Now I want chocolate :(
Say you walk into a bakery.
"I want to buy something for my friend. I think she likes chocolate."
Really? Milk, dark, or white chocolate? Cookies or cakes or something else? Does she like strawberry? Is she allergic to nuts? Oh, you don't know any of that? Well, that's going to make it a little harder to find her the perfect treat, now isn't it?
And that is why walking into a bookstore or library and saying "I want a book for a [age] [gender]" is a terrible thing to do. People seem to think that books are one-size-fits-all, and they're NOT. No book is, and no good book especially. What's their reading level? (Not "my child is exceptionally bright" or "my child read Harry Potter/Twilight!"; what is their ACTUAL LEVEL separate from CULTURAL PHENOMENA?) What do they enjoy doing? What are some books they've enjoyed? People view buying books like buying a gift card, where one thing fits all as long as they're lumped into general categories. Really, it's a lot more like buying a bra for someone. It's personal. If you don't know what size or color or material or cut you're looking for, you're probably not going to find the right thing.
And that is why Kirkus closing down is terrible, especially for people who love children's and young adult books. It's not just that it puts a strain on some of my friends, who have worked for them and loved it, or that they're one of the most consistently smart reviewing communities I've seen. It's that no one can read all the books (trust me, I've tried) and most journals just spotlight what they love. Kirkus wasn't mean, but it's usually blunt, and what it provides more than anything is the power to NOT recommend something. Everyone can recommend books, but if you recommend everything there's no value in the recommendation. The ability to say "Honestly, this book would not be [good for this particular reader/good for any reader] because X" is one of the most important things in giving suggestions, and I am guessing most people don't have the time or inclination to spend hours on different blogs, trying to find reviews of less-popular books that would help them give advice.
I haven't read a ton of new novels lately. But the ones I have read (Candor by Pam Bachorz; The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger, Dawn by Kevin Brooks- in my defense, I did not BUY any of them), Kirkus reviews are the ones that most closely resembled my reaction as a reader, and that in turn makes me much more likely to use what I've read in Kirkus to suggest books to others and to choose books on my own.
So I'm sad about Kirkus closing because I am a friend, because I am a critic, because I am a reader, because I am a writer, because I have limited time in which to read all the books, and because- most importantly- I love children's and young adult lit.
"I want to buy something for my friend. I think she likes chocolate."
Really? Milk, dark, or white chocolate? Cookies or cakes or something else? Does she like strawberry? Is she allergic to nuts? Oh, you don't know any of that? Well, that's going to make it a little harder to find her the perfect treat, now isn't it?
And that is why walking into a bookstore or library and saying "I want a book for a [age] [gender]" is a terrible thing to do. People seem to think that books are one-size-fits-all, and they're NOT. No book is, and no good book especially. What's their reading level? (Not "my child is exceptionally bright" or "my child read Harry Potter/Twilight!"; what is their ACTUAL LEVEL separate from CULTURAL PHENOMENA?) What do they enjoy doing? What are some books they've enjoyed? People view buying books like buying a gift card, where one thing fits all as long as they're lumped into general categories. Really, it's a lot more like buying a bra for someone. It's personal. If you don't know what size or color or material or cut you're looking for, you're probably not going to find the right thing.
And that is why Kirkus closing down is terrible, especially for people who love children's and young adult books. It's not just that it puts a strain on some of my friends, who have worked for them and loved it, or that they're one of the most consistently smart reviewing communities I've seen. It's that no one can read all the books (trust me, I've tried) and most journals just spotlight what they love. Kirkus wasn't mean, but it's usually blunt, and what it provides more than anything is the power to NOT recommend something. Everyone can recommend books, but if you recommend everything there's no value in the recommendation. The ability to say "Honestly, this book would not be [good for this particular reader/good for any reader] because X" is one of the most important things in giving suggestions, and I am guessing most people don't have the time or inclination to spend hours on different blogs, trying to find reviews of less-popular books that would help them give advice.
I haven't read a ton of new novels lately. But the ones I have read (Candor by Pam Bachorz; The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger, Dawn by Kevin Brooks- in my defense, I did not BUY any of them), Kirkus reviews are the ones that most closely resembled my reaction as a reader, and that in turn makes me much more likely to use what I've read in Kirkus to suggest books to others and to choose books on my own.
So I'm sad about Kirkus closing because I am a friend, because I am a critic, because I am a reader, because I am a writer, because I have limited time in which to read all the books, and because- most importantly- I love children's and young adult lit.