The Ultimate Teen Book Guide
by Daniel Hahn, Leonie Flynn (editors)
As recipients of The Blue Peter Book Award and a National Literacy WOW award for their earlier book the Ultimate Book Guide 8-12, the editors knew they were on the right track when they came to compile this collection of recommendations and reviews for older readers. In his Introduction, David Almond writes, "You open the book jacket and it's like opening the gates into an unknown city, or opening the lid on a treasure chest," and then goes on to tell readers a little bit about why he has enjoyed certain books, while finishing by reminding us that we are all ?free to roam and explore and discover at will.
Hahn and Flynn follow the same format as with the UBG 8-12, and the 150 champions of the 700 titles write a brief recommendation of their choice, which is accompanied by some ideas for similar books to read. The contributors are all involved in books for young people, whether as writers, reviewers or in the book trade, and there are reviews from teenagers themselves. These reviews cover an enormous variety of genres in fiction, as well as poetry and span the centuries from Daniel Defoe to Jennifer Donnelly, though with the accent on classics and recent titles. Each main recommendation has a suggested age range. Interspersed with the reviews are short articles about different genres (such as 'Horror and Ghost Stories'), and the results of polls for the top ten authors and titles in different categories.
This is an attractive and accessible guide, with an eye-catching cover and a chatty style. There is a page at the front which explains in clear and simple terms how to use the book to get the best from it. Each of the review pages has two large print reviews on it, and the last section includes a mini biography of each contributor, and an index of authors and titles of the books reviewed. The text is well broken with different typefaces, layouts and images of front covers. Altogether a very well designed, put together and, most importantly, useful repository of information and reading suggestions for teenagers.
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