Hunt and Hampton talk about teaching teens how to choose the best books, and to not believe everything they read. They then say not to judge a book you haven't read. They never really delve into the fact that, as Christians, especially, we don't have to always read a book to know that it's not worth reading. Often, we can gather enough information from the title, author, ad-copy, table of contents, others' reviews, or maybe a quick skim through it to learn that a book will not bring glory to God and isn't worth our investment.

I was very disappointed to see a book recommended which the authors admit contains "explicitly sexual" content. They claim this pick is for the "most mature" of readers. I would argue that no teenager is the most mature of readers, and that a truly mature reader would be wise enough to abandon books with such content. As Christians, is any book worth reading that offends the Spirit of God in us?

Their answer to inappropriate content of any kind seems to be: "Skip over it." But that doesn't acknowledge the reality that in order to "skip" something while reading, you actually have to read it first, at least in part, in order to know that it needs to be skipped. Like it or not, that information is getting into your mind and we are always influenced by what we take in.

Despite the problems I have with the book, I did still manage to find over 30 books to add to my to-read list, and those will keep me plenty busy. (I only read the recommendations for Late Teens; there were others for Early- and Mid-Teens, and All Ages.)

Note: The authors give spoilers for some books, which is frustrating. ( )