What Makes worthwhile YA?

 From LibraryThing

I just read this great book called The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

I’ll leave the traditional book reviewing to the professionals and experienced. I have just a few words to say about one narrow aspect of the book.

I really liked the concept of 'neglected positives' presented in this book. It is (as far as I know) not a real grammatical rule. I’ll have to use my librarian powers to dig past my initial Google search of the term. I have always struggled with grammar; I especially find it difficult to be interested in. Past participles, gerunds, passive voice, etc., it just doesn’t click with me.  But after reading about Frankie’s ‘gruntled-ness’, I felt inspired. I remember hearing about a podcast called Grammar Girl. I think that I just might load it up and become my own grammar girl.

This is the type of young adult book that I look for. I want an intriguing story that connects its readers with a worthwhile concept…it could be a connection to a classic book, like in Finding Alaska or exploring mortality like in Going Bovine, or dealing with difficult life situations like in Speak and Tyrell.

As I gain experience with ‘RA for YA’ I hope to continue to develop my ability to connect books with interests, personalities, and life situations of my students. 

BTW, I just found this great blog called Forever Young Adult: http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/.