aprilhenry ([info]aprilhenry) wrote,
@ 2008-03-14 07:22:00
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Uh-oh, my kid’s in trouble
A study, reported in Newsweek, “looked at six best-selling novels from the "Gossip Girl," "A-List" and "Clique" series, and found that brand names appeared an average of more than once per page: 1,553 references in all. Among them were 65 allusions to brand-name alcohols, cigarettes or prescription drugs. The brand names helped drive plotlines and define characters, says Johnson, who also noticed a degree of snobbery at work: almost all 22 references to Keds served to label the girl wearing them a loser. Other lessons: don't wear Target bikinis; do wear Chanel.”

Read more here.

I mentioned this to my daughter and a half, and they said a lot of kids in their middle school read these books. Luckily for me, they sounded disdainful.



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All There Is?
[info]cynleitichsmith
2008-03-14 03:04 pm UTC (link)
This is a very valid issue and topic.

However, I am concerned by the article's implication that these are *the* books of today (verses the "Judy Blue tradition" of the past generation of writers) as though there's nothing else out there now and these series are representative.

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Re: All There Is?
[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-14 03:16 pm UTC (link)
Judging from what my daughter and her friend told me, at their middle school these are the books of the day, for a certain type of girl. For the girls in my car, the books were at a level of familiarity I've seen with few other books, except Harry Potter and maybe the Stephanie Meyer books.

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Re: All There Is?
[info]cynleitichsmith
2008-03-14 05:44 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I know they're popular. I just wish the media would do more positive coverage to balance out the negative. I do think, though, that it's a reminder for us--to the extent we each can--to raise awareness of great books. Readergirlz gives me great hope in this regard.

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Re: All There Is?
[info]cynleitichsmith
2008-03-14 05:45 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for such a thought-provoking link!

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Re: All There Is?
[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-14 05:47 pm UTC (link)
In way, the books are all so "branded" themselves that it makes it easier for kids to remember and generalize about them. Whereas the types of books we write and like might be less likely to get short-handed the same way.

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[info]onegrapeshy
2008-03-14 03:39 pm UTC (link)
I can't even read the jacket blurbs.

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[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-14 08:28 pm UTC (link)
It's not me, that's for sure, although if someone offered me a ton of money to write one, I might be name-dropping myself!

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[info]onegrapeshy
2008-03-15 04:45 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I'm with you on that one!!

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[info]kbaccellia
2008-03-14 04:33 pm UTC (link)
Watch out! Another one is coming out soon. FRENEMIES. I'ts similar to THE CLINQUE series but with two middle schoolers who are fashionistas and no longer friends.

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[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-14 06:14 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, the author is my LJ "friend" but I thought they were books for adults.

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[info]kbaccellia
2008-03-14 06:32 pm UTC (link)
No, this is an upcoming book I got to review through HarperCollins first look program this month.

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[info]kbaccellia
2008-03-14 04:37 pm UTC (link)
I'm sure the same audience who loved GOSSIP GIRLS will like the upcoming FRENEMIES book. I did notice that it's from ALLOY PRODUCTIONS--the same packaging company that did GOSSIP GIRLS, TRAVELING PANTS, to name a few.

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[info]janajoh
2008-03-14 06:45 pm UTC (link)
I just don't like those books. Snarkyness, perhaps, a world with which I cannot identify -- not even while in high school -- ugh.

They're popular, yes, but there are SO many other good YA books out there. Judy Blume was all we had back in the day, ya know!

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[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-14 06:49 pm UTC (link)
My kid hates any books about cliques. Maybe she is just really lucky, but there really don't seem to be any "in" groups at her middle school.

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[info]parkerpeevy
2008-03-15 04:14 am UTC (link)
Not just brand names but brand name DRUGS and ALCOHOL? Are these books seriously for middle schoolers? That's crazy.

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[info]aprilhenry
2008-03-15 01:59 pm UTC (link)
I think the average age of YA readers is 12. I think the kids in these stories are 17 or so. They aren't marketed to middleschoolers per se, but in truth a lot of their readership is there. I think by the time most kids are 17 or 18 they are reading adult books. My 12 year old has already read several books marketed to adults, including, oddly enough Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

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