"What Should I Read Next?" San Jose Public Library

http://sjlibrary.org/gateways/teens/index.htm
Summary: When you click on the “Teen” icon on the San Jose Public Library web page what do you find? On the “teen web page” there are nine different pages you can link to, roughly divided into three categories: “What Should I Read Next?,” “I Want Quality Web Sites Not More Junk!” and “How do Teens Express themselves?” Here I will discuss what’s under the first category—“What Should I Read Next?”

Under this category are reading lists by genre, books of the month, and “wild reviews” (reviews by readers). What these three sections have in common and what they offer to readers are brief synopses of different titles. Particularly useful are the reading lists by genre. There are 24 different categories: Across the States, Adventure Stories, Autobiographies & Memoirs, California Young Reader Medal, Coping with Life (nonfiction), Fantasy, Ghosts & Horror, Graphic Novels, Heating Up History, Keeping You at the Edge of Your Seat, Latino Fiction, Literary Classics, Losing Someone, Love and Other Four Letter Words, Mystery, Native American Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Say it With Laughter, Sci-Fi Classics, Sci-Fi for Teens, Series, Survival, Vampires, and 7th & 8th Grade Reading Picks.

There are about 20+ titles in each category with a brief synopsis of each title. Clicking on a title brings you to the library catalog entry for that book.

The book of the month and the “Wild Reviews” are useful, I think, only in as much as they too offer synopses of books for readers. The book of the month is just a selection for each month, not a discussion group. Under Wild Reviews, readers can read other teen’s reviews and write their own if they please.

Critical Evaluation: This section of the teen website provides an excellent self-service reader’s advisory. The number of categories listed and the titles under each category make it very extensive. The Book of the Month club selections offer even more detailed synopses of the chosen books. Readers can review books for past months and past years, going back to 2005. Reading reviews from other teens can help teens decide which books are the most popular, although the number of reviews are limited.

Reader's Annotation: Finished your book? Look here to help you find your next one.

About the author: N/A

Curriculum ties: Could be used in conjunction with English classes.

Booktalking Ideas: Look for books under just about any category you can think of.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 10-19.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why Chosen: I thought this was a very good reader's advisory site for teens.

allgame.com

Summary: This is a very useful site where you can find hundreds of games reviewed. You can search the site by game name, by the platform it is played on, recent releases or upcoming releases. The list of platforms is at the top of the screen and clicking on one brings up a overview and description of the platform and its necessary equipment. Clicking on the “game” tag will bring up an alphabetical list of all games designed for that platform. The list will include the name of the game, the date it was released, the genre (such as action, fighting, simulation, board game), the style (such as 3D, maze, basketball) and a rating on a five star basis. Clicking on any game will bring up an overview of the game plus a review. You can also see “screen shots” of the game to get a feel of what it will look like. Visit the site at http://www.allgame.com/

Critical EvaluationThis is an indispensable site for anyone looking for games to buy, and the wealth of information is presented in an easy to use, well-organized format. It does not, however, include games for the iphone, my daughter tells me.

Reader's Annotation: Check out games before you buy.

About the author: N/A

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: If you like a certain type of game, you can find similar style games on this site.

Reading Level/Interest Age: All ages.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why Chosen: I thought this was a good site to review games. I found it listed under the San Jose Public Library teen web site.

onemanga.com

Summary: Onemanga.com is one of the most popular free manga websites on the Internet. It hosts a huge amount of mangas which can be read online or downloaded. Between 10-20 new mangas are added every day to the website making it one of the most frequently websites for manga lovers. Visit the site at http://www.onemanga.com/

Critical Evaluation: The list of manga titles is seemingly endless—hundreds of titles from “A Delicious Relationship” to “Zombie Loan” or by category from “Action” to “Tragedy.” If you’ve missed past editions you can catch up on them here. They have titles that are still ongoing, and also ones that are complete. There is a search engine where you can search for your favorite manga. Onemanga.com functions as a manga library with innumerable scan of manga issues. One can find entire volumes of a series as well as obscure single issues. (http://www.ghacks.net/2010/03/19/one-manga-reader/). Readers can set up a personal reading list that will keep track of the latest chapter that has been read by the user. The site also has a few games to play and a store to buy manga. This is a must-see sight for manga lovers.

Reader’s Annotation: Missing some episodes of your favorite manga? Can’t find them in the library or can’t afford to buy them? Check out this site.

About the author: onemanga.com dates from 2007. It has a very high amount of traffic with a traffic rating of 327th.. Most site visits are from Malaysia and Indonesia. Each visitor goes through an average of 56.2 pages within the site. (http://dataopedia.com/onemanga-com)

Genre: website

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Visit one of the most popular manga websites on the Internet!

Reading level/Interest age: This site was listed under the San Jose Library Teen Web Site. It may, however, contain manga inappropriate for younger teens. I was no able to find information about this.

Challenge Issues: This site may contain manga titles inappropriate for children or younger teens.

Why Chosen: This was a link from the teen library site at the San Jose Public Library that I think will appeal to many teens.

Parrotfish

Ellen Wittlinger 2007. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 294 pages. ISBN 078-1-4169-1622-2.

Plot Summary: 16-year-old Angela has decided she’s not a girl named Angela anymore; she is now a boy named Grady. Grady never felt right about being a girl—now he’s going public with his new identity. How his parents and her schoolmates will react is now the question.

Critical evaluation: This is a positive, hopeful look at transgenderism. Grady has some problems with his family and friends but not too many. He is lucky in gaining acceptance. While his story is a happy one, it’s a little too rosy to be completely realistic. But it’s a great book to teach about transgendered individuals, and a hopeful book for those questioning their own identity.

Reader’s Annotation: Will Grady’s friends learn to accept his new identity?

About the Author: Ellen Wittlinger was born and raised in Illinois. She went to college at Millikin University in Illinois and then received a MFA from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop at Iowa University. She published a book of poetry, Breakers, in 1979. She was a fellow for two years at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, where she wrote fiction, poetry, plays and also wrote for the local newspaper. Witlinger states that it wasn’t until she had two children of her own and was working as a children’s librarian that she thought about writing books for children. Her first book, Lombardo’s Law, was published in 1993 and she went on to write 13 other young adult books. Love and Lies: Marisol’s Storyis her most recent book. You can learn more at her web site http://www.ellenwittlinger.com.

Genre: GLBT

Curriculum ties: Might be helpful for a class in sexuality, or to have on hand to give to a questioning teen.

Booktalking ideas: What does it mean to be transgendered?

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9 and up.

Challenge Issues: There is no sexual material in the book, but the notion of gender change might be an issue for some schools.

Why Chosen: It was assigned! It is a great book for discussed transgender issues with teens.

World of Warcraft

Summary: World of Warcraft (or WoW) is a “massive multiplayer online role-playing game” (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment. It is extremely popular and had more than 11.5 million monthly subscriptions in December 2008. Players choose a character avatar where they explore the fantasy world of Azeroth inhabited by humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, trolls and other ceatures. In this setting your character explores the landscape, fights monsters, goes on quests and fights “non-player characters.” Players choose the faction they are playing for (Alliance vs. Horde), the race of their character (for example, Orc, human or dwarf) and the “class” of their character (magician, rogue, hunter, for example). Characters develop as the participant continues to play (gaining more knowledge, for example, or new abilities). The gamee is a "Persistant Online World" in that the setting continues to evolve even when you're not playing.

Critical Evaluation: WoW has really good graphics in an immersive magical world. It draws on classic fantasy and literature archetypes for characters and classes (think Lord of the Rings). It is a very polished product and is considered easier to use than most RPG (role playing games). (http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=36669&tab=review)

One warning is that play can be addicting for some people. For some teens it has become such an addictive time drain that parents had to intervene and limit play. After purchasing the game, players must pay $15.00 per month to play. Blizzard Entertainment is constantly updating the game (players get downloads).

Reader's Annotation: Battle monsters! Go on quests! Be an Orc or fight one!

About the author: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is a Californian video game developer and publisher. It was founded under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce. Blizzard Entertainment was acquired by Davidson & Associates in 1994.

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: This game will definitely appeal to Lord of the Rings fans.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 15 and up.

Challenge Issues: Violence. Rated for teens. Extremely addictive.

Why Chosen: This game is extremely popular among teens.

Teen Ink and www.teenink.com

Summary: Teen Ink is a national magazine, book series and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art and forums. It has been in existence since 1989. To submit work for publication, students must be between the ages of 13-19. Teen Ink is distributed around the country by writing, journalism and art teachers. It has a distribution of over 35,000 and over 5,500 schools currently subscribe. Teen Ink has no staff writers or artists but depends completely on submissions by teenagers. Teen Ink is based in Newton MA and is published by the Young Authors Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to assisting teens develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Sections of the magazine and website include poetry, fiction, nonfiction, celebrity interviews, reviews, opinion, art/photos, and college articles. Readers of the web site can post comments to articles they read. Visit the site at http://www.teenink.com/

Critical Evaluation: I have never seen a print copy of the magazine, but the articles posted on the website were very well-written. This magazine would appeal primarily to teens who are aspiring writers or artists. It offers a venue to get published.

Reader's Annotation: Full of beautifully written articles that you can contribute to and comment on.

About the author: The Young Authors Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that supports all Teen Ink publications. The mission of the foundation is to help teens develop reading, writing, creative and critical-thinking skills and share their own voices.

Curriculum ties: Could be used in conjunction with English classes.

Booktalking Ideas: A place to get published on the Internet and in print. Read other teen's successful articles.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 13-19.

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why Chosen: It seems like such good a great opportunity for teens.

Seventeen magazine

Editor-in-Chief: Ann Shoket. Published by hearst communications, inc. ISSN 0037-301X

Summary: “Fashion Tips & Beauty Tips!” “Guys & Sex!” “Fun Spring Makeup!” screams the cover of Seventeen Magazine. Full of ads for clothes and makeup, the magazine doesn’t seem to have changed much over the years. Sections include fashion, beauty, health and love life. Visit the website at http://www.seventeen.com/

Critical Evaluation: Clearly aimed at teenage girls, the message is appearance, appearance, appearance. The issue I picked up did have some useful messages about condoms and an inspiring article of a girl soccer player who lost her leg in a car accident, so it’s not all fluff. The articles are, however, very brief.

Reader's Annotation: Lots of beauty and fashion tips.

About the author: The magazine has been published since 1944 and is owned by the Hearst Corporation. (http://www.linkedin.com/companies/seventeen-magazine)

Curriculum ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: If you want to know what's fashionable in the teen world, this is the magazine.

Reading Level/Interest Age: young women age 12 -24.

Challenge issues: The issue I saw did talk about condoms.

Why chosen: I chose this magazine because of its popularity.