I am the mother of 4 children. Before I was a mom, I was a college English major and both a middle school and high school English teacher.  I love to read!

 

Recently, I've discovered that I don't have time to read everything.  I don't know why it has taken me so long to come to that realization, but I have finally accepted it. Because of my minimal time, I primarily read young adult books - either the ones my children are reading or want to read, or the books assigned to them in school. I want to know what my kids are reading.  

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While reading all these books, I have learned that "young adult" is a rather murky, ill-defined category that provides absolutely no guidance to readers or parents and varies from Shannon Hale to Sarah J Maas.  ( Judy Blume was risqué for me growing up.  It is an understatement to say that is NOT the case today!)  By providing information about the contents of these books, parents (and teens) can match the maturity levels of the books to the reader. However, it is important that parents realize my evaluations are only broadly presented.  Browsers in many cases may want to look more closely at the books themselves to understand better the context of the evaluations.  For instance, graphic sex may range from rape scenes to a 5 page detailed description of oral sex, and violence could mean hanging or dismemberment.  Hopefully, in many cases the site will cause parents to look more closely at the books their children are choosing and help in guiding them to more appropriate choices and/or open the door to a discussion of the challenging, controversial, or confusing topics the books contain and present.  It is also hoped that the evaluations will not lead browsers to judge the choices of other readers--reading is a very personal activity!  

 

Finally, in addition to giving readers the opportunity to get a sense of exactly what is in the books reviewed, this site hopes to broaden awareness of really good books for teens and adults and present choices that can uplift, give insight, and lighten the lives of those who are looking for that in their reading.  Happy reading!

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I have asked my 17 year-old niece, Isabelle, to help with the site.

 

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