To Read or Not to Read? How to Choose Books

We read ahead for you.

We’re passionate about kids’ books, culture, and Christ (although not necessarily in that order), and we value our (small) role in helping parents and educators make wise decisions about books for their children and teens.

Our readers often request us to review a particular book or series. Sometimes, the book in question is a popular one, and parents want to know if the book is a good fit for their particular child. Sometimes, an adult has already read the book in question and wants us to help alert others to its content or message.

But we can’t read everything! Even more pertinent, perhaps: we don’t want to read everything.

Let us pull back the curtain a bit on how we ourselves make decisions about whether to read a book or not. Our hope is to help you, dear reader, begin to do some of the same preliminary research, especially when sources you trust haven’t reviewed the book yet.

Note: I’m not recommending that you view each book suspiciously. We often jump right in to a book without following any of these steps. But with limited time, particularly if something seems “off” at first glance, the following steps can help you make the most of your reading time with and to your children.

Step 1: Who (or What) Recommended the Book?

Where did you hear about this book? Is it a book *everyone* is reading at your child’s school? Did a person you respect recommend it? Did you see an advertisement for it? Did it just win a major award?

Where (or how) I hear about a book determines much of my next course of action: if someone I respect mentions it to me, the book automatically gets bumped up in the queue. If it just won a major award or if it’s the kind of book that generates a lot of buzz or my kids have already checked it out from the library, I’ll certainly begin investigating. If my hair dresser, random Instagram commenter, or some other generic source recommends it, I probably won’t go out of my way to check it out (unless I start hearing it mentioned in more places).

Step 2: Explore the Blurbs and Publisher Summaries

Who has blurbed the book? Anyone you recognize? To what other books is it being compared? Consider this blurb for The Best Liars in Riverview by Lin Thompson:

In the woods of a small Kentucky town, Aubrey sets off on a journey about growing up, self-discovery, and acceptance while searching for their missing best friend—perfect for fans of King and the Dragonflies and Three Times Lucky.

~from publisher provided material on Amazon

Did you catch what I caught? I know nothing about this book or author, but I do know something about King and the Dragonflies (very problematic). And, perhaps even more notably, the pronoun used for Aubrey is “they.” Right away, that tells me that there will be “considerations” (as we call them here at Redeemed Reader) for some gender issues that our audience would want to know about. Thus, I probably won’t go out of my way to read this book unless it wins a major award, starts generating lots of buzz, or people I know (and respect) start telling me how wonderful it is. It’s not because a book with a gender-fluid pronoun can’t be a great book; it’s more a question of my limited time. When I have to choose, I’m always going to prioritize books I think my readers will most enjoy or want to know about.

Here’s another blurb, this time for The City Beautiful, a book I found while browsing my library’s “recent” young adult acquisitions:

But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.

~from the summary on the book’s dust jacket

That’s enough to raise my suspicions on several levels (ghosts, possible sexuality issues), so I looked up the book on amazon, and found plenty of blurbs that leave me in no doubt about this book’s thematic/sexual/gender content.

Those are the easy decisions. What about dust jacket summaries that are a bit more vague? The book could be a real winner, but parts of the description sound vague. Here’s part of the summary of the 13th Wings of Fire book (The Poison Jungle):

There are dark secrets in the jungle, though some that Sundew is keeping, and some that she’s only just beginning to discover. 

~from summary on amazon (linked above)

Those secrets that people are “only just beginning to discover” are often code for gender/sexuality issues, particularly in middle grades books. That would clue me in to do a bit more research. Which leads me to reviews…

Step 3: Skim Reviews

A book like The Poison Jungle (just referenced) has quite a few 5 star reviews, so it looks like everyone loves it. That’s rarely the case, though. Look at the 1 star reviews. It’s immediately obvious that there is, indeed, lesbian content in this book. Thus, I’d need to read no further since I thought the first book wasn’t terribly well written, and I have better things to read than 13+ books in a series that ends up like this.

Reviews can’t tell us the full story, but they often provide insight. If you’ve heard rumors of particular content issues in a book, you can also google that issue with the title of the book and see what pops up!

Assuming I’ve not seen too many red flags so far and/or that the book looks worth reading for my particular audience, my next step is to get the book from the library!

Step 4: Check the Book Out From the Library

Isn’t it wonderful that we can check out copious books from the library for free?! And guess what: you don’t have to read everything you check out. Library checkouts are a great way to test drive books you want to preview. Does the cover art/text draw you in? Warn you? Is that a zombie on the cover now that you see it up close? Perhaps that’s a same sex couple in the background? Does it look old school? You really can judge a book by its cover (to a degree).

Read everything on the cover, inside and out. Skim the author’s bio and author’s acknowledgments (these can be very enlightening). Still intrigued but not quite sure?

Step 5: Read Beginning, Middle, and End

Dive in! Read the first chapter or so. Does the writing pull you in? Are you hooked? Do you want to keep reading? Any potential red flags? Open the book to the middle and read a few pages (this is a good test for possible bad language). Flip to the end and spoil it if you really need to know. We certainly don’t do this for every book, but there are times when I begin a book and start to fear where it’s going. I need to know if it’s going to be a book my audience will want to know about or not. If it’s obviously problematic and not well-written, I’ll put it aside in favor of something better written or more appealing to my audience.

Step 6: Read the Book! (Or … return it to the library)

Enjoy your new discovery!

Or, return it to the library. No harm done, and no money lost!

Don’t Overthink It

We certainly don’t follow each of these steps for every book we pick up and read. Sometimes, a friend recommends a book to us, and we dive right in. Other times, a familiar author has a new book coming out, so we put it on hold at the library immediately (you can put books on hold even before their release date if the book has been pre-ordered by the library; then it will be ready for you on/near the release date! #protip). We often pick up books based on attractive covers, random rumors, or other vague nudges. It’s not a perfect science.

Above all, trust your gut and don’t be afraid to quit part-way through a book. If the first chapters are dull, silly, or just plain poorly written, then who cares what the content might be. I’m going to put the book aside for better fare, even if the content was perfectly “safe.” I’m not after perfectly safe books at the expense of good writing. Nor am I after “good writing” at the expense of solid content.

A Matter for the Conscience

We hope to help you make wise, discerning choices about what you read with and to your children. We also recognize that a wide gray area exists between the only true “must read” (the Bible), and the truly awful reads (such as outright pornography and the like). Respect how the Lord leads you, even if it means your standards seem too conservative to some of your friends. Guess what? Others will think your standards aren’t conservative enough! Get in God’s Word, pray for your children and students, and trust the Lord.

A Final Note for Parents of Older Children/Teens

Part of our job as parents is to raise our children to, guess what, be adults and leave home. That means that we have to let them make decisions while they’re still in our homes, and then help them navigate the consequences of those decisions. Talking about the books you read from the very beginning will help greatly when your teens start bringing home books you’ve never heard of. Parents, please do not require your teens to only read books you’ve already read. Know your children, pray for your children, and talk with your children. Help your children think through guidelines for what they read and then let them practice making those decisions! We try to give you talking points or a heads up on books for teens not so much that you approve them first but so that you will know how to talk about a particular title if your teen does pick it up.

My own teens often use Redeemed Reader for recommendations (I trust my colleagues!); my teens sometimes give me recommendations! And, sometimes, my teens will choose not to finish a book. In my daughter’s case, when she was around 12 or 13, she quit reading the Wings of Fire series (which I hadn’t read yet). I asked her about it, and she said the books made her uncomfortable. We ended up having a great discussion abut why (the lesbian content), and I told her I was so proud of her for choosing not to finish a book/series that violated her conscience. The experience was a good one for both of us in the end.

Keep the Suggestions and Requests Coming!

By all means, keep giving us suggestions for books to read! We love it when you tell us that a particular title or series is getting lots of attention at your child’s school, or a book is amazing, or you have concerns. We are committed to reading ahead for you, and we love what we do. But we can’t read everything, and we want to help you make decisions right alongside us.