First sentence from the introduction: Are you an adult with a full-time job who still dreams of switching places with your (nonexistent) identical twin?
First sentence from chapter one: Where there are teens, there are love stories.
Premise/plot: Paperback Crush is a book about books, or, if you prefer a book about reading books. Specifically it is about (paperback) book series published in the 80s and 90s that were geared towards tweens and teens. Moss examines trends and quirks and presents her findings with a little perspective that only time can provide. She addresses books categorically. Chapter one focuses on LOVE. Chapter two focuses on FRIENDS. Chapter three focuses on FAMILY. Chapter four focuses on SCHOOL. Chapter five focuses on JOBS. Chapter six focuses on DANGER. Chapter seven focuses on TERROR.
Each chapter begins with the roots of the genre or sub-genre. Is this a topic or subject that has a long past? (For example, books focusing on family and friends and school). Is this a new topic or subject that has not been openly talked about before? (divorce, abortion, drugs, alcohol, rape, stalking, etc.) How diverse are the books being published? What was the appeal then? Does it still hold appeal now? How long did the series last? Were there copycat series? Did the series have one author or many contributing authors? Each chapter includes many examples--dozens--of books. You can expect to find book covers, synopses, the occasional excerpt, and critique. The critique often addresses issues of realism and sensitivity. Moss never expects series to be realistic exactly. But some are more over-the-top than others! Another fun aspect of critique is when Moss talks book covers!
You might be thinking what are the differences between DANGER and TERROR. In the 'danger' chapter, the focus is on problem/issue novels. Sexual abuse and assault, kidnapping, drug or alcohol abuse, sexual orientation and/or coming out, teen pregnancy, abortion, terminal illness, death. In the 'terror' chapter, think werewolves, vampires, ghosts, suspense, thrillers, murder mysteries, etc. Stalking, I believe, may be mentioned in both chapters.
There are a handful of interviews sprinkled throughout the book.
My thoughts: You could read this book in one of two ways. I could definitely see someone reading it cover to cover. (That's what I did.) But I could also see someone skipping around and reading the chapters out of order. It doesn't lose anything, in my opinion, if you approach it in this way.
The book title suggests the focus is TEENS, but I didn't find that to be totally accurate. A good many of the books were geared towards a younger audience (upper elementary). Still over half the books are geared towards teens.
There were three series that I read growing up: The Gymnasts, The Babysitters Club, and the Sunfire Romance "Name" books. I don't necessarily regret selling the Babysitters Club books. But I very much regret selling The Gymnast series. I would never, ever, ever sell my Sunfire books.
I liked the narrative approach. This one is very visual. So many book covers. It was a treat to read.
© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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