Teen/YA reading group favourite books of 2017 by Savita Kalhan

Here’s my yearly round-up of some of my teen reading group’s favourite library books of 2017. The reading group ranges from ages 11 to 15 years old, and is a mix of boys and girls – with most of them reading three or four library books a month on top of any other reading they do. The kids are enthusiastic and love talking about the books they've enjoyed, books they would recommend, and books they haven't liked as much. They write review cards, which go up on on the teen reading group board in the library. 

In many ways it was a challenging year for us: the library was closed for two months while it moved premises, the catalogue of books available has diminished, with many books that are ‘missing’ not being replaced, and many books published in 2016 and 2017 not being bought for the library.

But, nonetheless, here is the list of some of my teen group's favourite books, in no particular order -

Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Beetle Boy by MG Leonard

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan

Gorilla Dawn by Gill Lewis

      

Booked by Kwame Alexander

The Harder They Fall by Bali Rai

Phoenix by SF Said

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Boyce

We all like having a choice in what we read. Some of us can buy books, and some of us use the library. I would really like to see 2018 be the year which brings back more choice of books for kids, and for their availability to be better reflected on the book shelves. And there should be at least one copy of every teen and young adult book published in a year on the library shelves.

Don’t you agree?

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More Books Please by Savita Kalhan

Happy New Year!

Last year I did my usual reading challenge. It used to be to read 55 books, but for 2016 I decided to up it to 60 books. As usual, the mix of books I've read range from middle grade to teen to young adult to adult, and they include a vast range of genres.

I read the middle grade and teen books for the library reading group that I run in Finchley Church End library, which now also includes some pre-teens as well as 13 to 15 year olds. Here are a few of our favourite reads for 2016. These books made the kids laugh, cry, hold their breath, or cheer. They have held them captive and made them seek out the authors so they can read more by them.

Some of the older teens in the group are now interested in reading young adult books, but I remember when they first started, just under two years ago, when all they wanted to read were older middle grade and young teen books. Some of them only managed to read a book a month then. Now they're are all taking up to four books a month to read for the reading group. It has been so satisfying to see the kids' reading habits develop and their love of reading increasing month by month.

The only thing that's holding us back is the budget for teen books. I'm sure the problem is the same for all libraries. I would love for my group to have more choice available to them. 

So if there are any publishers out there who would like their teen books read and reviewed by a teen reading group and would like to donate some books in exchange, or would just like to donate teen books, then please feel free to get in touch with us!

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#LoveToRead @ReadingHackers by Savita Kalhan

BBC #LoveToRead is a national campaign to get people reading and sharing the books they love. It was launched at the Hay Festival earlier this year. It's not just for kids, but for everyone. It's a campaign that's supported by libraries, booksellers, publishers, authors, and literary and reading agencies.

The Reading Agency is a charity whose mission it is to, 'inspire more people to read more, encourage them to share their enjoyment of reading and celebrate the difference that reading makes to all our lives. We support people at all stages of their reading journey. Because everything changes when we read.' You can find out more about them HERE.

Like the Reading Agency, I too believe that reading for pleasure is one of the most important things in a child's development. Reading for pleasure is something I spent much of my time doing when I was growing up, and it's something that can get lost as you get older. Fortunately for me I've never lost it, but I can see how it can be easily lost. Kids probably don't have as much time as they used to for reading for pleasure, and they have far more social media and gaming distractions than we ever had. This is one of the reasons why I started a teen reading group at Finchley Church End Library. A few pre-teens have joined too, which is brilliant, but if any more join, then I may have to seriously consider starting another group to cater for them. 

From October 24th to 6th November Reading Hack (from The Reading Agency) is promoting young people's volunteering in libraries in the run up to the BBC #LoveToRead weekend. Kids and young people aged between 13 to 24 can volunteer at their local library in lots of different ways: by talking to people about #LoveToRead, by helping to organise #LoveToRead activities and events in the library, by encouraging other young people to get involved, and by creating library displays and posters to promote #LoveToRead. They can log the time they've spent volunteering, earn a certificate, enter competitions etc. For more information, click HERE 

If you're aged between 13 and 24 and want to just share your favourite reads, use the tag @ReadingHackers and the hashtag #LoveToRead to share them with thousands of other readers.

And if you're an adult, you can still share your favourite read using the #LoveToRead hashtag.

In October, Saturday night will be Books Night on BBC Two, and will include profiles, interviews, documentaries and films, plus a documentary on Sue Townsend and much more. The culmination of the whole campaign will be a #LoveToRead weekend on the 5th and 6th November.

So in the spirit of the whole #LoveToRead campaign, here are a few book recommendations - one for adults, one for young adults, one for younger teens, and two for younger children.

1. Adult - Little Egypt by Lesley Glaister (I don't know how this author passed me by, but I've just devoured her Honour Thy Father).

2. YA - One of Us by Jeannie Waudby - I've been looking forward to reading this and now I will!

3. Teen - Railhead by Philip Reeve - my teen reading group loved this and are awaiting the sequel, which Mr. Reeve has promised will come out this autumn!

4. Picture Book - Pattan's Pumpkin by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Frane Lessac, and A Jar of Pickles and a Pinch of Justice by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy.

I'd love to hear your recommendations for any age group!

Savita's website - savitakalhan.com

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Books for young teens by Savita Kalhan

A few months back I volunteered at my local library to start a teen reading group, and I'm happy to say it's going strong. I've got twelve kids in the group from four different schools, five boys and seven girls, and new friendships have formed, as well as lots of book recommendations between them.

When the kids arrive, our table in the corner of the library is covered in library books for them to look at. They all read the blurbs on the back of the books and the opening pages, and then decide which of the books they want to read first. Interestingly, when they return for the next meeting, they have often felt that some of the books have not matched the blurb on the back of the books when they've come to read them. They felt that they were led to expect one thing and the book turned out to be very different to that, which put them off the book a bit.

The teen reading group has been shadowing the Carnegie, but not all the books have been suitable or appropriate for the group - their words, not mine! I don't believe in censoring books. I was never censored or my reading overseen by an adult. Because the reality is, kids will not read something that they feel is too "old" for them. Although the teens in my reading group have really enjoyed some of the books, they have also put down books that they felt were a bit too much for them. It's great that they tried them and I know that they will come back to some of them when they're a little older.

The majority of the kids in the group are aged 13, so they are young teenagers, going from middle grade to teen. Young adult books are a little beyond them at the moment, again this is coming from the kids themselves.

They like all genres and are happy to try any book that I suggest. I'd love to be able to compile a long list of books that have a broader appeal for that particular age group. I do have a list, but I know it can be better, so I'm asking for suggestions and recommendations in the comments section please.

Calling Teen Readers by Savita Kalhan

After attending a few meetings fighting library cuts in Barnet, I decided to get involved in my local library in a small way. Finchley Church End Library had no teen reading group, so with the help of the head librarian, the wonderful Steve Saunders, I decided to try and set one up. Flyers were sent round to all the local schools, and we were hopeful that it would attract a few kids.

Last week we had our first meeting. I went prepared and armed with lists of books. The librarian had reserved books from the Carnegie shortlist for me, so that the teens could have a look at each book before deciding which one they wanted to read and discuss first.

I got to the library early and set up the table. And then I waited. Ten minutes into the time, no one had arrived and I began to wonder whether there would in fact be no reading group because there was just no interest.

And then four kids arrived! And they were all into books and reading and excited to share what they liked and what they didn’t, what they had read over the last year and what they wanted to read. There were three girls and one boy, and all of them said they had friends who would love to join and could they let them know so they could come next time.

Of course I said yes, happily.

The kids decided that they did want to unofficially shadow the Carnegie and the book they voted to read first was When Mr. Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan (I think the swear words in the book only played a small part in that choice!). Our next session will be discussing the book and the issues it raises. The kids hadn’t heard of either Tourette’s or Asperger’s, so we’ll be talking about both of those conditions.

They have also decided that next they want to read Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan, and then next Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman.

 

Hopefully, from these small beginnings the teen book club will grow and thrive, and I’m looking forward to sharing with them the many amazing teen books that are out there.

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