Teen genreflecting

Genreflecting, which has become a standard collection-development and reader's-advisory tool, has spawned this new title surveying the universe of genre fiction for a different group of readers. The first chapter discusses teen reading habits and ways in which libraries can market to teens. It also provides a selection of resources for librarians, including online resources. The chapters that follow deal with specific genres: historical novels; science fiction; fantasy; mystery, suspense, and horror; adventure; contemporary (which includes problem novels and sports); and romance. The chapters have a consistent format. For example, "Mystery, Suspense, and Horror" begins with a brief description of the nature of the genre as written for teens. This is followed by selective lists of representative authors and titles under various subgenres. "Horror" is divided into "Paranormal Powers," "Psychological Horror," and "The Occult and Supernatural," which is further divided into categories such as "Horror Series," "Vampires," and "Ghosts." The final section of the chapter, called "Topics," has some bibliographies, genre lists compiled by the Young Adult Library Services Association, and a brief list of recommended titles called "D's Picks." Like Genreflecting, Teen Genreflecting is not meant to be comprehensive. A similar title, What Do Young Adults Read Next? [RBB Je 1 & 15, 1994], has more titles, with annotations, but does not describe the literature by genre. Also, What Do Young Adults Read Next? only covers books published in the years 1988^-92. As a collection-development and reader's-advisory tool, as well as a way to educate oneself about genre fiction for teens, Teen Genreflecting is highly recommended for school and public libraries. --Mary Ellen Quinn

Herald applies her established mastery of genre fiction to young adult fiction in this thorough, well-organized professional guide that works equally well as a collection development tool. She offers practical knowledge that will be useful to both the novice and experienced young adult librarian, clearly explaining, for instance, the differences between science fiction and fantasy. The book's outstanding and ample title lists include choices that span the decades, from classics such as The Catcher in the Rye (Little Brown, 1951) to recent titles such as Belle Prater's Boy (Farrar, 1996) and Damned Strong Love (Holt, 1995). A good contents page and a combined author-title index give readers instant access to the material. There are also such welcome features as YALSA genre lists, along with a selection of author favorite's called "Di's Picks." Like Genre-flecting (Libraries Unlimited, 1995), the book does not include publication dates with titles, an omission Herald explains but nonetheless seems a bibliographic drawback. Still, the combination of depth and a compact, user-friendly format makes this volume preferable to titles such as Fiction for Youth (Neal Schuman, 1992), What Do Young Adults Read Next? (Gale 1994), and The Young Adult Reader's Advisor (Bowker, 1992) Every library with a young adult population would benefit from counting this book among its reference sources.‘Nancy Zachary, Scarsdale (NY) Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.