Sheila B. Anderson

Extreme Teens is part of the Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young Adult Librarians Series and seeks to fill a blank in young adult services provided in public libraries. Anderson begins with a description of who she considers to be an ‘extreme teen’; the groups she names are a diverse bunch and though she does a good job of touching on each group, some might benefit from a book of their own. For the purposes of practicality, Extreme Teens is full of resources for both materials and programming, as well of citations of libraries and programs that are already providing what Anderson considers to be excellent or innovative services to extreme teens. The layout is confusing, as is the chapter division, and lots of sidebars and informational boxes make for distracting reading. However, once you get past the layout there is a lot of good information in the book for those interested in this aspect of librarianship. Librarians looking to build their collections should be aware that Extreme Teens was published in 2005, and while its book recommendations remain strong, they should also be aware of what other books have been published in the last eight years. GLBTQ YA lit in particular has exploded since then.… (mere)

Many teens don’t fit the mold. How does the library cater to these patrons? This book is very thought-provoking. The reader will find himself realizing certain issues these teens may face that he has never thought of before. For example, how do you check out books to homeless teens when they don't have an address? How do you booktalk to teens in prison, especially when it comes to bringing props? The first section offers extensive information on different issues teens may face, some overt and some less so. The second offers ways to serve such teens. This organization could be better—less confusing may be to include information on one population, how to serve that population, then another population and how to serve them, and so on. Also, the solutions are primarily “get to know the teen,” “don’t make assumptions,” and “here are books for the teens.” It would be better if further innovative programs were included. The information, though, is very extensive, and especially interesting is the inclusion of insider perspectives and quotes from books related to the topic. This is a good book to get librarians thinking about an underserved population, though they may want to do more research afterwards to get the best suggestions for service.… (mere)