Text Messages: Recommendations for Adolescent Readers

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Episode 7 — Making Sense of Series Books in Young Adult Literature

Series books provide a particular kind of reading enjoyment for teens. But with so many popular series to choose from, readers may not know how to find quality stories amidst the great number of commercial products available. This episode offers insight into the different kinds of series books out there, followed by recommendations of truly memorable series and companion books that will hook teen readers and stand the test of time.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or book seller.

Recommendations in this episode include

Series Books

• The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Co., 2005 - 2008)
  
• The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse, 2005 - 2007)
  
• The Tomorrow When the War Began Series (Scholastic, 1995 - 2002) and The Ellie Chronicles (Scholastic, 2007 - 2009) by John Marsden
• The Larry Books by Janet Tashjian (Holt, 2001 - 2008)
• The Gingerbread Books by Rachel Cohn (Simon & Schuster, 2002 - 2007)
• The Weetzie Bat Books (also known as Dangerous Angels) by Francesca Lia Block (HarperCollins, 1989 - 1995)
  

Companion Books

• Hard Love and Love and Lies by Ellen Wittlinger (Simon & Schuster, 1999 and 2008)
  
• Tyrell and Kendra by Coe Booth (Scholastic, 2007 and 2008)
  
• Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt, 2006 and 2008)
  
• Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak (Arthur A. Levine, 2001 and 2003)

Published September 29, 2008

About the Host

Jennifer Buehler taught English for ten years before entering a doctoral program in English Education at the University of Michigan. As a high school teacher, she developed an extensive classroom library to engage and inspire her ninth graders as readers. Watching her students select reading materials led Jennifer to expand her own reading accordingly, allowing her to match books successfully with teens’ wide-ranging tastes and interests.

While teaching high school, Jennifer earned a master’s degree in children's literature at Eastern Michigan University.  During that time she learned to conduct classroom research with the help of a teacher-research group.  As a result of this research, she developed a handbook for parents that shared insights about the growth and development of her students as readers.

An avid reader of books for teens, Jennifer now shares her knowledge of young adult literature in professional development workshops with area teachers and in university classes with future teachers. She is also an active member of NCTE's Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN).