Elizabeth Fraser - Young Adult Nonfiction

Young Adult Nonfiction

Young Adult Nonfiction

A Readers Advisory and
Collection Development Guide

Elizabeth Fraser

Copyright 2020 by Elizabeth Fraser

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Fraser, Elizabeth, 1970- author.

Title: Young adult nonfiction : a readers advisory and collection development guide / Elizabeth Fraser.

Description: Santa Barbara, California : Libraries Unlimited, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019040778 (print) | LCCN 2019040779 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440869792 (paperback) | ISBN 9781440869808 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Young adult literatureBibliography. | TeenagersBooks and readingUnited States. | Readers advisory servicesUnited States. | Libraries and teenagersUnited States.

Classification: LCC Z1037.A1 F73 2020 (print) | LCC Z1037.A1 (ebook) | DDC 016.8088/99283dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019040778

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019040779

ISBN: 978-1-4408-6979-2 (paperback)

978-1-4408-6980-8 (ebook)

24 23 22 21 20 1 2 3 4 5

This book is also available as an eBook.

Libraries Unlimited

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This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

Introduction

Purpose, Scope, and Selection Criteria

The last decade has seen the continued publishing of titles that recognize young adults between the ages of 12 and 18 as a respected and valued audience, alongside the development of titles that recognize them as having their own voice, interests, and agenda. Libraries are able to have current, appealing collections of young adult nonfiction because publishers and authors persist in creating titles that young adults want to read; these provide both popular reading and fulfill educational requirements. In summarizing the small year-over-year increase in print sales figures for print units in 2018, Publishers Weekly noted that young adult nonfiction, along with its adult counterpart, helped to account for the overall gain.

As is pointed out by Kathleen T. Horning in her invaluable book on the art of examining childrens books, From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Childrens Books, the various subgenres of nonfiction may be evaluated using the same criteria: accuracy, organization, illustrations, design, prose, and documentation. Each of the titles included in this volume has been judged to meet each of these criteria.

It may be assumed that the goal of a readers advisory guide is to help offer suggestions to a reader looking either for something new to read or for something similar to a title or subject for which they already have an affinity. This book is intended to act in that capacity, as well as offering practical suggestions and serving as a starting point for librarians, teacher-librarians, or others who find themselves put in the position of purchasing or replacing the young adult nonfiction collection for their library.

This is a guide primarily intended to offer choices for recreational reading, and as such does not include dictionaries, encyclopedias, or reference books used solely for homework. Using a broad definition of nonfiction as meaning works that are not fiction, genres and formats that are highly appealing to young adults have been included, including graphic nonfiction, poetry, and a wide variety of how-to and craft books.

The titles included in this book have been published since 2012, with exception of a small number of classic titles that remain mainstays of curricula and public library shelves. These titles, which meet the same criteria as the other books in the guide in addition to giving depth to a collection, have been included as Now Try titles to give librarians an option to pair titles when offering books to readers.

Organization and Features

The main part of this book is made up of 11 chapters, each of which includes a definition of the genre or literature type, a description of the subgenres and themes within it, and annotations for each title. The author has reviewed each individual title. Where a series has been included, readers will find either annotations for individual titles within a series or the series itself.

The book divides nonfiction categories into three sections, notably: Nonfiction Genres, Life Stories, and Nonfiction Subject Interests. The first part focuses on two exciting and fast-paced genres, True Adventure ().

, Social Justice and the World, includes areas that have become much more prevalent in the last several years, as teenagers have become much more certain about the world and their place in it. Some of the topics in this area include the media and consumer culture, activism and awareness, social concerns, and religions.

Consider Starting with... and Fiction Read-Alike Sections

Two additional sections are provided at the end of each chapter. The first, Consider Starting with... , lists a selected number of popular, highly accessible titles from the chapter. These have been chosen as a starting point for people who would like more information about or who are unfamiliar with any particular genre. They may also be considered as suggestions for display, or booklists. The titles listed in the Fiction Read-Alikes sections offer additional possibilities for readers interested in particular genres, themes, or subjects, and may be used to help guide readers who feel more comfortable with either fiction or nonfiction sections to find a topic in which they will be interested.

The Entries

The entries in each category are arranged alphabetically by the authors last names. Exceptions to this are books in a series that have been written by more than one author, which are listed under the series title. Each entry includes the books author, title, original date of publication, and number of pages. Each annotated book has also been assigned a suggested reading level:

M middle school (grades 68)

J junior high school (grades 79)

H high school (grades 1012)

The following symbols also appear on the entries:

title has won award(s)

A/YA books that both teens and adults will enjoy

GN graphic nonfiction

The annotations are intended to provide enough information about the content and style of the book to help a reader or librarian answer a readers advisory question. Awards won are indicated at the end of annotations, using the following acronyms or short forms: