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A review by samstillreading
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Growing up, I read a lot of series books. The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Kids/Twins/High/University, The Gymnasts, Pen Pals…as well as The Secret Seven, Famous Five and a bit of Nancy Drew. I didn’t realise that series were such a huge thing of the 1980s and 1990s YA scene but I do remember the criticism that these weren’t ‘real books’. Well, I grew up and I think my reviews prove that I read a variety of books, ‘real’ or otherwise!
Paperback Crush is a look back at those series, some more well known than others. (Some series I don’t think we even got in Australia). It’s divided up into themes of love, friendship, horror, family, jobs and ‘serious issues’ (e.g. illness, divorce). It’s a review of the series that existed, with some critique of how things look a bit outlandish or silly through an adult, modern lens. (Yes, Sweet Valley was wild. Would we want it any other way? No.) There are also interviews with authors of the novels/series and looking at how the issues discussed in the novels reflected the time period (e.g. Roe vs Wade, HIV/AIDS). I bought this for the nostalgia and found out some new things about series I’d enjoyed all the way – like how many books ended up being in the series (you just never knew in those pre-internet days – the books just stopped appearing in store and the Scholastic book club catalogues). It also reminded me of the days of browsing through catalogues for books and that you could get a solid read for $5 from book club, book shops and even the newsagent!
I enjoyed the sections about series I knew and loved the most (how very predictable). But it was still interesting to read about series I’d seen but not tried (I wasn’t interested in the Sweet Dreams books because they weren’t really a series and those covers looked just as lame then as now). The horror/terror sections didn’t interest me that much (I had read some but really, I just found those too scary) but I did enjoy reading about how the novels were structured. It was a good insight into the series I enjoyed (and how they’ve all but disappeared from the shelves now – with the exception of The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels). I wish that there had been a concluding chapter though – it all seemed to end too suddenly. Bonus points for all the great covers though!
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Paperback Crush is a look back at those series, some more well known than others. (Some series I don’t think we even got in Australia). It’s divided up into themes of love, friendship, horror, family, jobs and ‘serious issues’ (e.g. illness, divorce). It’s a review of the series that existed, with some critique of how things look a bit outlandish or silly through an adult, modern lens. (Yes, Sweet Valley was wild. Would we want it any other way? No.) There are also interviews with authors of the novels/series and looking at how the issues discussed in the novels reflected the time period (e.g. Roe vs Wade, HIV/AIDS). I bought this for the nostalgia and found out some new things about series I’d enjoyed all the way – like how many books ended up being in the series (you just never knew in those pre-internet days – the books just stopped appearing in store and the Scholastic book club catalogues). It also reminded me of the days of browsing through catalogues for books and that you could get a solid read for $5 from book club, book shops and even the newsagent!
I enjoyed the sections about series I knew and loved the most (how very predictable). But it was still interesting to read about series I’d seen but not tried (I wasn’t interested in the Sweet Dreams books because they weren’t really a series and those covers looked just as lame then as now). The horror/terror sections didn’t interest me that much (I had read some but really, I just found those too scary) but I did enjoy reading about how the novels were structured. It was a good insight into the series I enjoyed (and how they’ve all but disappeared from the shelves now – with the exception of The Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels). I wish that there had been a concluding chapter though – it all seemed to end too suddenly. Bonus points for all the great covers though!
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com