I think this is a fine book to introduce young people to the idea of a career in writing. However, despite the youngster on the cover, I do NOT think it is correctly classified as a "Juvenile" book. I’ll give two examples from the book. First, in "Quiz: What’s Your Genre?" on page 30, one question asks "If I got a $20 gift certificate to a bookstore, I’d race out and buy..." The choices are the latest by Stephen King (because I’ve read all his earlier stuff"; poetry book Tears for Water by Alice Key; The Catcher in the Rye; Persepolis "or a biography of my favorite hero;" The Outsiders by S.E.Hinton or Switched by Amanda Hocking. All of these, except for the last two, are classified by HCL as "adult" books; the last two are classified as "teen fiction." Except for the oldest middle schoolers, I don’t see children who visit the children’s section of the library choosing any of these. Second, the choice of role models doesn’t seem right for a J audience. One author interviewed is Chris Crutcher (page 87), whose work is for a teen audience, and is so classified by HCL. A Young Author Profile on page 90 is of an 18-year-old; her short story, starting on page 92, is not written for a juvenile audience. I think this would be a fine book for the teen or general non-fiction collections; I seriously question its appropriateness, even its utility, for those who get books from the "children’s room" at the library.

posted Jul 20, 2012 at 7:56PM

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