35 Going on 13: Teen Books for Adults
Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA -- Library Journal, 10/13/2008 6:37:00 AM
I was not always a fan of teen literature.
In fact, at age 13, I began reading exclusively from the adult side of the stacks at our small-town public library. Frustrated by my lack of interest in her collection and sure that I could not possibly be getting everything I should out of my new favorites, my school librarian made me promise I would reread it all when I turned 30. It was not until library school that I discovered the wealth of literature published for teens. In my haste to devour the oeuvre of Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and John Irving, I had missed Weetzie Bat. It was like the first time my friend Mitch took me out for Thai food. My palate opened wide, and all sorts of new flavors burst in.
Since then, I have loved teen literature with the same all-consuming passion I had when I worked my way alphabetically through the fiction stacks of that small library. Five years serving on the American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adult Committee (and another on the Printz Award) have taught me to appreciate the joys that the teen collection has in store for uninitiated adult readers. For years, my nonlibrarian, non–teen reading friends have come to me asking for ideas because teen books are shorter, faster-paced, and designed to appeal to discriminating readers. They are a quick literary fix without the padding.
While many of today’s teen readers easily navigate the teen collection and fully appreciate the depth and breadth of what is being published for them, those of us new to this world need a place to start. This new online monthly column will recommend the best of the teen market, both new books and outstanding backlist titles. They may just be the best of what is new and/or noteworthy. Or they may be, as in this month’s offering, linked by a common theme. No matter what, the featured titles will take you back to a time you do not wish to remember, help you remember a time you do not wish to forget, and open you to a host of flavors—beyond the best-selling names Meyer, Paolini, and Rowling.
October gives readers an excellent excuse to be scared. Yet a good case of the shivers is hard to come by, even on the adult side of the library. Look in your teen collection for these tales of horror and the supernatural, which I like to call Books That Go Bump in the Night.
Anderson, M.T. Thirsty. Candlewick. 1997. reprint. 2008. 249p. ISBN 978-0-7636-3895-5. pap. $8.99.
In Chris’s small Massachusetts town, vampires are hunted by lynch mobs and killed in public executions. Chris is much more interested in getting a girl to go out with him. Then with the approach of his 16th birthday, puberty takes a turn for the worse and he discovers, to his horror, that he is thirsty for human blood. Why It Is Great: From the first paragraph, Anderson’s nonchalant mix of horror and humor tells you this is not your average teen vampire novel. "In the spring, there are vampires in the wind…. My father claims we have them this year because it was a mild winter, but he may be thinking of tent caterpillars." Later, Chris will tear at his own forearm for sustenance and in the very next scene attempt to explain his twisted braces to his orthodontist. Why It Is for Us: The uncompromising conclusion asks what price we are willing to pay for our humanity. Chris is left with two ugly choices: starve as a vampire or give in to his nature, knowing he will be hunted and executed.
Gaiman, Neil (text) & David McKean (illus.). Coraline. Harper: HarperCollins. 2002. 194p. ISBN 978-0-380-97778-9. $15.99.
When Coraline’s family moves into a new home, she explores every corner and closet, looking for adventure. On the other side of a locked door is a new world and a new set of parents waiting to care for her.Figures with black button eyes, they want to make her their own little girl "for ever and always"; all they need is a needle and thread. On returning to her home, Coraline discovers that she must save the souls of her real family from her "other" parents. Why It Is Great: Neil Gaiman (American Gods) takes his dark mastery of horror down a peg for younger readers but keeps the tension alive. Why It Is for Us: Busy parents beware. What magic can your children get into while you have your back turned? [A new edition, illustrated by P. Craig Russell, has just been issued: ISBN 978-0-06-082543-0. $18.99.—Ed.]
Gantos, Jack. The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs. Farrar. 2006. 185p. ISBN 978-0-3743-3690-5. $17.
The gothic novel meets Psycho in this bizarre tale of eugenics, taxidermy, and obsessive mother love. One Easter, young Ivy and her mother visit the home of their small town’s elderly twin pharmacists, Adolph and Abner Rumbaugh. There Ivy discovers their dead mother in the basement—stuffed. On her 16th birthday, Ivy learns that she, too, is a Rumbaugh and is fated to express her love for her mother in the same way. Why It Is Great: Gantos gleefully goosesteps over every social taboo. There is a perverse joy in reading an author so at home making his readers squirm. Why It Is for Us: In its closing scene, a happy, seemingly well-adjusted Ivy walks down the street with her hands in her pockets, caressing her mother’s hands within them. This book is almost too subversive for teen readers, who are more concerned than we are with what the neighbors will think.
Hartnett, Sonya. Surrender. Candlewick. 2006. 248p. ISBN 978-0-7636-2768-3. $16.99.
As a young boy, Anwell killed his older, disabled brother by locking him in an unused freezer. Now, at 20, he is dying and recounts his brief, tragic life—his brother’s death, the arsons that shook his small Australian town, and, especially, his fateful bond with the wild boy, Finnigan. Why It Is Great: Metaphors of cold and heat, feral and tame, good and evil play throughout. At the book’s shocking conclusion, readers will want to start over and see how Hartnett worked her magic all along. Why It Is for Us: The story works both as a taut, psychological thriller and as an examination of the evil adults do to children—a theme in many of Hartnett’s other, equally fine novels.
Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate. Random Children’s Bks. 1997; reprint. Delacorte Bks for Young Readers. 264p. ISBN 978-0-385-73421-9. pap. $8.99.
Vivian is a hot-blooded, teenaged werewolf, torn between the sweetness of her "meat boy" Aiden and the heat of Gabriel, the new leader of their pack of loups garoux. Why It Is Great: Ten years before Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, Klause made readers swoon with her tales of teen vampires and werewolves in love. Her first novel, The Silver Kiss (1992), used vampires as a metaphor for death and grief. Lovely stuff. Why It Is for Us: Blood and Chocolate is, on one level, an unironic feminist manifesto. With her sexual self-confidence and sensual description of werewolf physicality, Vivian is the anti-Bella some Twilight fans are looking for.
Lanagan, Margo. Black Juice. 2005. EOS: HarperCollins. 201p. ISBN 978-0-06-074390-1. $15.99.
The Nebula Award–winning "Singing My Sister Down" starts this dark collection of ten short, speculative fictions from Australian writer Lanagan. Why It Is Great: Stephen King once described short stories as a "kiss in the dark from a stranger." Lanagan leaves readers breathless with equal parts tongue and teeth, exploring the very best and worst of the human condition. Why It Is for Us: Lanagan’s bitter fruits hold up to any story published for the adult market.
Landy, Derek. Skulduggery Pleasant. Bowen: HarperCollins. 2007. 392p. ISBN 9780061231155. $17.99.
Stephanie adored her uncle and vows to avenge his murder. Enter Skulduggery Pleasant. He is a friend of her uncle’s and a skeleton mage who lost the benefit of fleshly existence centuries ago. Why It Is Great: The book is a nonstop thrill ride through a shadow world of sorcery where vampires act as very effective museum guards and an ancient evil threatens all existence. Why It Is for Us: With its suave antihero, cool cars, and great clothes, the book is reminiscent of a bygone era. Only Cary Grant, if he were alive today, could outclass Skulduggery Pleasant.
Noyes, Deborah. The Ghosts of Kerfol. Candlewick. 2008. 163 p. ISBN: 978-0-7636-3000-3. $16.99.
The Lord of Kerfol is torn apart by a ghostly pack of dogs after killing every dog his unfaithful wife brings home. Based on Edith Wharton’s classic ghost story "Kerfol," this collection of five tales begins with the lord’s death and ends over 100 years later with a gardener who finds himself surrounded by the same pack, along with an assortment of other specters. Why It Is Great: As the editor of two shivery short story collections—Gothic! (2004) and The Restless Dead (2007)—Noyes knows from scary. Why It Is for Us: Is a place inherently evil, or do the people who inhabit it leave their psychic residue? While these dark tales stand alone, the author’s faithful adherence to the themes of her source material make for lively discussion.
Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. S. & S. Bks. for Young Readers. 2007. 335p. ISBN 978-1-4169-1204-0. $16.99.
In the not-so-distant future, everyone has an absolute right to life—unless your parents decide on the do-over option. Between your 13th and 18th birthdays, they can have you "unwound," your pieces and parts extracted and recycled for the donor market. Why It Is Great: The unwound are kept alive until the very end of the harvesting process. A single scene made this book one of the scariest reads published for teens last year. Why It Is for Us: Shusterman’s exploration of good intentions gone very, very bad will resonate with adult readers frustrated by the prochoice/prolife debate. The premise falls down in a few, significant places, but the book will still reward fans of dystopian sf.
Next month: My favorite teen reads for adults in 2008.
