Reviewing the Book Reviewers: Professional Journals vs. Bloggers

For my teen lit class, we are required to write a paper comparing professional book reviews (such as those printed in professional review journals such as School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus) to "amateur" reviews (such as bloggers and commenters on websites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble).  In order to achieve this, I sought out a total of ten reviews for the books Every Day by David Levithan and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater--three professional reviews and two amateur reviews for each title.

Here are the highlights from my findings:

•  Professional book reviewers must be concise--they have space to worry about, as they often share the page with other books (and other reviewers).  Bloggers do not necessarily have such restraints (unless they purposely choose a word limit).
• Bloggers get much more personal with their audience--they may share personal anecdotes, or outright "fangirl" over the book they are reviewing.
• Book bloggers may borrow the book's summary from another source (such as Goodreads or the book jacket) and post that at the front of their review, rather than re-writing their own summary--by letting someone else summarize it for them, they can jump right into the review.  This differs from the professionals in that they (the professional reviews) are primarily focused on summary.
• Posting or publishing a book review before the book's release does not seem to be absolutely necessary for either type of reviewer, but submitting the review amid the book's release (say, within a 2-3 month window) is very common.
• While professional reviews seem very formulaic (and particularly strict with language), book bloggers have various review styles and rating systems that they apply when reviewing a book.

When searching for my blog reviews, I came across some great sites--old favorites and some new ones, too!  Please check out these bloggers to get some great recommendations.

• Forever Young Adult (Every Day review here)
• Pretty Books (Every Day review here)
• Pirate Penguin's Reads (The Raven Boys review here)
• Bookishly Yours (The Raven Boys review here)

Fan Fiction and Readers

Collins, Tara. "Filling in the gaps: What is happening in the world of fan fiction." Library Media Connection 24, no 4 (2006): 36-38.

For readers looking to continue the experience of reading a favorite or particularly gripping story, they may turn to fan fiction writing.  Those who are not quite ready to leave Hogwarts or Middle Earth, or feel that some characters simply have more to say, can use fan fiction writing as a creative outlet in order to remain close with the characters and worlds they have come to know and love.  Tara Collins invites 80 decidedly "popular" fan fiction authors whose content is hosted on fanfiction.net to participate in a survey about their writing: their preferred characters, settings, and opinions on why readers are drawn to their re-imagined (and expanded) stories and characters.  She shares the results of her 30 responses in her article, Filling in the Gaps: What is Happening in the World of Fan Fiction (2006).  Much of her focus is spent on the preferences of writers' character choices, meaning, their reasoning behind choosing one character over another to lead their story(-ies).

Rather than consistently, habitually choosing the previously designated "main character" from the original works, fan fiction writers have been known to select minor characters to be the face of their creations.  Instead of having Harry be the star of a Harry Potter series fanfic, fan fiction writers may elect to tell the story from a smaller-scale character's perspective.  This is due to various factors, including the desire to be more creative with a less (officially, or "canon-wise") fleshed-out character, or even the fear of offending readers with a new (and possibly inaccurate) interpretation of a much-beloved character.  A respondent of Collins's survey confirms this with her use of a minor character in the Lord of the Rings universe, in that "[he] is a minor character but with fan fiction you can extend this.  There is little we know about [him] and because of this you can let your imagination as an author run free without going against what Tolkien wrote."  By choosing to write about minor characters and their adventures, one has less of a chance of either offending other fans of the original story, or tainting the history that has already been established.  They are allowed a creative experience without detriment to the series they know and love.

Collins's findings represent a small window into the world of fan fiction, yet presents stimulating and interesting information, unveiling the secret inner-workings of fan fiction authors' minds.  Each reader takes away something different from the stories they read, and they may choose to apply those feelings and discoveries in different ways to share that love with others.

Like this, like me, like my view.

Media and marketing companies have had their eyes on teens for ages in the hopes of securing some of the most profitable audiences in existence.  With their constantly changing interests, it is incredibly important for media and marketing companies to study the young adult population and make sure they’re always on top of the latest trends.  Teens can fall in love with shows, books, music, and products, but they are a trick audience to secure a hold on.  But for the last thirteen years, the message remains the same: the media needs to market to teens, and they will do whatever they can to stay relevant.  However, they also want to market with teens, whether the teens realize it or not, and certainly do so even without their explicit consent.  In Merchants of Cool (2001), we see teens and their families pay thousands of dollars for the opportunity to network with and perform in front of marketing professionals and media agents, hoping to secure contracts and a head start in the industry.  These teens are voluntarily coming forward to be used to promote and perform whatever the media is pushing. 

The media has always targeted young adults as perhaps their most promising customers, and although this view has remained unchanged since Merchants of Cool, they now hone in on these teens in different ways.  Teens are now much more active participants in marketing campaigns for their favorite movies, books, and products, thanks to the advancement of the Internet and the popularity of social media sites.  The media, much like the teens they so desperately want to connect with, has had to mold and adapt to the new technology available.  If the teens are frequenting social media sites, then you will certainly find media and marketing giants parading the likes of Facebook and Twitter, among others.  Generation Like (2014) emphasizes the necessity to reach out to teens via these online services, yet drives home the point that it is hardly the only goal.  When companies reach out to teens, they are not just trying to sell them something, but are in fact trying to get the teens to sell for them.  Liking, sharing, and otherwise talking about products and pop culture are all benefiting the media and marketing world, and the teens hardly feel exploited or otherwise overworked.  Merchants of Cool shows a side of the media that is desperately curious about teens, and the measures they to find them, while Generation Like reveals that they have finally come willingly.

These documentaries further emphasize teens’ desire to share with the world, whether it is through in-person interaction, or through social media in exchange for likes and Internet popularity.  My interviewees are all over social media, promoting the books and shows they love, much like the featured teens of the documentaries.  Trends in the teen universe are spreading like wildfire, and this is certainly not going unnoticed by the teens themselves.  My interviewees were enthusiastic and even excited about endorsements, and cannot wait to start talking about how the things they love are being received by the rest of the world.  As with the teens of Generation Like, they feel gratified when they can spread their love of books and other media, and whether they realize how much they are being exploited or not, they continue pursuing a life rich in likes and shares, hoping that their voices are heard.