J-14 Magazine

Bibliographic Information:

• Title: J-14 Magazine
• VP, Editorial Director: Stephanie Sloane
• Co-Editors-in-Chief: Toni Ferrigno, Caitlin Murphy
• Publisher: a360media
• Issue: March 2021

Genre: Nonfiction/Celebrity

Format: Magazine

Reading Level/Interest: Teens ages 11-19 (Wikipedia, 2021).

Description: J-14 is a celbrity/gossip magazine produced for pre-teen and teens ages 11-19. The first issue of the magazine was released in 1999. The magazine contains information on teen gossip, celebrities, fashion, beauty, and has quizzes, pictures, celebrity interviews, and posters. The magazine also features stories on teens who are making a difference in their communites. J-14 is an abbreviation of its tagline, Just for Teens. The magazine has a circulation of over 600,000 (Amazon, 2021).

Critical Evaluation: J-14 is designed like many adult gossip magazines. The layouts are busy, and the colors are bright. Some of the articles are printed in pink, or pink on colored backgrounds, which makes them difficult to read. The pages are jam-packed with information. Many are laid out like scrapbooks. It is a little overwhelming at first, but I am sure this look appeals to teens. The information jumps around a lot but teens would probably like this, as well. The articles are short and not very detailed but do seem age-appropriate. Having said all of this, I am not the target audience and teens will find the magazine interesting and exciting. Most reviews I found were written by parents, who say how much their teens love the magazine. They especially like the articles and pictures of their favorite bands and celebrities. J-14 reminds me of the magazine Tiger Beat that we used to read when we were teens.

Creative Use for a Library Program: For a library program, I would combine this with the program for the movie MOXiE! and have the teens make zines. They could choose whatever topic they like- gossip, social justice, celebrities, school issues, current events, or anything they would like to do. We could make color copies at the library, and the teens could distribute them to their friends.

Speed-Round Talk: One Direction? BTS? Justin Bieber? Niall Horan? Akira? Whoever your favorite is, you are sure to find them in J-14! Celebrity gossip, beauty and fashion tips, behind the scenes of your favorite TV show and movies, and more are waiting for you on these pages. As a bonus, there are pull-out posters of your favorites in every issue!

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense: I do not see any challenges arising for J-14. Some parents do not like their teens “wasting” time reading this type of material, but my opinion is that there is nothing wrong with recreational reading, as long as it gets reluctant readers to read. For our summer reading program, we allow teens to log magazines articles as readng material.

Reason for Inclusion: I included J-14 because magazines are a good format for teens, especially those who are reluctant readers. The articles are short, there are many photos, and the subject matter is age appropriate. Teens will enjoy reading about their favorites or just browsing through the pictures. J-14 was very popular at my library pre-COVID. Even though it did not circulate, teens would read it while they were at the library.

References:

Amazon. (2021). J-14. Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/American-Media-Inc-J-14/product-reviews/B00005OM4W/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2