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Tuesday, June 03, 2003

By Bob Hoover, Post-Gazette Book Editor

Book covers with bare legs, bikini tops, shiny leather handbags -- no, it's not "Sex in the City" but "Gossip Girl," one of the new, definitely grown-up series of novels for the 12-to-18 crowd.

Good reads for teenagers Here are book editor Stephanie Zvirin’s suggestions of good reads for teens: True Confessions of a Heartless Girl” by Martha Brooks “Lucas” by Kevin Brooks “The True Meaning of Cleavage” by Mariah Fredericks “Close to Shore” by Michael Capuzzo “Jack: The Early Years of John F. Kennedy” by Ilene Cooper “Cuba 15” by Nancy Osa “Fat Kid Rules the World” by K.L. Going Related stories Excerpts from ‘Young Adult’ books These books and tapes for kids can produce hours of summer enjoyment

Books that look like adult ones, and sound like them, too, are the route publishers are following these days to attract teenage readers.

Called the "Young Adult" market, the field was considered all but dead five years ago, but has been revitalized with an edgier tone.

"It's come back in a big way," said Amy Kellman, longtime head of the children's books department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. "It's always been hard to attract teen readers, but there seems to be more interest lately."

Scholastic Books' Craig Walker agrees.

"Early teens, especially, are sticking with reading today after they get into high school," he said. "I think it's that little baby boom of a few years ago that's brought us more readers."

Walker, whose company is the American publisher of the "Harry Potter" series, points to the success of Scholastic's new paperback series, "Three Girls in the City," as an example of what is drawing in teens.

"It's about living in New York after 9/11 and what life is like there now. Years ago, fiction for teens was never about contemporary events, but now kids are very aware of the present. They watch reality TV, cable TV news. They know what's going on," Walker said.

They're also more aware of sex, he suggested.

"Books for teens are sexier now, like the 'Gossip Girls' or 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,'" said Walker, citing series by rival publishers. "These are the sorts of titles that are driving the Young Adult market."

"It was hard to find a book 10 years ago that appealed to 16-year-olds," said Stephanie Zvirin, editor of the books for youth segment of Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association. "Back then, numerous people predicted that the Young Adult market was all but gone. It's been an amazing transition."

She cited three reasons for the comeback:

"Editors love to work on Young Adult fiction because there's more meat to the stories. This has encouraged more writers to try them."

"There was more money in publishing four or five years ago, so the publishers were willing to experiment a bit and start new series."

"The establishment of the Prince Award for Young Adult fiction by the ALA." That prize, named for Michael Prince, a Kansas librarian who was an enthusiastic supporter of books for teens, is the first award to recognize the Young Adult genre, thus attracting the development of more books.

Zvirin pointed out that adult authors such as Isabel Allende ("City of the Beasts") and Francine Prose ("After") have recently published Young Adult books, adding luster to the field. Michael Chabon ("Summerland") and Carl Hiaasen ("Hoot") are among other "grown-up" writers who have entered the field.

Bob Hoover can be reached at bhoover@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1634.