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Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading (2009)

by Lizzie Skurnick(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0061756350 (ISBN13: 9780061756351)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Avon Books

review 1: what a great idea - categorizing, listing and remembering the classics books of my generation's youth. the author is uncanny in her selections, and she brings in guest writers to fill in additional book reports. using her lists and book reports, i revisited books i'd read when i was 12, and read new titles as well. i found some books didn't stand the test of time, and others deserved to be shoved into the daughter's arms. i was shocked at some of the content (that must have gone over my head when i was younger) and reassurred that some things don't change: like the politics of girl friendships, the agony of 'does he like me?', and the propensity for young girls to devour paranormal novels.
review 2: Ok, I haven't finished this book yet. It contains reviews of ... more73 books of juvenile and young adult fiction. And I am reading and re-reading books as I go along. But so far I'm not impressed. We begin with a tried and true classic:A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle. I loved this book, the first time I read it and the third time through. And I went eagerly to Lizzie Skurnick's essay about it immediately upon finishing. My hopes for Deep Insights were dashed: Not only was the essay shallow and fluffy, she got her facts wrong! Meg wasn't a hero because she was the only one who could stand up to IT. Meg was a hero because she figured out the secret of the universe: love.From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg. Didn't like the book; didn't care about the review.Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself, by Judy Blume. Loved the book. I'd forgotten what a very good writer Judy Blume is. I fell into the story and was sorry when it ended. The essay? At least the facts were right this time.Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh. It seems that everybody I know read and loved Harriet when they were young. But I didn't love her! I like the premise - girl with notebook tries to figure out the world. But I found Harriet's lack of basic compassion for her subjects off-putting. And all of the characters, with the possible exception of Harriet, read as caricatures: Harriet's wealthy parents, too busy dressing up and going out to bother with her; Janie the brainiac scientist; the neighbors who do nothing but sit and wait for the arrival of new objects with which to impress their acquaintances; the ineffectual teacher, the bossy classmate, the eccentric dance teacher - not a developed character in the bunch. I liked Ole Golly (who doesn't?), but even she wasn't genuinely fleshed out. So Harriet the Spy was a bust for me. And the essay? The author compared Harriet to Scout, from To Kill a Mockingbird! Sacrilege! less

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