Introduction

Welcome to my young adult materials database! I really enjoyed this project. I discovered many materials I might not otherwise have come across. I tried to include a variety of items and genres, so I could get a good idea of what was available.

This post will include an alphabetical list of all the titles in this blog. This list is also available in the sidebar along with an alphabetical list of authors. Enjoy!



21st Century Breakdown by Green Day (Music CD)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray by B.o.B. (Music CD)
Boom Blox Bash Party (Game)
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Chasing Liberty (Movie)
Cry-baby (Movie)
Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial by Penny Colman
Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
Easy A (Movie)
Fiction Connection (Database)
Forever by Judy Blume
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Video Game)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Initiation by L.J. Smith
Literature Resource Center (Database)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Mockingjay by Suzane Collins
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Nightwood by Patricia Windsor
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Database)
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Pop Culture Universe (Database)
Pretty in Pink (Movie)
Seventeen (Magazine)
Shadowland by Meg Cabot
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Sonic Mega Collection Plus (Video Game)
Speak (Movie)
Speak Now by Taylor Swift (Music CD)
Take-off!: American All-girl Bands During WWII by Tonya Bolden
Teen Ink (Magazine)
Teen Voices (Magazine)
Teen Vogue (Magazine)
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Sonic Mega Collection Plus (Video Game)

Sonic Mega Collection Plus.
Release Date: 2004
Developer: Sega Of America, Inc.
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Everyone
ASIN: B0002EJ8FC

Summary:

Sonic Mega Collection Plus is a collection of Sonic the Hedgehog games. In Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic must find and defeat Dr. Robotnik and rescue the animals he has captured. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic must again fight Dr. Robotnik, but with the help of Sonic’s new sidekick, Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduces Knuckles, who is tricked into helping Dr. Robotnik by protecting his Death Egg and defeating Sonic. In Sonic and Knuckles, the Death Egg has been defeated and Sonic must attempt to gather all the emeralds before Knuckles or Dr. Robotnik can stop him. The player can also choose to be Knuckles while trying to stop Sonic and defeat Dr. Robotnik. Sonic 3D Blast also allows the player to be either Sonic or Knuckles and attempt to rescue an island of birds from Dr. Robotnik. Sonic Spinball is a pinball-like game featuring Sonic as the ball. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is a stacking game where the player must match similar colored dropping beans to cause them to disappear before they overflow.

In addition to the seven games included in the original Mega Collection, this plus version contains seven classic Game Gear titles: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Drift, Sonic Cards, Sonic Blsy, Sonic Chaos, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. These games feature very primitive graphics and basic controls.

Critical Evaluation:

Sega has put together a great collection of games in Sonic Mega Collection Plus. It introduces younger players to games that were created before they were old enough to play them and older players can enjoy the games they played when they were younger. Putting the games all together in a series allows players to choose their favorite game or play them all in order to follow the storyline. Though the point of the game is to defeat the evil Dr. Robotnik, there isn’t any obvious violence. There is no option for adjusting skill level, but the game aren’t terribly complicated. The inclusion of the classic Game Gear games is a fun look at the early style of graphics and can appeal to anyone who loves the games of the early 90s. Playing these, a person is really struck by how far technology has come in the past 20 years. The games are no less fun for their primitiveness, either. This collection is a fun and nostalgic look at the Sonic line.

Annotation:

This is a collection of 13 Sonic the Hedgehog games, including 6 classic Game Gear titles, available all on one disc.

Developer Information:

Sega was founded in 1940 in Hawaii with the purpose of creating coin-operated games for service members stationed there. It was originally called Standard Games and later changed its name to Service Games. In 1952 the company moved to Tokyo, where the name was changed to Sega, using the first two letters of each word of its previous name. In 1956 it merged with Rosen Enterprises to form Sega Enterprises. In 1986 Sega of America, a subsidiary, was established to market to North American audiences.

In addition to developing games, Sega also develops consoles. Its first console, the SG-1000 was released in 1983. It was followed by 17 other systems released around the world, including the latest, Zone-40, a Wii-like console released in 2010. Sega’s development of consoles led to a rivalry with Nintendo. Though Sega experienced a lead over Nintendo in the early 1990s with the development of the popular Sega Geneses, it hasn’t been able to maintain the lead since then.

Genre:

Video Game

Curriculum Ties:

None

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Interest Age:

All Ages

Challenge Issues:

None

Challenge Defense Ideas:

If a challenge were to occur:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This collection is great for anyone who loves the old Sonic games. Playing it reminded me of how much I enjoyed them when I was younger.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Video Game)

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Activision Blizzard (Formerly Activision, Inc.)
Platform: Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Teen
ASIN: B000TGB4V4

Summary:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is the fourth Guitar Hero title released by Activision. It’s the first video game to exceed a billion dollars in sales and the best selling title of 2007. Players use a guitar-shaped controller with five colored buttons and a whammy bar. When the notes appear on the screen, the player presses the appropriately colored button to play the song. The player can choose easy through advanced levels of play. The game offers several different types of playing options. The single player career mode allows a player to complete all the songs in a level before being allowed to advance to the next level. The co-op career mode is similar, but players work together to complete the songs. The other multi-player options include a face-off and pro-face off where the players compete while playing the same song. The multi-player battle option is similar, but with the added bonus of power-ups and other tricks that can be used to attack your opponent in order to cause them to mess up. Songs in this version include "Anarchy in the U.K" by The Sex Pistols, "Barracuda" by Heart, "Hit Me With Your Best Sho"t by Pat Benatar, "My Name is Jonas" by Weezer, "School’s Out" by Alice Cooper and 68 other songs by bands the game makers classify as legends of rock.

Critical Evaluation:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, like all of the Guitar Hero line, is a really fun game. The original line was such a unique idea for a video game. It also has a pretty wide appeal, since many of the traditional elements of video games are missing. There is no violence, little strategy needed, and it isn’t specifically targeted to either males or females. It’s a game that can be very simple or very complicated, depending on the player’s skill level; no player is left out because of lack of skill. The best part of the game is definitely the battle mode. Multi-player on its own is pretty fun, since the two players can work together or compete, but still play on their own skill level. When battle mode is introduced, they are given the option of “attacking” the other player with power-ups that can snap a guitar string, flip the notes around backwards, and many other tricks designed to cause them to mess up. This change in competition can give less skilled players an advantage, as well as just mixing up the typical game play. It’s also enjoyable to listen to the songs, rather than the typical annoying video game music. Players can hear old favorites or be introduced to new music. The use of both classic and contemporary rock ensures that there is something for all ages of rock music lovers. This is a game that players can enjoy either alone or with a group of friends or family.

Annotation:

You can be your favorite rock star with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Developer Information:

Activision is currently one of the largest third-party publishers of video games. It was founded on October 1, 1979 by Jim Levy, Richard Muchmore, and four programmers who left Atari. It was the world’s first independent developer of video games for consoles. Levy chose to promote the programmers and developers for their contribution, which wasn’t common at the time. They also led the way in developing platform games, with their development of Pitfall! in 1982. In the late 1980s, Activision attempted to develop other types of software, but decided to go back to focusing solely on videogames in 1992.

While developing other types of software, they change their name to Mediagenic. After a multimillion dollar patent settlement, they were taken over by an investor group, reorganized, and changed their name back to Activision. In 2008, they merged with French company Vivendi and changed their name to Activision Blizzard.

Genre:

Video Game

Curriculum Ties:

Music: Rock

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Alcohol references
Sexual references

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This is part of a popular video game line that appeals to all ages and sexes. It also appeals to people who don't typically play video games.

Seventeen (Magazine)

Seventeen. Editor-in-Chief: Ann Shoket. Hearst Corportation. ISSN: 0037-301X.

Description:

Seventeen is currently the most popular magazine for teenage girls, outselling the next highest almost two to one. It was first launched in 1944 for girls aged 12 through 19. In addition to the American publication, there are also 7 international versions and a Hispanic American version. There are 10 print magazines published each year, as well as numerous articles on their website. Though the primary focus of the magazine is fashion and beauty, it does have some more serious content. The articles are divided into subjects, such as fashion, love life, and health, which are then grouped together for easier reading. The December /January issue features country singer Taylor Swift with an article about her latest album.

Critical Evaluation:

Seventeen is the most popular magazine with teen girls for a reason. Its combination of fashion, beauty, celebrity culture, pop culture, relationships, and serious topics cover almost everything of interest to its target audience. Unlike other fashion magazines for teens, only a little over half of the content is devoted to fashion and beauty. The rest focuses on culture, health, self-help, and other topics. This provides a good mix of articles. Also unique to the magazine is the affordability of many of the products featured, though the abundance of ads is kind of an issue. The staff seems to be very in tune with what are the latest trends among teen girls. The magazine is colorful, has a fun and useful layout, and features interesting and easy to read articles. The self-help sections and the articles over topics such as pregnancy, family issues, body image, school, and other serious topics are informative and never judgmental. They don’t sugar-coat the issue and they do offer resources for those experiencing the same thing. This is a good magazine for the “typical” teenage girl.

Reader's Annotation:

Seventeen is the number one source for fashion, dating, friend, and school advice for teen girls.

Author Information:

Ann Shoket was born June 16, 1972 in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. She attended New York University where she graduated cum laude. She also has a certificate in Media Management from The New School, also in New York. After college she was a reporter for The American Lawyer. She created a strictly online magazine called Tag. She then spent several years working for Parade magazine and launched their teen counterpart. After Parade, she was senior editor and then executive editor of CosmoGIRL! before becoming editor-in-chief of Seventeen in 2007.

In her time with Seventeen she has helped the magazine become the number one teen magazine in newsstands for the first time since Hearst bought it. She also relaunched the website, which is now in the top ten of teen sites. She was named one of the most powerful magazine editors two years in a row by Forbes. She also serves on the board of several committees benefiting teen girls, including The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Genre:

Young Women's Magazine

Curriculum Ties:

None

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Sexual content

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

Seventeen has been a popular magazine for teenage girls for over 60 years.

Teen Ink (Magazine)

Teen Ink. Editors: John and Stephanie H. Meyer. The Young Authors Foundation. ISSN: 1545-1283.

Description:

Teen Ink is a literary magazine for teenagers that was launched in 1989. Originally it was called 21st Century to reflect that it was a magazine for the generation of the future, but the name was changed in the early 2000s. Ten print issues a year are published; many other submissions are posted on their website. Any teenager aged 13 to 19 can contribute to the magazine by submitting their works through an online forum, email, or mail. They are also allowed so submit works anonymously, if they prefer. The magazine accepts poetry, fiction, non-fiction, works of art, photos, interviews, points of view articles, and essays. Nearly a fourth of the magazine is devoted to poetry. Everything featured in the magazine is the work of a teenager; there are no adult contributors. The magazines occasionally have a theme of some kind that many of the works will fall under. The December 2010 issue featured several non-fiction stories about community service.

Critical Evaluation:

Teen Ink is similar in content and format to traditional high school and college literary magazines, but with a few differences. The most obvious difference is that the magazine is much more open to submissions than typical literary magazines are. Any teenager can submit, rather than being limited to students in journalism or English classes or students who are the most gifted writers. The writing is also only lightly edited; generally it is included in it's original entirety. This allows those submitting to have a open outlet for their words that they might not otherwise have.

The magazine has a nice layout, with clearly defined sections and an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of articles and artwork. The ad pages are a little overwhelming, more due to the way they are arranged than the number included. However, the ads are primarily for colleges and other educational and career opportunities, so they are in keeping with the magazine’s style. It is obvious that the content included is written by teenagers, but in a very good way. The stories, poetry and articles are honest, creative and well-written. Though each is very different from the others, they are also cohesive. This magazine would be an excellent addition to a library or classroom for both the works included and the opportunity for teens to submit their own.

Reader's Annotation:

Teen Ink is a literary magazine that gives the opportunity for every teen to be heard.

Editor Information:

John and Stephanie H. Meyer formed Teen Ink in 1989. They felt that traditional teen literary magazines were aimed towards the gifted students, so they wanted to create one that was for everyone. They run the Young Authors Foundation, Inc., a non-profit that supports the magazine.

Stephanie H. Meyer has a Masters in Education and Social Work. She has worked as a publisher, compiler, editor, and author. She also is very dedicated to helping youth. John Meyer has an MBA. He has also worked in various aspects of the publishing field, including publishing two successful business magazines.

Genre:

Teen Literary Magazine

Curriculum Ties:

English
Journalism

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Occasional profanity
Occasional drug references

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This magazine is a great alternative to the traditional literary magazine.

Teen Voices (Magazine)

Teen Voices. Editor: Jessica Moore. Women Express, Inc. ISSN: 1074-7494

Description:

Teen Voices is a magazine created for and written by teenage girls. It was launched in 1989 in Boston. The magazine sponsors journalism workshops for its contributors, but it also accepts submissions from any girl aged 13 through 19. The print version is published twice a year in April and November; the online version is published monthly. The magazine primarily focuses on social issues rather than the usual topics in teen girl magazines such as fashion and pop culture. The Fall 2010 issue includes articles about women in politics, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and female genital mutilation. Regular features include “College Prep,” “GLBT Youth,” “Art Beat,” and “Food Buzz,” among others. The magazine also features original stories and poetry.

Critical Evaluation:

The mission of Teen Voices is an admirable one. Rather than the traditional teenage girl magazine fare of fashion, makeup, and boys, this one focuses on social issues, responsible consumerism, and creativity. It’s refreshing to read a magazine that features articles on things like how American Apparel ads exploit young women rather than just how cute their clothes are, especially when those articles are written by young women who are considering these issues themselves rather than just listening to an adult tell them what to think. The teens who contribute to the magazine have written articles that are well researched and provide opinions that are intelligent. The message of social responsibility is excellent, especially coming from girls who are the same age as the readers.

The magazine isn’t as flashy as other magazines marketed to teen girls, but it has a young look, as if the girls themselves were the ones who put it together. Because of the message of responsible consumerism, the magazine isn’t overrun with ads. Very little of its revenue is due to advertising. The way the magazine is put together is interesting, as well. The publishers primarily work with inner city girls in Boston through workshops, giving them the opportunity to learn valuable journalism skills as well as life skills. Not all the submissions are from them, however, as the magazine will accept work from any girl under the age of 19, giving teen girls a wonderful opportunity to consider the world around them and share their opinions. This is truly an entertaining magazine with a wonderful message for girls.

Reader's Annotation:

Teen Voices is a magazine by teen girls for teen girls that focuses on social issues affect them.

Editor Information:

Jessica Moore has a B.A. in English Literature and French from Penn State University. She has worked in journalism for 12 years. She spent five years as the senior Web producer for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, where she covered major news events and developed the website’s arts coverage. She has also worked as the senior web editor for Media Matters for America and spent two years heading up the online portion of U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings list.

Before becoming editor of Teen Voices, she was managing editor of Digital Media at Sesame Workshop. After being laid off from that job, she was offered the position of editor. Despite the rather drastic pay cut, she took the job immediately.

Genre:

Young Women's Magazine

Curriculum Ties:

Journalism

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Regular GLBT feature

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

As a magazine that is both for teens and written by teens, this is a great resource.

Teen Vogue (Magazine)

Teen Vogue. Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley. Condé Nast Publications. ISSN: 1540-2215

Description:

Teen Vogue is the flashy younger sister to the original Vogue magazine. It was launched in January of 2003 and prints 10 issues a year. Its format is smaller than traditional American magazines, measuring only 6¾ inches by 9 inches. Each magazine contains a series of regular features such as “Fashion Features,” “People Are Talking About,” “Horoscopes,” and “Style Blogger.” In addition to these features, the magazine includes articles over a number of topics relating to fashion, beauty, music, and Hollywood. The magazine also includes articles that focus on more serious topics that affect teen girls such as drug use, eating disorders, and education. The December/January issue featured article titled “Going Green: Friend Envy Is More Common Than You Think” which focuses on competitiveness and jealousy between close friends and how to deal with it.

Critical Evaluation:

Teen Vogue is, first and foremost, a fashion magazine. Though less sophisticated than its adult counterpart, it’s no less beautiful in its presentation. The fashion pictorials are colorful and eye-catching. Rather than being runway ready, most of the outfits featured are easily copied and could be worn by any fashion-conscious teenager to school or out with friends. Though the clothing featured is a little expensive for most teenagers, the magazine often offers advice for similar outfits at a more reasonable price. There are also the requisite beauty articles but, to its credit, the magazine focuses on healthy practices. The celebrity interviews, such as the adorable one with Cory Monteith and Lea Michele in the December/January issue, feature celebrities and musicians that are currently some of the most popular with teens. This offers something for those teens who like to keep up with pop culture. As a magazine whose tagline is “fashion starts here,” it has accomplished this goal and could be satisfied with that. It does offer more than that, however. It also tries to focus on more serious issues that are important to teens and is successful in doing that in a helpful and non-judgmental way. The article about friend envy offers simple advice about both dealing with being jealousy of a friend and dealing with your own insecurities. Teen Vogue does have a specific target audience, that of the fashion conscious teenage girl, and it will definitely satisfy that audience.

Reader's Annotation:

Teen Vogue is a fun and flashy look at fashion for teen girls.

Editor-in-Chief Information:

When the launch of Teen Vogue was announced in 2002, Vogue editor Anna Wintour named Amy Astley as the editor. Astley had been on the staff of Vogue since 1993 and the Beauty Director since 1994. Before working at Vogue, she spent four years at HG, another Condé Nast magazine.

Astley is from East Lansing, Michigan. After graduating from East Lansing High School she attended the Michigan State University Honors College, where she received a B.A. in English Literature.

Genre:

Young Women's Magazine

Curriculum Ties:

None

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

None

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This is a flashy and entertaining look at fashion for teen girls. It's also an age appropriate sister magazine of a popular fashion magazine for adults.