From School Library Journal
The remarkable growth of YA literature in recent years is evident in this massive one-volume encyclopedia. The 800 signed entries, written by 200 contributors, include author profiles, trends, and topical articles covering the usual genre designations and a few newer ones, such as Chick Lit and Urban Legends. Michael Cart's overview of YA literature affords a fine historical perspective of the field; Will Eisner's cogent piece on graphic novels is followed by an article on graphic novels in libraries chronicling the recent trend for acceptance. Other pieces seem oddly out-of-place. An article entitled A Meditation of Writing Landscape, excerpted from a forthcoming book by Jane Yolen, is directed toward writers rather than critical readers, and has no corresponding discussion of plot, character, or theme. An article entitled Beyond Harry Potter seems to have been lifted out of context from a listserv discussion. A booklist entitled rather grandly The Top Dozen Favorite YA Books turns out to be an eclectic list of 12 favorite titles compiled by one student. The wide variety of authors covered includes luminaries such as Cormier, Hinton, and Blume as well as relative newcomers to the field, but there is no standardization of bibliographic references, and there are many inconsistencies and errors. The varying length of the articles is often puzzling: a piece on Daniel Pinkwater is given twice the space as one on Philip Pullman. The list of contributors contains many professors, librarians, and experts in the field, but also a large number of students whose grasp of the subjects assigned to them often seems tenuous. The appendix contains highly useful lists of book awards with Web sites for further research. However, a final list of Best of the Best YA Books–By Preconference doesn't explain which preconference or when it took place. Given the sheer volume of material covered, a stronger editorial hand was needed for overall clarity and accuracy. Still, nothing else of this scope is currently available, and the book could be a useful tool if the information is checked against other sources.
–Connie Rockman, Stratford (CT) Library Association Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The editors of this volume have concentrated their efforts on the widening field of young adult literature, its authors, and related topics. More than 650 signed entries, arranged alphabetically, provide information on young adult authors and others of importance in the field, and also include topical articles that deal with thematic material, including genres and international YA literature. Several pages of photographs of selected authors are found in the center of the volume.
The length of the entries varies based on the subject's perceived importance. Coverage extends to some adult and children's authors who have a minimal relationship to YA literature, authors studied in high-school literature courses, and obscure personalities not easily found in other resources. The approximately 95 topical articles run the gamut from Chick lit (and chick movies and television shows) to YA literature in New Zealand. The best articles are those written by a topic's experts, such as Will Eisner's article, The Graphic Novel, and James Cross Giblin's Informational Books: An Author's Point of View. Several gems might be lost to the reader because of their esoteric titles (e.g., Jane Yolen's A Meditation on Writing Landscape). There is no indexing that would direct readers to these types of entries, since indexing is by author only. The thematic entries are, however, listed in the volume's front matter.
Cross-references embedded in the text are highlighted by the use of all capital letters. An extensive appendix lists book award winners and includes Web sites and "Best" lists. We found several small errors (for example, Lindsay instead of Lindsey, Stebenow instead of Stabenow). Although this title will be useful as a desk reference for the young adult librarian, the comprehensive coverage of topics and people makes it equally appropriate for the serious student of YA literature. Rochelle Glantz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
