That's a long story to say that I requested this genre for one of our Reading Wildly months this year. Of course, I helped my patron with the help of sources like Novelist, but it definitely identified a gap in my knowledge.
This month, we read "thrillers" and I learned after Becky Spratford's RA workshops at my library that what we were actually reading about would be considered suspense novels.
Here's what we read:
- Blackbird by Anna Carey
- Fake ID by Lamar Giles
- The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
- Girl Stolen by April Henry
- I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
- The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
- The Plot to Kill Hitler by Patricia McCormick
- The Safest Lies by Megan Miranda
- The Gathering (Shadow House #1) by Dan Poblocki
For the most part, this genre wasn't a huge favorite with my staff, although I had one who got really into it and found several books that she enjoyed.
Next month, we're going the complete opposite way and we're going to be reading gentle books. I suggested three ways that staff could take this genre:
- Christian fiction - definitely something that gets requested in our fairly conservative community
- Gentle teen reads - books from the teen area that don't contain mature language and content
- Children's books for kids who are reading way above grade level (say, a first grader reading at a fourth or fifth grade level)
So, we'll see what we end up with next month! When I passed around the paper for staff suggestions for this genre, we were very lacking in gentle options for teens.
What are your favorite gentle reads for teens?
