Earlier this year, I was advised that Ruby, Between the Cracks was “being considered for the In the Margins: Best Books for Teens list.” I bundled up copies to send off to the committee members. Yesterday, I got another e-mail which indicated Ruby had made it to the next stage:
Ruby has been nominated for the In the Margins selection list. This means that one or more committee members read it and thought it was outstanding for our charge, which is to seek out and highlight fiction and non-fiction titles (PreK through adult) of high-interest appeal to youth, ages 9-21, that reflect marginalized and/or street culture with a preference for marginalized books (books that are self-published or from small independent publishers) and/or we have received positive teen feedback on your title.
The nominated titles list will be on the Library Services for Youth in Custody website permanently.
I am honored and I’m very excited to see how far Ruby can go in this process. Ruby certainly meets the criteria of dealing with issues such as “street life, marginalized populations, crime, justice, war, violence, abuse, addiction, etc.”
Here is some more information about the In the Margins list:
In the Margins Committee
What is it? A group of Librarians under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody seeking out and highlighting books: preschool through adult fiction and non-fiction titles of high-interest appeal to boys or girls, ages 9 -18 who may fit into one or all of the following categories:
•multicultural (primarily African American and Latino)
• living in poverty, on the streets, in restrictive custody or all three
• reluctant readers
The books: The committee will select and review the best books of the year, specifically for the population listed above. Titles of interest may be unusual, possibly unreviewed, have multicultural characters, dealing with difficult situations including (but not limited to) street life, marginalized populations, crime, justice, war, violence, abuse, addiction, etc.
Related articles across the web
TEEN READ WEEK: A brief history of young adult literature
At-Risk Youth and Oregon (by Derek Hines)
Where’s the ‘Mexican Katniss’?
War on Children: Thanks to Media, One in Every Three US School Kids Will be Arrested by 23
DCF unresponsive to calls about older youths, organizations say
