Read Donna Freitas' list from her School Library Journal article here. Good stuff! Fabulous categories!
And wise, sane comments like this:
Many people view romance novels as fluffy and not worth reading. These are the same people who ask pointed questions like, Why should teens waste time on intoxicating, heady, first love when they can instead trudge through a despair-inducing journey of real-life pain and agony? Granted, books that tackle heavy issues have an important place in one’s reading life, but so do lighthearted novels that do nothing more than make your heart go pitter patter—especially during those years when kids are just beginning to feel their pulse race. So, fair warning: I’m going to be shameless in my offering of romantic bliss, even in its cheesiest, most blush-inducing form, because there’s a worthwhile place for these books in our kids’ imaginations.
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Because if one of the reasons I read for escapism, rather than always trudging through a worthy Bit of Litteratcher, then why shouldn't the school library offer the same?
I've also noticed that part of the Twilight Effect is that even if a kid has seen the film, the hit is from reading; the hit that everyone else is talking about, the hit they want to have because their friends are talking about it, is contained within the covers of a book. Not online. Not on a screen. Reading a book. Whether or not it's page-turning crack, it's getting non readers to read. And thus some of them come back and say, what next? What else? And we're able to offer them more of that hit. Maybe we won't keep them all, but for some, Twilight has been the key that has opened their eyes/changed their minds/started them reading. Hurrah!
Also on the SLJ website: Why are teens wild about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga? by Amrisa Nirajin.
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