Local Teens Give the Write Opinion

A group of San Leandro teens has been chosen by School Library Journal magazine to write reviews of new young adult books.

The reviews written by these middle and high school students, who are in the San Leandro Public Library’s , will be published in the SLJ Teen e-newsletter during the 2011-2012 school year.

The students meet once a month at the to choose books to review. The books are galleys, or pre-published books, that publishers send directly to the library. The teens’ reviews, which also go directly back to the book publishers, are published in the SLJ Teen e-newsletter.

Club member Leilani Diaz, who wants to be a novelist, said that writing reviews gives her another avenue to be involved with books.

“I get to see more books, learn about different genres and voice my opinion,” Leilani said.

The School Library Journal serves public and school librarians and has been a leading and authoritative reviewer of children’s and young adult books since the 1950s. The SLJ Teen e-newsletter, which began in 2008, specifically addresses all things teen for librarians around the country.

To subscribe to the e-newsletter, visit www.schoollibraryjournal.com, click on “newsletters” and then on “sign up.” Once you are on the newsletter subscription page, click on “SLJ Teen” and provide your e-mail address.

The library is looking for more teens to write reviews. For more information, call Chris Selig at the San Leandro Main Library at 510-577-3957.