Librarians and book selectors who know the interests and needs of their patrons have to rely considerably on review journals to decide amongst the vast numbers of newly released titles what may be a fulfilling to their readers. Publications such as Booklist, Horn Book Guide, Publisher’s Weekly, VOYA, and School Library Journal are considered the authority in book selection tools, and selectors look to these journals with a speculative eye and demand more than a plot summary to drive a decision.
Horn Book Guide and VOYA execute a direct approach in recommendation by having a rating system for their titles. Horn Book Guide rates titles on a 1 – 6 scale followed with a short, concise synopsis. With this layout, selectors can easily scan for titles with high marks. Horn Book also supplies essential elements that other journals often disregard, such as the attractiveness of the book and the features or faults that would appeal or dissuade readers of the intended age group. VOYA is unique for a rating system that indicates the quality and popularity amongst its audience. Even though VOYA’s system addresses both aspects, the downside is that the reviews follow a predictable format, and are at times too opinionated where the reviewer's authority is questionable. They also do not appear to be comprehensive enough for selectors to decide beyond the ratings of why and how the title appeals to the audience. VOYA is a good resource for a visual overview and glimpses of trendy titles, but it lacks in addressing literary style or the author's significance in a genre.
Booklist has the tendency to over summarize with the details of defining moments, personas, and relationships of their characters. They do not leave much to the imagination, since they seem to give an extensive description of the story. Their reviews do highlight the negative aspects of the book, and conclude with the emotion that will likely resonate with the reader. Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal provide the most thorough reviews without being plot driven. Publisher’s Weekly incorporates the works of the author, summary of characters, plot, and setting, as well as the literary elements of the book. These are combined seamlessly without showing a written scheme or having an epic closing statement. School Library Journal relies on its peers and their expertise to assess titles. Although some reviews reveal too much of the storyline, the majority are comprehensive in addressing narration, subject background, key characters, and pace while tying in quick blurbs of what makes the plot interesting to prospective readers.
Each selection tool is useful in their reviews depending on the methods of the selector. Horn Book Guide provides short reviews, complete bibliographic information about the editions, as well as subject headings that can lead one to other books of the same topic. The reviews in Publisher’s Weekly are written like the back of a book in a stylized voice while including elements that a selector or librarian would need to consider. Although the School Library Journal focuses more on the content and delivery of a book, rather than the appearance or directly stating what is or is not appealing, the reviewers provide the journal with an authoritative perspective and a personal voice of those who have experience in the profession. Each journal or combination of can supply a selector with the means of choosing what titles are fitting for their collections.
Book Reviews
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor, 1985)
Genre: Science Fiction
Honors: 1985 Nebula Award, 1986 Hugo Award
The only sense that humans have of the “Buggers”, an insectoid alien race, is that they have attacked Earth twice before and the third assault could end it all. The fate of the world and humankind lies in the military tactics and training of the most talented children to destroy the Buggers before they can strike again. Ender Wiggins, the third son and child prodigy, has been initiated by the government to spend the rest of his young life in the academy to become one with the military elite. Ender’s longing for home and compassion for all living beings are subdued by the premise that only he can save the human race. A ravenous escapade of strategy, gaming velocity, and the need to think beyond the obvious, Orson Scott Card has created a science fiction classic that will never fail to astound young readers, challenge the ideas of authority, and ponder the boundaries set by society.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part- Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little, Brown, and Company, 2007)
Genre: Fiction
Honors: 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books of 2007, Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2007
“You’re going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad, reservation.” Arnold Spirit, a teen known on the rez as “Junior”, has been living his entire life with the odds stacked against him. Born with ‘water in the brain’, ten extra teeth, two bad eyes, and into to a family lineage destined for poverty and alcoholism, Junior can only rely on his best friend and drawings for a piece of mind. A situation that started as a tantrum of frustration leads Junior to betray his rez and conform to an all-white school for a good education and a chance of survival. A first-hand account of what it feels to be the object of discrimination, poor, and burdened by uncontrollable hardships, this ‘diary’ packed with humor, insight, and visual appeal. This book will leave any young reader feeling hopeful and persistent to overcome all of life’s dilemmas.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (Knopf, 1974)
Genre: Fiction
Honors: "Best of the Best 1966–1978" list by the School Library Journal, ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Jerry Renault has always stood unnoticeably amongst the crowd. As a freshman at Trinity, an all boy private school, he begins to deliberate with his conscious, “do I dare disturb the universe?” Renault outspokenly refuses to take part in the annual fundraiser to sell chocolate, which has left his peers in astonishment. This one defying stance he takes against the head of the school and the gang of students, known as the Vigils, has Renault as the center of conflict in the name of school spirit and control. The literary style, number of characters incorporated, and tragic conclusion in the novel has placed Robert Cormier on the list as an author who has set a standard for Young Adult literature. The Chocolate War was one of the first of teen novels to address topics of cruelty amongst peers, perverseness, challenging authority, and the consequences of psychological warfare. Engrossed with the theme of discovering one’s identity and defying the powerful to keep it, Cormier has written a classic that eludes predictability.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisernos (Vintage, 1991)
Genre: Fiction, Novella
Honors: The American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation (1985)
Esperanza has dreamed of living in a house with running water and pipes, stairs, a basement, three washrooms for privacy, a great big yard, and one that her family can call their own. Instead Esperanza, her parents, and five of her brothers and sisters live in a house on Mango Street. Written in a series of episodes that provide a poetic glimpse of a teen girl living in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, the book pulls the reader into Chicano culture, family life, and the daily meanderings and colorful characters of the neighborhood located on Mango Street. Initially, the vignettes appear to be scattered and lacking structure, but Sandra Cisneros manages to vividly convey in such a short span the fear, anger, and awkwardness that a youthful female often experiences in their coming of age. A semi-autobiographical novella, Cisneros captures the reader into her point of view of what it means to be young, female, and brown.
Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake
Genre: Fiction, Street Lit
Honors: 2002 Coretta Scott King Honor Book, 2002 Bookklist Top 10 Black History Books for Youth
Raspberry Hill often awakens with the nightmare of her and her mother living back on the streets, which has instilled in her a deep hunger and lust for money. Raspberry will skip lunch, sell pencils and old candy, scrub apartments, and pinch every penny to ensure that her and her mother can have a future outside of the projects, a place where her drug-addicted father has forced them to reside. Money Hungry is the first of two books that faces the reality of living in poverty in a dominantly African-American, urban community. Social issues such as status, race, single-parent families, and compromising means to survive and protect one’s integrity are expressed through the book’s language and the relationships between characters. The protagonist’s persona and simple writing style are set for younger readers, but the heavy situations and challenging of ideals that the author confronts in this growing genre can appeal to younger teens or reluctant readers.
