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Adult Books 4 Teens
Inside Adult Books 4 Teens

How to Mellify a Corpse

Vicki León writes for both young adult and adult audiences, and is best known for her humorous Uppity Women and Outrageous Women series.  Her latest adult title is sure to please history and science readers of all ages who enjoy their nonfiction in short bites. A great title and colorful cover add to the appeal.

LEÓN, Vicki. How to Mellify a Corpse: And Other Human Stories of Ancient Science and Superstition. 308p. Walker. July 2010. Tr $17. ISBN 978-0-8027-1702-3. LC 2009044773.  How to Mellify a Corpse e1293387693730 How to Mellify a Corpse

Adult/High School–In breezy, studiously unserious, and extraordinarily teen-friendly prose, León alternately marvels at and gently ridicules the ancient denizens of the Mediterranean for their knowledge (or lack thereof) of the physical world. Of her 87 very loosely organized and seemingly randomly selected vignettes, some take on the construction of the Coliseum and are superb pieces of short-form. But most offer a more glancing, tangent-laden appreciation of their subjects, ranging from profound mysteries of the world to relatively minor factoids. One of her more compelling narrative techniques (one that effectively exonerates her more snarky comments about ancient ignorance) is her penchant for linking ancient superstitions and misunderstandings to modern ones–our ongoing love affair with poisonous lead products and astrology, as two examples. A more scholarly author might wish for a rigorous organization by subject matter or chronology. Such a structure would almost certainly add coherence and unity to the text, but it would also dampen the essential charm of a collection called How to Mellify a Corpse–a charm that speaks to its potential teen appeal. Encouraging serendipitous discovery over academic study, the collection presents teens with a fun, funny, eminently browsable account of the eccentricities of a culture too often encountered by teens only in stuffy textbooks.– Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA

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Angela Carstensen About Angela Carstensen

Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian and an Upper School Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Angela served on the Alex Awards committee for four years, chairing the 2008 committee, and chaired the first YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adult committee in 2009. Recently, she edited Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Titles and Programs for a New Generation (ALA Editions, 2011). Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.

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