A young adult, middle grade, and classic book blog! Twitter account run by Briana: Tolkien, Doctor Who, medieval lit fan.
Joined October 2012
- Tweets 32,172
- Following 923
- Followers 1,286
- Likes 17,449
1,726 Photos and videos
Jun 12
I started Under the Whispering Door, and it seems like they're having a Catholic service for a character who is not Catholic, and the service is not what would happen at a Catholic funeral service. It's a bit vague with "church" and "priest" but strong implications it's Catholic.
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Jun 12
It's throwing me off mainly because it doesn't seem researched, and I'm not clear why the service is even in a church vs. a funeral home since it seems irrelevant to anything happening. The vibes/atmosphere?
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Pages Unbound retweeted
Jun 10
Was There a Recent Past Where "Everyone" Read and Loved the Classics? pagesunbound.wordpress.com/2…
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Jun 10
I think teens can understand things fine even if it's not how an adult would. But that is in terms of themes. In terms of pure historical context, I know someone who taught P&P to college students recently, and they were baffled by all the historical things like characters' jobs.
Jun 9
Jane Austen esp is incomprehensible to teenagers
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Jun 10
The problem is that this is a skill that needs to be taught but gets old if you're a young kid who is good at it and doesn't need the repetitive practice. Also the books picked do all seem to have the same message like "be a good friend." At least in my experience.
Possibility: maybe making elementary-age kids keep reading journals in which they have to answer the same tedious questions (What do you predict will happen next? How did these actions make you feel? What do you think the main character is thinking?) night after night after night is part of the problem.
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Jun 10
Going to start an account where I just post sensationalist things that aren't true at all like, "OMG did you know schools don't even HAVE books at all these days? Kids graduate from eighth grade never having seen a book! Save school libraries!" so I can start racking up likes.
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Pages Unbound retweeted
This weeks Fantasy with Friends asks whether we prefer Stand-alones or series, and little miss indecisive over here obviously had to say both! crooksbooks.blog/2026/06/08/…
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Jun 10
I lost the post but saw someone talking about how they probably became a reader because their parents barely let them leave the house, and I had the same experience. Home all summer and you don't go anywhere and you aren't in any sports/activities. I read a lot.
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Jun 10
I'm not sure I've even seen someone say WHY they are so certain it's "for kids." Mostly they seem to be implying that all fantasy is for kids, or it's not gritty enough to be "for adults," or there's not enough sex. But none of that holds up as a definition of "book for kids."
Jun 10
I saw a bunch of people posting about how The Lord of the Rings is for little kids and not that good, and I had to x out of that fast before I started replying. 🤣
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Jun 10
Criticisms that books without sex are kid books are interesting intersecting with current criticism lobbed at spicy romantasy. No sex=kid book. Too much=trash. I guess people must have a rubric that says exactly how much sex must be in a book for it to be "good" AND "for adults."
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Jun 10
I saw a bunch of people posting about how The Lord of the Rings is for little kids and not that good, and I had to x out of that fast before I started replying. 🤣
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The percentage of kids reading for fun is definitely down, and I agree it's a problem, but there also wasn't this idyllic past where everyone loved to read bc there was no Internet.
My dad is clear that as a child before screens he didn't read. He just played outside a lot.
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Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic by Tabitha Stanmore pagesunbound.wordpress.com/2… via @pagesunbound
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A lot of people blaming phones seem not to know what age range middle grade is for. I am sure it happens, but the vast majority of kids I know under 12 do not have a phone.
Been feeling bleak for the past week after I read an essay saying the market for middle-grade books has collapsed because kids can no longer read them. Two long-time publishers of middle-grades have shuttered, with more to come. We don’t appreciate what a crisis this is.
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One study suggests 28% of kids 9-10 have phones. A high percentage, I think, but it still means most of them do not have a phone.
forbes.com/sites/ninashapiro…
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Also wondering if this number will decrease in the coming years, as there seems to be a movement toward less screentime for kids, with parents asking for Chromebooks to be banned from classrooms, etc.
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