Beyond the Pale: New Essays for a New Era
This collection of essays, many of which Aronson delivered as speeches during late 2001 and 2002, covers a wide range of subjects, but still presents a cohesive whole of multiple ideas. The author begins by reprinting his own controversial essay from Horn Book (May/June 2001) on culturally specific book awards (Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpr‚, etc.) and Andrea Davis Pinkney's response, also from Horn Book (September/October 2001). From there, he moves on to discuss the impact of September 11, 2001, on art and history, especially for young people, and discusses the challenges of writing and publishing YA literature, both fiction and nonfiction, with particular attention to the difficulties of reaching male readers, before concluding with an essay in which he unites the ideas previously discussed. This excellent book should be required reading for anyone who cares about young adults and their literature.Ellen A. Greever, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.