Teen Read Week
Marissa Creamer
October 14, 2007


The third week of October each year is designated Teen Read Week by YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association. Although teens have much required reading for school assignments, this annual event encourages teens to read just for the fun of it, and this year's theme is "LOL @ Your Library."

It is encouraging to note that many teens are reading for pleasure. They are buying books at the fastest rate in decades, with sales up by a quarter between 1999 and 2005, according to one industry analysis. Booklist journal critic Michael Cart, a leading authority on young adult literature declares, "We are right smack-dab in the new golden age of young adult literature." In the Harry Potter afterglow, publishers are courting teens with new fantasy titles, but graphic novels, adventure, romance, and humor are popular as well. There is a growing sophistication in young adult literature, with many books depicting older protagonists and more complex plotting and content in books that straddle the teen and adult markets.

YALSA is joining with Readergirlz, an online book community founded by four YA authors, to present a month-long celebration of Teen Read Week. The readergirlz divas will be hosting 31 authors for 31 days. Readergirlz members are invited to chat with a different YA author each evening during the month of October at 8:00 pm EST. Authors participating in the "31 Flavorite Authors for Teens" include:
Lauren Myracle, whose "Internet Girls" series is comprised of "ttyl," "ttfn," and "l8r, g8r." These books follow the lives of three high school girls, with the entire narrative composed of their instant messages.

John Green, author of the Michael L. Printz award-winning novel "Looking for Alaska." His latest novel, "An Abundance of Katherines," tells the story of Colin, a recent high school graduate and former child prodigy who has just been dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. Colin subsequently sets off on a road trip to find some new direction in his life, and along the way tries to create a mathematical formula to predict the duration of romantic relationships.

Janet Lee Carey, whose latest book is "Dragon's Keep", an action-packed fantasy about a twelfth-century princess with a great destiny to fulfill. She must, however, prevent others from finding out her deep secret-she was born with a finger that looks exactly like a dragon's claw.
Other authors participating in the readergirlz chats include Deb Caletti, Holly Black, and Stephenie Meyer, author of "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse," the bestselling fantasy tales of star-crossed love and vampires. A complete list of the scheduled authors can be found at the Readergirlz website: www.readergirlz.com.

Visit Rowan Public Library to check out any of these books, or take a look at our New Fiction shelves for the latest from even more YA authors.