Week 7

Assignment 1:

I found this flowchart so useful and pertinent that we put a color copies in plastic sleeves and posted the flowchart prominently in our Teen area!

 Assignment 2:

I read “Not Just For Teens.”  I think the YA crossover trend is due to many of the factors cited in the article: arrested development on the part of adult readers and the universal appeal of the coming-of-age story (very little is ever more vividly felt or remembered than those agonizing teen years), along with a higher quality of writing that one finds in many books written for high school aged readers these days.  Teen novels can be another form of escape for adults who want to retreat from the pressures of routine adult concerns, like the genres of romance, mystery, sci fi, teen vampires….

 I also read “New Adult: Needless Marketing-Speak or Valued Subgenre?”  “New Adult” won’t catch on with readers who are adults: they associate “New Adult” with newly released books for adults.  Duh.  I do see that marketers could find a niche for the college-age/post college-age female reader—and as one person commented, why not call this subgenre “college-age fiction”?  And let’s be frank here:  we all are really talking about books that have girl-appeal.  Even John Green.  (How many teen boys are reading John Green?  Do you know any?)  The mother/daughter aspect cannot be overstated, either: helicopter moms who themselves are not willing to grow up and are too involved in their girl’s lives, and their teen girls who may cringe at being their mom’s “best friend.”  But I rant…

I posted to Drennan N.’s “Bookish Spring Blog” and Mercedes M.’s “CubanCookingMama” blog.

Assignment 3:

I followed johngreenbooks.com and Stacked.

 John Green’s site is wildly successful due to two factors:  his teen novels resonate with his audience due to their realistic, often heartbreaking content and truly relatable characters—paired with his genius in marketing himself through social media.  With his brother, he posts two videos each week to his site and his YouTube channel, vlogbrothers, which has been viewed more than 200 million times.  He also has over 1.2 million followers on twitter: he may be a married man in his 30s, but he sure speaks teen (and pre-teen).  He has been able to create a community of “nerdfighters” who are committed to “decrease the overall worldwide level of suck” through meaningful community service activities throughout the U.S.

Stacked’s motto is “librarians. reviews. mayhem.”  This site is a moderated free-for-all for bookloving librarians to interact with other librarians and share their love of books.  All forms of media are reviewed and dissected, with guest articles written by experts in their field.  Opinions reign here—this site is not affiliated with ALA or PLA, but it’s easy to see why it engages librarians and attempts to entice them to read outside their comfort zone for the love of books.  All topics are welcome here and visiting it frequently, reader’s will be engaged in topics and materials they may never have considered before.  A winner to remember.

Assignment 4:

I visited HQ Teen.  While touting its “unforgettable characters and extraordinary stories” for teens, it seem to be a recent, tiny incubator for the more mainstream women’s  fare that the publisher is best known for.  Publishing just 1-3 titles per month (July and August 2013 only), it is obvious the HQ Teen imprint is looking for high concept, ultra-commercial fiction—the next Hunger Games or Twilight series .and Teens at Random.  Finding a successful teen author, I can only imagine that the publisher hopes to develop their work into more adult, mainstream romance fare. This is not a teen friendly site and seems to be an afterthought--in reality, trolling for teen authors as a prelude to finding additional authors to join their "stable."

 I also visited Teens@ Random.  Given the immense size and diversity of the Random House global empire, it’s logical that this site is sprawling and inclusive and savvy to teen media: the homepage is visually fun, book trailers are prominent, a You Tube site, links to popular authors, recommendations for parents, “fun,” “community,” you name it.  If I was an avid teen who reads, I’d “belong.”  This site really can hook and drag you in.