievable momentum. Also, we see readers become invested in characters’ plights (Team Peeta, anyone?), engaging in heated discussions with friends over story arcs, and creating Facebook fan pages for their favorite literary figures. Here are some of my favorite children’s and YA trilogies and quartets:

Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing)

The Gemma Doyle books were my go-to reads for teens that plowed through the Twilight Saga and wanted to kick it up a notch. Containing gothic mystery, lush descriptions of colonial India and prim-and-proper Victorian England, boarding school adventures, forbidden romance, and spine-chilling horror, this trilogy has it all without being too overwhelming for its readers. My only (very minor) qualm is with the cover art of the books--they resemble grocery store bodice rippers, and are not super appealing to a teen audience. I love these books so much, that when I encountered Libba Bray at a conference a few years ago (was totally star-struck, BTW), I asked her (begged, really) if she would please consider writing a fourth book. She said it was unlikely, but she didn’t exactly say no…

Ruby Oliver Quartet by E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, The Treasure Map of Boys, and Real Live Boyfriends)

I first encountered E. Lockhart’s brilliant writing in The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (co-ed boarding school + angst + pranks = win) and immediately combed my library’s YA collection for anything else written by her. I discovered that we had the first two Ruby Oliver books (the last two hadn’t been written yet), and found that the tone was much different from, but definitely just as amazing as DHFLB. Ruby Oliver, the teenage girl around whom the quartet is based, is relatable on so many levels—she struggles with her sense of personal identity, experiences heartbreak, and deals with mean girl drama. Ruby isn’t perfect, but readers find themselves rooting for her all the way to the end.

Melendy Family Quartet by Elizabeth Enright (The Saturdays, Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze)

For those of us who love reading about bygone eras where people enjoy simple and charming activities that don’t involve overwrought technologies, Elizabeth Enright’s Melendy Family Quartet is the perfect nostalgic read. Set during the 1940s, the quartet revolves around the adventures of the four Melendy children who live with their widowed father in New York. These books are wonderful read-alouds that parents and children can enjoy together. Suggested read-alikes include Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series and Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family series.