How to Read the Reviews

You can click on "The Reviews" menu to view a table of contents for the guide. Each review is intended to provide clear and accurate information about the mature and controversial content your teen will encounter. The reviews are also designed to be primarily objective, so that they may be useful to people of all faiths and ideologies. The books are chosen by the reviewers according to personal taste; however, all reviews adhere to the following criteria:

• They have been published specifically for teens/young adults, or they are middle-grade books that feature protagonists who are at least 13 or in 7th grade for much of the story.
• They are not published by religious houses (with rare exceptions).  This is because religious houses typically keep their offerings clean enough to suit most parents.
• They may be fiction or non-fiction but must be narratives.
  
• They are not obviously the kind of book that concerned parents would generally avoid, such as slash-and-gash horror.  The aim of this website is to expose books that are not easily judged by their covers.
• A note about series novels:  Whether or not a novel in a series is part of an ongoing story or is self-contained, reviewers may not be able to review the whole series.  Be aware that a "clean" first book in a series does not ensure that the rest of the books in that series will be just as clean.  Twilight, by Stefenie Meyers, is a good example of this. 

All reviews will address the following content:  core themes, non-medicinal drug and alcohol usage, religion and occult, romance and sexuality, violence and abuse, and vulgar/profane oral and body language. In addition, each review will rate the book's "literary artistry."  This refers to the reviewer's opinion of the writing quality, not to how well the reviewer liked the book. For example, I detest the story told in Philip Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials, for several reasons; however, I would have to give it five stars for exceptional craftsmanship and artistry.  This rating is to assist the reviewer in keeping the review objective and to acknowledge craftsmanship for those parents who are concerned more about quality than content.

Reviews may take two formats. They may either follow a detailed template in which specific content is addressed, or they may be written as a short essay in which the reviewer discusses the content. At the end of each review for both formats reviewers offer a general recommendation for or against the book. Please note that when reviewers state that they would recommend a book, it does not necessarily mean that they found nothing of concern in it. They are instead considering the book as a whole in light of the diverse interests and values of teens, as well as their general level of maturity. Finally, I include the author's website or page for each review, so that readers may easily find more information about the authors and their books.