Dec 28 2008
Young Adult Librarian Needs Help/Book of the Week
I just started work at a fabulous library as a young adult librarian. I’ve taken a young adult librarianship class and have experience dealing with teens in a library and a lot of experience with YA books. However, I’m new to YA programming and would love any suggestions on how to reach out to teens other than a blog I’m working on and video games to lure them in to the library. Any suggestions are welcome!
On a related note, my book of the week is a great YA novel by Sherman Alexie, the best-selling and critically acclaimed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book is about a Native American boy, Arnold Spirit, Jr, Junior for short. He lives on a poverty-stricken reservation and is often teased for having seizures, a stutter, and other health problems. He languishes at his school with 30-year-old textbooks until he decides to go to an all-white school where he can get a better education. Junior then has to deal with the culture shock of being the only Indian at the school and the scorn of the people on ”the rez” who think that he’s betraying his Native heritage. Any minority that’s been the only one of their race at school can relate, as can any minority that was called ”acting white” for being smart. Junior’s struggle to be himself and find his way in a confusing world is a story that wil resonate with any teen and adult.
