Amy J. Alessio is a teen librarian, who has served two terms on the Young Adult Library Services Association board of directors, and was the first recipient of the Young Adult Librarian of the Year Award from the Illinois Library Association.
This volume is organized into two parts. The first part, approximately half of the book, describes different sub-groups within the larger mystery genre, and deals with readers’ advisory. Alessio offers suggestions for some basic questions that a librarian can ask a young reader to assist with readers’ advisory, and then breaks down the various sub-genres of mystery into categories that will appeal to teens. These categories are Realistic Mysteries; High-Tech Whodunits; Thrillers; Fantastic and Paranormal Mysteries; Mysteries in Time and Place; and Romantic Suspense. Many of the well-known adult mysteries fall into these, but they have been named in such a way so as to make it easier to sort out a teenager’s interests; for example, Dashiell Hammett writes realistic mysteries, as opposed to calling them “hard boiled”, a categorization better known to adult readers.
Each of her categories is further broken down into sub-categories that address the teen reader on an even more specific level. For example, the Realistic Mystery category is further broken down into: Undaunted Detectives, Accused Teens, Disappearing Family and Friends, Small Town Sleuths, Humorous Inspectors or What’s So Funny About Crime and Sporty Sleuths. Alessio does this for each category and, additionally, provides recommended bibliography in that sub-category, adult mysteries that may appeal to teens and ideas for Booktalking and Covert Marketing within that sub-genre.
The second half of the book is devoted to teen library programming for mystery readers, and her chapter titles tell a pretty clear story. Using Clues to Match Teen Interests, mysterious programming has ten complete program suggestions with all the preparation and activities mapped out in detail. There are also online programming options, and alternatives for when cost is a consideration (e.g. the final program which is an hour-long, interactive mystery dinner.) The programs are so well crafted and easily organized that any library, no matter the size, should be able to implement them. They also range in length from one hour to a nine-month school year reading incentive program, to a weekly recurring event. Grade-level recommendations are provided along with the number of participants that each program can comfortably accommodate.
Mind Bending Mystery Club Activities covers how to gauge interest in a teen mystery club, begin organizing and start meetings. Suggestions include giving each participant a message in code when they arrive, starting with a simple substitution code (1=A, 2=B, etc.) and making the codes more complex as the program progresses. The participants can work on the code while they munch on snacks, which are always a good icebreaker and meeting starter. Alessio suggests eight different topics for clubs, and two different trivia contests. The ideas presented should be enough to get any mystery club off the ground, and provide fodder for future ideas.
When Book Discussions Get Mysterious begins by acknowledging that book discussion can often seem like just so much more assigned reading to a teenager, and follows with a suggestion to begin discussion online or offer discussions with a theme to get younger readers interested. Alessio gives ten suggested books, one to match each sub-genre, and each with a review and a set of ten discussion questions.
It's no Mystery to Market is the shortest chapter in the book, but fills its three pages with some of the most clever marketing suggestions this reviewer has seen. The idea of hiding a bookmark in the teen collection offering a prize to the one who brings it to the circulation desk or offering events in the form of puzzles seems like a great way to market mystery books.
The final 15 pages of the book are devoted to three appendices of bibliography: Titles and Series by Genre and Subgenre; Titles and Series by Author; Mysteries in Graphic Novel Format.
I would rate this book as a fantastic value. It is a very well-written, thorough and organized title that feels like an essential part of any young adult librarian’s toolkit. It is highly recommended for any public library, school library or media centre or any home schooling parents.
