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Carter's review

500 Great Books for Teens
by Anita Silvey

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/636039.500_Great_Books_for_Teens?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="500 Great Books for Teens" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1176571297m/636039.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/636039.500_Great_Books_for_Teens?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">500 Great Books for Teens</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/182319.Anita_Silvey">Anita Silvey</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10943519?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars I consider myself a pretty avid reader. But after going through the 500 books in this collection, I found my reading history lacking and suspect. Good thing I got this book. There are tons of great recommendations of what teens actually read. It also serves as a good primer of what one "should" read if they want to specialize in teen fiction. At least providing a solid grounding in teen lit.
 
 So the only issue I have with this collection, and it's a big one, is that it's rife with spoilers. Aargh! As I was going through the books I've read, looking for some of my favorites, I noticed time and time again the book's central "a-ha" moment had been revealed in the brief synopsis of the book. 
 
 Take for example <a href="/search/search?query=+The+Perks+of+Being+a+Wallflower&t=title"> The Perks of Being a Wallflower</a> by Stephen Chbosky (one of my all-time favorites). The plot synopsis is given (which is very helpful, mind you), but at the end, the key moment where we learn why Charlie is the way he is is revealed. What the heck?! 
 
 This happens throughout many of the book descriptions. But interestingly enough, not all of them. At times, the big moments are only hinted at vs. revealed, so that we're still left with anticipation for the story. 
 
 Why has Anita Silvey done this?
 
 In the acknowledgments, she thanks various people who helped her develop this book. I'm wondering if maybe some of the mini-essays were written by folks other than Silvey. That could explain a few things.
 
 I was also wondering if maybe the plot secrets were revealed so that librarians/parents wouldn't need to read all of the books in order to feel comfortable in recommending them. I.e., a librarian could just look up the title and then briefly talk up the book to a young reader. I don't know...
 
 While this book makes for a great reference for teen reads, because the books' plots are revealed throughout, it's more of an extended list. I'm afraid to read the descriptions of books I haven't yet read because I'm worried everything's going to be revealed before I get the chance to discover it on my own. It's like someone telling you that Bruce Willis is really a ghost, or the chick in the "Crying Game" is really a dude. 
 
 Aargh!
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/573509?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Carter's review
rating:
bookshelves: textbooks

I consider myself a pretty avid reader. But after going through the 500 books in this collection, I found my reading history lacking and suspect. Good thing I got this book. There are tons of great recommendations of what teens actually read. It also serves as a good primer of what one "should" read if they want to specialize in teen fiction. At least providing a solid grounding in teen lit.

So the only issue I have with this collection, and it's a big one, is that it's rife with spoilers. Aargh! As I was going through the books I've read, looking for some of my favorites, I noticed time and time again the book's central "a-ha" moment had been revealed in the brief synopsis of the book.

Take for example The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (one of my all-time favorites). The plot synopsis is given (which is very helpful, mind you), but at the end, the key m...more I consider myself a pretty avid reader. But after going through the 500 books in this collection, I found my reading history lacking and suspect. Good thing I got this book. There are tons of great recommendations of what teens actually read. It also serves as a good primer of what one "should" read if they want to specialize in teen fiction. At least providing a solid grounding in teen lit.

So the only issue I have with this collection, and it's a big one, is that it's rife with spoilers. Aargh! As I was going through the books I've read, looking for some of my favorites, I noticed time and time again the book's central "a-ha" moment had been revealed in the brief synopsis of the book.

Take for example The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (one of my all-time favorites). The plot synopsis is given (which is very helpful, mind you), but at the end, the key moment where we learn why Charlie is the way he is is revealed. What the heck?!

This happens throughout many of the book descriptions. But interestingly enough, not all of them. At times, the big moments are only hinted at vs. revealed, so that we're still left with anticipation for the story.

Why has Anita Silvey done this?

In the acknowledgments, she thanks various people who helped her develop this book. I'm wondering if maybe some of the mini-essays were written by folks other than Silvey. That could explain a few things.

I was also wondering if maybe the plot secrets were revealed so that librarians/parents wouldn't need to read all of the books in order to feel comfortable in recommending them. I.e., a librarian could just look up the title and then briefly talk up the book to a young reader. I don't know...

While this book makes for a great reference for teen reads, because the books' plots are revealed throughout, it's more of an extended list. I'm afraid to read the descriptions of books I haven't yet read because I'm worried everything's going to be revealed before I get the chance to discover it on my own. It's like someone telling you that Bruce Willis is really a ghost, or the chick in the "Crying Game" is really a dude.

Aargh!...less

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message 1: by Sarah

01/31/2008 06:36AM

I don't know this for sure, but I suspect the spoilers are included because this is probably meant to be a guide to help parents and other adults choose books for the kids in their lives. Since most adults don't read every book their kids read, the spoilers help them be comfortable making educated choices with full disclosure.

But yeah, for YA lit junkies like us who DO want to read the books for ourselves, it's kinda not so good.