The Difference Between Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels by Sheila

 Posted by  Sheila's Reviews
May 162011
 


As we look for books for our children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews etc., it is good to know what to look for. I have had many people ask me what the difference is between Middle Grade and Young Adult novels. Laura Backes of Childrens Book Insider gives the inside information. “It’s often difficult for writers to know whether they’re creating a middle grade novel (ages 8-12), or a book for young adults (12 and up). Because many of the themes and situations are similar for the two age groups, authors go by the age of the main character: if the protagonist is under 12, it’s middle grade; over 12 means young adult. But the differences are more complicated than that.”

What really defines a Middle Grade book? Laura goes on to explain, “Middle grade novels are characterized by the type of conflict encountered by the main character. Children in the primary grades are still focused inward, and the conflicts in their books reflect that. While themes range from friendship to school situations to relationships with siblings and peers, characters are learning how they operate within their own world. They are solidifying their own identity, experiencing the physical and psychological changes of puberty, taking on new responsibilities all within the boundaries of their family, friends and neighborhood. Yes, your character needs to grow and change during the course of the book, but these changes are on the inside. Middle grade readers are beginning to learn who they are, what they think. Their books need to mirror their personal experience.” One example of this type of book is Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

What defines a Young Adult novel?
Many of the same elements found in Middle Grade novels are found in Young Adult novels. Laura explains next how characters are also very important in these novels. “Characters are also a key element to young adult novels, but these books often have more complicated plots than those for middle grade. Protagonists experience an internal change, but this change is triggered by external events and fits into a bigger picture. They begin to step outside themselves and see how they influence, and are influenced by, the larger world. They go beyond their backyard and encounter adult problems for the first time. In Suzanne Fisher Staples’ novel Dangerous Skies, 12-year-old Buck Smith is suddenly made aware of the racial hatred and prejudice entrenched in his small Southern town when his best friend is a suspect in a murder investigation. By the end of the book, Buck has lost his innocence and his eyes are opened to the ethical shortcomings of his family and the neighbors he has known all his life.”

How do you go about picking the best book now that you know the difference between the two genres of books?
1. Pick a topic that your tween/teen is interested in.
2. Give books that highlight characters her/his same age or biographies of her/his hero.
3. Look for books that mesh with topics and eras the she/he studies in school.

Most importantly, choosing the right book for each child shows you know his interests and want to further his/her love of reading.

My Double Life by Janette Rallison

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Feb 252011
 

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (May 13, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0399252622
Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia’s photo filters through the Internet, she is offered a job to be Kari’s double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia’s mother has always warned her against celebrities.

Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else.


Once again Janette Rallison has delivered a book that all ages will love. My Double Life is a story of a teenage girl who has grown up with very little. Alexia has always been on the “outside” wanting just a little piece of feeling like she fits in. When she is offered the job to be the double for a famous singer, she jumps on it. The underlying story has to do with Alexia not knowing who her father is. Some of the events in the story you could see coming, such as to the identity of her father. The fun part is how this information comes out.

Alexia, the main character, is so easy to like. She is not whiny or self-centered. She is always trying to do the right thing. I recall finishing this book and thinking how I would not hesitate at all to have my daughter read this book. This cannot be said of all books written for teens. One of the main themes learned in My Double Life is that you should be grateful for the life you have. Other people’s lives may seem wonderful and perfect, but behind closed doors everyone has problems.

So, the main things I liked about this book was the humor, life lessons that are there, but not blatantly shoved down your throat, and likable characters. Readers that have read other books
by Janette Rallison will love this one. Those of you that have never read any of her books this is a good one to start with. My favorite book written by Janette is still Just One Wish so check out that one next.


If you would like to learn more about Janette Rallison, go visit her at her website here.

BIO:Janette lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband, five children and enough cats to classify her as “an eccentric cat lady.” She did not do this on purpose. (The cats, that is; she had the children on purpose.) Every single one of the felines showed up on its own and refuses to leave. Not even the family’s fearless little Westie dog can drive them off.

Since Janette has five children and deadlines to write books, she doesn’t have much time left over for hobbies. But since this is the internet and you can’t actually check up to see if anything on this site is true, let’s just say she enjoys dancing, scuba diving, horse back riding and long talks with Orlando Bloom.

Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews
Jul 292010
 

Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me

By: Kristen Chandler
ISBN – 978-0-670-01142-1
Publisher: Viking
Published: 2010
Hardcover: 371
FTC-FYI: Borrowed from the library
Let me just get this out of way… I buy most of my books through Amazon, and they email me suggestions. This was one of them. I’m sure I read the description of the book too fast to notice that it’s not about what I thought it would be about. And, I mean, boys turning into wolves. :) Even though I did like this book, I did have to hang in there a while to appreciate it. The story took quite a while to develop. KJ is a 16 year old from a small town in Montana, near Yellowstone. She lives with her dad. He runs a fishing/seasonal guide store, where she helps out. KJ’s mom died when she was a baby, so Dad is very over protective. I had a hard time with their relationship. You’d think it would be good, but it isn’t. Her dad is mean at times, gives her the silent treatment, and they don’t speak for days. Also, the kids in her school are ruthless to her, and really for no good reason.
Things start changing for her when Virgil comes to town. It starts events that get the story going, although again, it takes a while. Virgil starts her thinking about the wolf problem in the area. The Federal Government relocated wolves back into the park because they had died out, and also to help control the elk population. This makes the wolf-lovers happy, but the ranchers and farmers angry. Virgil is in town with his mother, Eloise. (Who I really liked.) Together they go observe the wolf packs in the area. I thought the parts with the wolves were fascinating. Alpha female issues were pretty cool. I wanted more of the wolves.
Virgil (who takes amazing pictures) and KJ are asked to start a column. “Wolf Notes” gets stared and right away it starts an uproar in the town. They also start to like each other, and a few funny things happen. Some dangerous events take place, and the story picked up for me about mid-point. While KJ’s intentions are there, she does get blamed for incidents that were no way near her fault, however, her heart is in the right place, and she is determined to fix the situation.
3 stars
I probably wouldn’t read it again, but I would read more from this author. I didn’t think it ended with a sequel looming, but I would read it.
Warning: there is a few instances of language

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Feb 242010
 

Hello dear ones-
It’s your favorite Wednesday blogger here. Today, we’ll chat a bit about “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins, book two of “The Hunger Games” series.
After our last podcast (this past Friday), we had a bit of a discussion of “Catching Fire” and what we thought of it. I had just finished it, so we had some stuff to say about it:
Here’s what Shanda said:
“I think Peeta is hotter in the second book”
Sheila:
“Katniss’s hair is boring in the second”
Hillary:
“Literarily speaking I would say that Suzanne achieved the climax of the series (so far) in book one and book two takes an unreasonable amount of time for it to reach interest for the reader”
Okay. So it didn’t really go that way at all.
So what really happened was more like this:
Shanda:
“I liked book two even more than book one”
to which Sheila and I stared at her for a second and said, “really?”
Shanda, you’ll have to post here what it is you liked more about book two more than one, because quite frankly I didn’t go to bed until 4am, so I don’t have a clear recollection of that night.
Sheila and I both agreed that book two started out really slow, and seemed really predictable. Now, remember slow is not always bad, it’s just slow. Predictable is bad, which is why I actually did put it down for about two weeks until my husband finished it and said,
“Cinna has really cute costumes in this book, I think you’ll like it.”
Okay. That’s not what he said. He said, “I think you should finish it. It has a totally surprising ending.” I said ” well, okay.” He wanted me to add that there are little details that if you catch give you clues as what’s to come, but frankly sometimes I am a bit too impatient for little details.
And about two hours later, I had the book finished. I stopped at chapter 14, ironically about the time when it really picks up, and as my hubby was grumpily doing our taxes, I was done.
I actually am not going to say much more about “Catching Fire” because I think it would give too much away, I will just say this. If you really, really really liked book one, be patient and don’t give up on book two because there are some HUGE surprises and it REALLY makes book three look appealing and I can’t wait for it!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Feb 032010
 

Hey kids!
Today I am blogging about “The Hunger Games.” by Suzanne Collins. A little back story, Shanda and Sheila both read this book last year, told me I needed to read it, so I put it on my list, and then forgot until about 3 weeks ago. So, I picked up the book from the library, and my daughter stole it from me. She didn’t give it back until about 4 days before it was due. I thought for sure I wouldn’t get it done until I actually started reading it. 6 hours later (3am) I got it done, and it made my top-ten of all time favorite books!
Suzanne Collins writes compelling, engaging and engrossing characters. She has written other books, a series called “The Underland Chronicles”, and she has the “Hunger Games” trilogy. I am currently reading book two called “Catching Fire.” The third book, “The Victors” is due out this spring.
The premise of the story takes place in post-apocolyptic America. (I usually hate post-apocolyptic stories. They’re too depressing. But this one is wonderful) There is a group of people that form the Capital, and then there are 13 districts. Early in the formation of the country, the districts try to break out on their own, and are squashed by the Capital. As a form of punishment/or as a way to remind people of their place, each year the Capital forces each district to have a girl and a boy between 12-18 years old compete in “The Hunger Games” which is a game to the death. Last one standing wins, and provides a better life for their district. The main character, Katniss Everdeen ends up representing her district at the hunger games, and with a lot of adventure, a bit of romance and a lot of intense moments, an amazing story is told!
I would HIGHLY recommend this book. Highly. Really good writing, really great depth of characters, really creative and unusual story line. Very well done.
FTC- FYI- library
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