Critiquing out of your Genre

A few months ago, one of my critique buddies, Judith, asked for recommendations for books on writing middle grade novels so that she could more thoughtfully critique middle grade manuscripts. While I was appreciative of her dedication to her critiques, I was hesitant to steer her to my favorite titles for fear that I'd lose her honest and unadulterated impressions of my manuscripts.

While there are several excellent books on the craft of writing for kids, including books that address novel wri...