Book Blogs

Last year I came across Readergirlz a blog which reviews great books for teen girls with terrific author information that includes playlists selected by the authors themselves to go with specific books. A recent example is Laurie Halse Anderson's playlist for her novel Prom. I have Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, one of her choices, playing in the background as I type. And there's more: links to reviews of her book, interviews with the author and a roundtable discussion. This is a dream site for teenaged girls who read and may entice many who aren't avid readers already. It has been named one of the ALSC Great Web Sites for Kids.

Today my RSS feed offered the suggestion of a site that will appeal to the male population. GuysLitWire "... was created after a broad discussion among YA bloggers within the lit blogosphere about the lack of books for teenage boys." A quick read of recent posts turns up a review of the classic gem Kon Tiki and a list of books with strong heroic characters. I loved their comment about both sexes needing strong role models and that you have to learn how to take care of yourselves because there's not always a hero around when you need one. Read more about them here. I'll be spending some time reading through the posts as I prepare my next book order.

If you have English teachers looking for blogs to share with their students these two would be great choices.