The other day I had a conversation with a student that made me laugh for two reasons. First, we were discussing the highly popular (not to mention literary-acclaimed) John Green novel, The Fault In Our Stars. Reinforcing the overwhelming consensus--she LOVED it--she asked for another of that type of novel--one's that make you cry?! When I asked why she wanted books that would make her cry, she replied that sometimes you just need a good cry and a book that will help you do so makes it that much easier.
The second reason I laughed is I had just read a blog in which the author listed ten books written for the middle school level that were of a similar vein to Green. Some we had so I quickly pulled them and let her pick. She chose See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles not only a 2015 Nutmeg nominee, but also, for my money, a bigger tear-jerker than TFIOS. I'll need to check back to see if her cry was sufficient enough to make her happy!
YA literature is a tough emerging genre...it's range is 12-18 and as anyone knows what some 18 year olds can handle, some 12 year olds are far too naive and not ready for. Yet YA literature is so rich and deep when it comes to feeling the emotional roller coaster that being adolescent is! And unlike the "YA" of a generation or two ago, the novels now pull no punches which is why they are great reads in the first place.
The Nerdy Book Club, by the way, is a great site for all who L-O-V-E books! And as to the rest of list from the article that we don't have: I'll be ordering them! Maybe I'll make a section and hand out little tissue packs when a book goes out! =P
Here's Angie Manfredi's full length article:
https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/ten-middle-grade-read-alikes-for-john-green-books-by-angie-manfredi/
The second reason I laughed is I had just read a blog in which the author listed ten books written for the middle school level that were of a similar vein to Green. Some we had so I quickly pulled them and let her pick. She chose See You At Harry's by Jo Knowles not only a 2015 Nutmeg nominee, but also, for my money, a bigger tear-jerker than TFIOS. I'll need to check back to see if her cry was sufficient enough to make her happy!
YA literature is a tough emerging genre...it's range is 12-18 and as anyone knows what some 18 year olds can handle, some 12 year olds are far too naive and not ready for. Yet YA literature is so rich and deep when it comes to feeling the emotional roller coaster that being adolescent is! And unlike the "YA" of a generation or two ago, the novels now pull no punches which is why they are great reads in the first place.
The Nerdy Book Club, by the way, is a great site for all who L-O-V-E books! And as to the rest of list from the article that we don't have: I'll be ordering them! Maybe I'll make a section and hand out little tissue packs when a book goes out! =P
Here's Angie Manfredi's full length article:
https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/ten-middle-grade-read-alikes-for-john-green-books-by-angie-manfredi/