Death Penalty, The

This series is an all-in-one resource for teens’ research needs in an easy to read, magazine-like layout style. Each book contains a primary source quote section, and a key people and advocacy group section, as well as a chronology, and a related organizations section. Having such a well-balanced amount of various research outlets in one book is a great way to introduce students to research basics. The illustrations, maps, charts and graphs will help foster and reinforce comprehension. Also, the user-friendly style is visually appealing while reinforcing comprehension. Each section contains colorful pull-quotes, which helps the reader gain interest in the reading. Reluctant readers will appreciate the compact size, easy-to-read content and pop culture references. This research series contains good overall coverage of each topic as the current, past, present, and future of issues are discussed, as well as controversial issues with each topic. In Genetic Testing, family planning, using DNA to catch criminals, privacy issues, diseases, and personalized medicine are discussed. In The Death Penalty, methods of execution, deterrence effect, gender and race biases, the mentally ill, and the challenges with the Constitution and the death penalty are discussed. In Online Social Networking, privacy issues, sexting, addiction to social networking, and bullying and regulation vs. freedom of speech are discussed. This series is well rounded in the issues it discusses and visually appealing to its readers. It would be a great addition for school and public libraries.—Julia Bowersox.

Gr 7 Up These concise volumes explore three controversial topics by combining objective narratives, opinion-based primary documents, and relevant supporting data. Each book begins with a useful overview of the issue before moving on to the fundamental questions that surround it, such as “Should Doctors Be Allowed to Help Patients Die?” “Does the Death Penalty Deter Violent Crime?” “Do the Benefits of Going Green Outweigh the Costs?” While the questions are pertinent and the answers solid in construction, the brief primary-source quotations, divorced as they are from the context of their complete arguments, are of little use to student researchers. The same can be said for the “Facts and Illustrations” sections that, while eye-catching, may only provide prefatory material for much larger issues. Although rounded out by chronologies, lists of related organizations, and print and online resources for further research, these books attempt too much while readers come away with too little.

Gr 7 Up These concise volumes explore three controversial topics by combining objective narratives, opinion-based primary documents, and relevant supporting data. Each book begins with a useful overview of the issue before moving on to the fundamental questions that surround it, such as “Should Doctors Be Allowed to Help Patients Die?” “Does the Death Penalty Deter Violent Crime?” “Do the Benefits of Going Green Outweigh the Costs?” While the questions are pertinent and the answers solid in construction, the brief primary-source quotations, divorced as they are from the context of their complete arguments, are of little use to student researchers. The same can be said for the “Facts and Illustrations” sections that, while eye-catching, may only provide prefatory material for much larger issues. Although rounded out by chronologies, lists of related organizations, and print and online resources for further research, these books attempt too much while readers come away with too little.