Encountering Enchantment

Book excerpt: The most current and complete guide to a favorite teen genre, this book maps current releases along with perennial favorites, describing and categorizing fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction titles published since 2006. Speculative fiction continues to be of consuming interest to teens, so if you work with that age group, keeping up with the explosion of new titles in this category is critical. Likewise, understanding the many genres and subgenres into which these titles fall—wizard fantasy, alternate worlds, fantasy mystery, dystopian fiction, science fantasy, and more—is also key if you want to motivate young readers and direct them to books they'll enjoy. Written to help you master a complex array of genres and titles, this guide includes more than 1,500 books, most published since 2006, organizing them by genre, subgenre, and theme. Subgenres growing in popularity such as "steampunk" are highlighted to keep you current with the latest trends. The guide will serve three audiences. Of course, you can turn to it as you help your teenage patrons select the books and genres that will interest them most. Teen readers, whether devoted fans or newcomers, can use it themselves to find titles and subgenres they might like. In addition, the guide will help teachers and parents match students with the right books.