The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies Revised Edition
- Book Review,
by Bernard A. Drew
From Booklist
The stated objective of this book (to provide a compact, moderately priced author study) is laudable; the resulting product, unfortunately, is not. The author is a freelance writer and journalist. Each of the 100 alphabetically arranged entries begins with a header containing the author's place of birth, birthdate, and the title of a popular work or series. The author has helpfully coded each of the entries as family drama, fantasy, mythology, romantic suspense, etc. However, it is impossible to retrieve all the authors with a particular code because there is no index.This is followed by a two-to three-page biographical and critical essay that does not present information in a standard format. Each quotes some critical commentary from reviews. The entries contain some factual errors and misspelled names. Some entries have significant omissions. For example, the entry on Jamake Highwater does not indicate that people have questioned his "nativeness," and the one on Paul Zindel does not indicate that he was sued for plagiarism by his ghostwriter over The Pigman's Legacy.The essay is followed by a series of bibliographies. There are lists of books by the author for young adults, middle readers, younger readers, and adults (as appropriate). For authors of series, such as Ann Martin and "Carolyn Keene," these lists go on for pages. Only the items in the bibliographies of young adult fiction merit a one-sentence annotation. These bibliographies are not complete; for example, the entry on Jean Craighead George mentions Julie of the Wolves but not the 1994 sequel, Julie. Each entry concludes with a list of any film adaptations of the author's work and a bibliography for further reading about the author. The latter section is frustrating because it does not give volume or page numbers for articles. This means that students will have to go somewhere else to find this information in order to get copies on interlibrary loan.One might question some of the author's selections as "most popular" writers for teens (Jack London?), and the lack of an index is a drawback, but this flawed work does bring together information about many popular writers for libraries that don't own series such as Authors & Artists for Young Adults.
From Book News, Inc.
A reference for students and educators, featuring biographical sketches and bibliographies on 100 young adult authors, including R.L. Stine, Joan Aiken, and Francine Pascal. Alphabetical entries include quotes from authors, describe authors' works and their role in young adult fiction, and list the writers' fiction works for young adults with year of publication and a one-line plot synopsis, with critical comments and suggestions for further reading. Focuses on modern writers plus 12 classic authors. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Book Description
The book focuses on writers of the 1990s but also includes 12 classic authors who are still widely read by teens. An affordable alternative to multivolume publications, this book makes a great collection development tool and resource for author studies as well as a great way to find books by and about students' favorite writers.
About the Author
BERNARD A. DREW is a free-lance writer and editor, as well as a columnist for a daily newspaper.
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