The Adequacy of Reviews of Teen Materials

 

In order to fully get a range of reviews both professional and nonprofessional I used one fiction title (Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and one nonfiction title (Most Dangerous). I wanted to know if reviews of nonfiction were taken more seriously than those for fiction. Professional reviews were found in Kirkus, School Library Journal, the New York Times, and the Guardian. Nonprofessional reviews were found on various blogs. 

• Reviews for Most Dangerous were slightly more serious in tone than those for Simon. All five reviews for Most Dangerous mentioned the author's past work. They all also stated that though the intended age range for this book is 12 and up, it may be a difficult read for a 12 year old, and that it may be a hard sell to teens in general unless they have a specific interest in the Vietnam War. Though they may be interested in Daniel Ellsberg if they have an interest in Edward Snowden, as all reviews connected the two. 
• The nonprofessional reviews found did not contain any fan-girling as was expected. All of the reviews from the blogs had a casual tone but were well written. 
• No single review contained all of the criteria the assignment asked us to look for. Several contained a few of the criteria, but most did not have these specific elements. The covers were not discussed. For the most part the audience that would enjoy the book was not mentioned. only two gave similar titles that one may enjoy. Being that they reviews were relatively short it was difficult to find a comprehensive review. 
• Multiple sources should be used if these elements are necessary in making a decision. While all of the reviews for each book all shared the same positive opinion, this will not always be the case and therefore having multiple opinions would be beneficial. 
• Nonprofessional reviews can be trustworthy. Just because they are not in a well known source such as Kirkus, does not mean they would be poorly written. Even if they have a casual tone, or some fan-girling that could be useful. If someone gets super excited about something it speaks volumes about how other may perceive it. 

YA Materials Resources

It is impossible to list only one resource for YA materials when there are so many that are valuable. It would also be impossible to use just one when working on creating a varied and useful teen collection. Each source will have its own spin or way of reviewing material and having a number of reviews for the same items (be it books, movies, or anything else) is a good idea. While one reviewer may find the work to be good everyone else could quite possibly find it to not to be worth ordering. Being able to have different points of view prior to spending budget money on a collection is a valuable option that could prevent wasting precious budget money. 

School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Voya are several sources that I typically use while at work for collection development purposes. Typically I use the print versions, as my library has subscriptions, though the online sources make nice additions to the print. These are the more scholarly sources and the ones that one could typically expect to find on the desk of any Young Adult or Children's librarian.

Other sources are used as well. They provide a bit more information or feedback on the various materials. some even cover materials other than books and movies, such as creating recaps of popular TV shows. Personally I find that useful as my library has a teen fandom club in which our teens get together once a month to discuss their favorite shows, movies, and sometimes books, as well as share their fan fiction. These are also sources that I had been reading prior to obtaining a job in which I was responsible for YA collection development. Most of these sources include various blogs and other websites, that while they make not be the professional and typical relied upon sources, are well composed and are generally fun to read, and quite a few are run and written by librarians. These sources are:

5 Minute Librarian

Forever Young Adult

Teen Librarian Toolbox


These are only a few of the many sources that one can find valuable in regards to YA materials. There are a number of others that I have used in the past, however the six listed are my most frequented websites and print magazines. Others may find different sources to be more useful, but these are my tried and true resources.