>Creative review clipping

>I once ended a review panning an over-the-top YA novel with the phrase " . . . but melodramatic teens will love it." It soon appeared in the publisher's ad for the book, abbreviated to "teens will love it."

Apparently Miramax Books has a similarly free-spirited attitude toward quotation.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.


Karen Breen

>I've always tried to be very careful about not reviewing titles that might be treated in such a way...Dr. Laura's first book comes to mind. Decided not to review it so they couldn't play with the words. But my favorite trick with this sort of thing was the brilliant publicity built by Allison Devlin when she was at Little, Brown. We reviewed one of their books with the tag line: "Utter dreck"
They turned the phrase into a button and other apparatus that said, "Kids love 'Utter dreck'"
All of us at Kirkus have a button; it was just too smart to pass up.

Posted : Apr 05, 2006 05:01


web

>"Mad" magazine saw this coming 25 years ago!

Posted : Apr 04, 2006 10:53


Lisa Yee

>Hee hee. It looks like the quotes are more creative than the book.

Posted : Apr 04, 2006 10:45


RELATED 

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?