Earlier this week, I asked my Facebook friends (most of whom are moms and grandmoms) how they selected books to purchase for their teens. Their responses varied, but most replied that they liked to read online reviews.
What a coincidence. Last Saturday, the Storyteller Squad, of which I’m a founding member, gathered on a video call to discuss how we could help moms of reluctant readers. This Christian group of a dozen writers of middle grade and young adult books brainstormed ideas until we landed on three.
The first is to list all our book review blogs on one page to make it easy for book purchasers to find links to honest reviews of middle grade and young adult clean reads. Often, we’re frustrated to Google a title and discover online reviews that are no more than cut-and-pastes of the back cover summaries. Trust me. Our reviews are in-depth.
Our new Book Reviews page features links to commentary on fiction penned by well-established authors like Margaret Peterson Haddix and Lisa T. Bergren, reviews of teacher-recommended classics, and feedback on debut novels. I’d never heard of many of the authors before reading my writing partners’ reviews.
Below are the details of my informal poll about purchasing books for teens. Where do you fall?
How do you buy books for teens?
| Online reviews | 49% |
| Ask the teen | 31% |
| Back cover summary | 10% |
| Front cover | 5% |
| Referrals | 3% |
| Ebook availability | 2% |
I’ll elaborate on our other Storyteller Squad ideas in future blogs. In the meantime, please check out our new Book Review page and comment below with your opinion. Is the format user friendly? Did you find the content helpful? Anything we can do better?