Shelf Discovery: Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading By Lizzie Skurnick
Bibliography is the term used to describe a list of books or a book that is about books.
It’s a dry, academic term that fails to convey the pleasure that these types of materials offer. “Shelf Discovery: Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading” by Lizzie Skurnick is a new book about books that focuses on Young Adult novels published from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s. It was a period of time when stories written specifically for young people started to change their focus and deal with real-life issues, such as death, divorce, bullying, and other causes of teen angst.
Lizzie Skurnick has written on books and culture for the magazines, newspapers, and websites. She's the author of several of the books in the Sweet Valley, Love Stories and Alias series which makes her something of an authority on Young Adult fiction.
Each book included in “Shelf Discovery” is provided with a mini book review that summarizes the story and describes the issues being addressed. The reviews are grouped by chapter into themes, such as teen crushes or self-reliance. The book’s only shortcoming is that it lacks an index, which means that if you want to see how many of Judy Bloom’s books are included, you have to flip through the contents list and try to remember which books Bloom authored. But that’s just small annoyance and has the benefit that it forces you to dig deeper into the book.
“Shelf Discovery” will appeal to readers who want to revisit their youth and reconnect with the books that helped to bring the world into focus at a time when they were dealing with the challenges of adolescence. It will also appeal to parents, teachers, and librarians who are looking for reading suggestions to appeal to teens.
The online catalogue is available on the internet at www.city.kawarthalakes.on.ca/library and allows you to place a hold on any item in the system.
Linda Kent is the Chief Librarian at the City of Kawartha Lakes Public Library
