Helbig and Perkins, both professors of English language and literature, have created a valuable reference tool for teachers, librarians, and anyone involved in planning literary study for young adults. All too often, this area has been neglected and sacrificed for the preteen group since the literature for such children frequently abounds in appealing, colourful picture books and plots that end “happily ever after”. This thoughtfully composed book fills a gap in the reference literature and provides a way to meet the literary needs of a challenging group of individuals.
There are many features that make this a valuable tool. The list of entries for 242 authors and 290 books provides the reader with a quick overview and glimpse of the included authors and works in the alphabetically arranged entries. The description of book awards and the distribution of titles for each award also furnish readily accessible information to those researching young adult fiction for classroom planning or for adding to a library collection. The entries on individual works, authors, and main characters convey valuable information for anyone trying to gain a sense of what exists for young adults and what types of plots, stories, characters, and settings engage them as readers. The span of authors and their works is noteworthy, including those tested by time, such as Peck and Voigt, and those new to the field and in ideas, such as Quiñonez and Isaacs.
The most striking section of the book, though, is the extensive index that is well over 100 pages in length. Those who have ever been confronted with the challenging task of finding fiction categorized and defined by a certain topic and especially enticing to young adults can appreciate this index. It offers the usual main entry points and highlights them in capital lettering, but the authors have significantly categorized the entries by topics that are of interest to young adults or of relevance to those artfully engaged and tasked with stretching the young adult mind through reading and the study of literature. The detail is quite commendable, even pointing to entries such as the San Joaquin Valley, Early Twentieth Century.
Prospective users can also benefit from the helpful preface explaining the organization and selection of entries and overall arrangement of the text. The authors most definitely succeed in pinpointing and providing access to high interest themes for young adults. This is a valuable resource, thoughtfully planned and executed, that should be in school and public libraries as well as academic institutions supporting curricula in English and education.
