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Friday, July 24, 2009

The Second Best Vampire Series

Just to be clear . . . you know the #1 vampire series is Twilight, right? Okay. Thought so.


But there is another popular vampyre* series, House of Night by P C Cast.

16-year-old Zoey Redbird is marked . . . she will either become a vampyre, or if her body rejects the change - she will die. The House of Night is the school where marked individuals go to make the change. In a world where vampyre's exist, Zoey must now wait to see if she will become one . . .

#1 Marked
#2 Betrayed
#3 Chosen
#4 Untamed
#5 Hunted
#6 Tempted (coming in the fall)

These books are always checked out, so you'll have to put a hold on them. We also have them on audio cd so you can listen to them while you drive or work out or whatever.

You can visit the House of Night website and get your own vampyre tattoo (http://www.houseofnightseries.com/)
You can get a sneak peek by reading chapter 1 here http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/markedxrpt.html

* And yes, really, that is how they spell vampyre in this series. I'm not making a big ole typo I tell ya.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Flights of Fantasy (and Science Fiction), Part II


Wow - I am so proud of you guys. You read a lot. So here's even more Science Fiction and Fantasy reviews by you . . .
Dead Girl Dancing by Linda Joy Singleton
"Almost all the books I've read this summer have been by this author." - Abbey, 8th grade
"The seer series is a really great series it sucks you in and you can't stop." - Abbey, 8th grade
The Giver by Lois Lowry
"I loved this book. I was horrified at the society of the future so beautifully described. Could life really become this way?" - Aulbri, grade 10
Gilda Joyce - The Dead Drop by Jennifer Allison
"The mystery was great! I love those series too!" - Hannah, grade 7
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke (this is the sequel to Inkheart)
"I loved the book. It was amazing but I absolutely hated the ending." - Allison, grade 8
The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
"Absolutely amazing" - Allison, grade 8
The Faire Path by Frewin Jones
"Can't wait to read the next!" - Jennifer, grade 8
The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
"The book is amazing" - Allison, grade 8
Tithe by Holly Black
"Love faeires. This book was awesome." - Megan, grade 9
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle (part of the Time Quartet series)
"I loved it! It was really interesting." - Amy, grade 8
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flannagan (part of the Ranger's Apprentice series)
"Amazing, can't wait for the next book." - Allison, grade 8
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
"This is now my favorite author." - Eric, 6th grade
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
"Absolutely amazing" - Allison, 8th grade
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
"This book made me want the second book in the series as soon as I finished it." - Kierra, 8th grade
Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
"What an awesome book! I love her take on vampires! This is the most entertaining book I've read in a long time. I absolutely love this." - Aulbri, 10th grade
Next time, all the other books.

Flights of Fantasy (and Science Fiction)


And now on to our continuing saga . . . vampire books are not the only thing you read this summer. Science Fiction and Fantasy (two of my personal favorites) were abundantly reviewed by you. Here's what you read and what you had to say about it.

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
"I love the futuristic setting and the mysterious plans and schemes" - Kayla, 9th grade

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld*
"At first it seems boring but the the time I got to the second chapter I was hanging on to every word." - Kayla, 9th grade

*If you want to read a really good vampire book, read Peeps by Scott Westerfeld.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
"It had a whole bunch of mysteries and twist in the plot, I could barely put it down!" - Amy, 8th grade

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (one of the all time best ever in my opinion)
"An excellent book full of metaphors, ironies and interesting eerie predictions of the future" - Nick, grade 12

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
"Great book, action packed" - Cheyenne, 10th grade
"It was really good" - Amy, grade 8 on School's Out Forever
"I love this series, and a lot of other people must too because I had to wait forever to get this book!" - Amy, grade 8 (sorry about your wait Amy).

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
"A good romance story for anyone." - Kimberly, grade 9 (Twilight fans will probably like this one).

Evernight by Claudia Gray
"A girl goes to Evernight Academy and meets Lucas who turns out to be a vampire hunter. They become separated but their love is strong." - Abbey, grade 8
"This book is one of my favorite." - Abbey, grade 8

Evermore by Alyson Noel
"Great. I am speechless." - Brittany, grade 11
"This book is one of my favorites." - Abbey, grade 8

Monday, July 20, 2009

Fanging Around


I'm back with another look at what you read during this year's Teen Summer Reading Club . . . . and vampire fiction was very popular. Yes, yes it was. Here's a look at what you had to say:

Vampire Academy series by Rachel Mead
"I loved the story line." - Jacob, grade 9
"Awesome book"
"Really exciting book" - Alex, grade 12, talking about Frostbite
"Awesome book" - Alex, grade 12, talking about Shadow Kiss

The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine
"The beginning of the book was slow in the dorm room but Claire makes things seem more interesting" - Kierra, grade 8, talking about Glass Houses (book 1)

(editor's note: this is an interesting series about a college that is next to a town where vampires not only are abundant and "out", but rule the town.)

Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan (and I am surprised by how popular this series still is)
"It was a great start to a really good series. I *heart* vampire books" - Jacob, grade 9
"This book was very interesting and once I started reading it I could barely put it down" - Robert, grade 9, talking about Killers of the Dawn
"This is the best book yet" - Aulbria, grade 10, talking about The Vampire Prince
"My favorite so far" - Aulbri, grade 10, on The Vampire's Assistant

Blue Blood series by De La Cruz
"I like the plot in the series. I'm ready for the 4th book after reading the 1st 3" - Kierra, grade 9

House of Night series by P. C. Cast (we now have this series on CD)
"Really good. Read all of series." - Bianca, grade 9
"Great twist and different outlook on vampires" - Brittany, grade 11
"This is the best House of Night novel so far. Not only is the style of writing cool but there is so much meaning. I think the main message is acceptance of those who are not like you because nobody is ever what you expect." - Aulbri, grade 10, on Untamed
"I love this series" - Aulbri, grade 10
"This is definitely the best yet of the House of Night series. It drew me in from page 1, and I finished it in only a few hours. I can hardly wait for the next one." - Kathleen, grade 8, on Hunted

Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber
"I've always liked books that involve vamps. This one is among my favorite." - Kierra, grade 9

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klauss (one of the original, and the best)
"I really liked this book. I think the one downside is that it doesn't have a sequel." - Sierra, grade 11
"It was really good through most of the book but I was a bit disappointed with the ending" - Brittany, grade 11

The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter by S. P. Somtow
"Very good" - Taylor, grade 6

Salem's Lot by Stephen King (going old school)
"A wonderful vampire book. The vampires are vampires not pretty glittered up dolls. The disasters brought unlikely people together. It is revealed the victims are just as horrible as the monsters that drain them." - Aulbri, grade 10

We Have a Winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


That's right folks - we have a winner for the Teen Summer Reading Club 2009. Cheyenne, 10th grade, is the winner. She chose the iPod Touch.
Keep coming back for more opportunities to win. We have contests all year long.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Teens Take on Twilight in TSRC


I've been going through the reading ballots for the Teen Summer Reading Club, and a lot of you read the Twilight series. Here's what you had to say . . .

Twilight
"Vampires are awesome! TEAM EDWARD"
"Not your typical vampire book. :) an excellent read - BETTER than the movie 10 fold."
"It starts one of my fav. series"
"Best book ever!"
"Excellent book, I really enjoyed it."

And one naysayer says, "Well I'm not sure I appreciate all the screaming teen girl fanatics. The original story is good. Bella makes Washington seem cool :)" Aulbri, grade 10 (Wait 'til you hear Aulbri's take on Breaking Dawn)

New Moon
"A really good book and sequel"
"My favorite of the Twilight series. It's absolutely depressing in an exciting way. I love that werewolves are introduced into the series (there's kind of a foreshadowing of this in Twilight when Bella was talking to Jacob on the beach). I respect this book more than the others." Yes, it's Aulbri again.

Eclipse
"I love it"
"Loved the book"
"I like the Twilight series . . . until book 3. This is just a filler book to me and it's not as romantic as the 1st two. The only interesting part of this book is the vampires vs. werewolves conflicts." From my hero, Aulbri

Breaking Dawn
"Great ending to the Twilight saga"
"Another amazing book by Steph. The Twilight series rocks!"
And my favorite review ever, from my new BFF Aulbri - "What is this crap? The birth part was the only good part. Ew this book is terrible. Breaking Dawn completely destroyed the Twilight series. She's writing as if she is running out of time from her publishers. What's worse is everyone loves this one the best."

So there you go, some mixed reviews on the Twilight saga (you go Aulbri). Next post: Just Fanging Around with Vampire Fiction, your thoughts on other vampire fiction that you read during this year's Teen Summer Reading Club.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

What Does the Library Mean to You, Part IV

You may have heard me mention it, but public libraries in Ohio may have to reduce hours and services due to state budget cuts. In an effort to help everyone know that even teens love libraries - we took a poll: What does the library mean to you?

And you answered . . .

It's a place for you to get on the Internet since you don't have access at home (33%)

I can't get my homework done without it (surprisingly 0% of you chose this answered, even though I personally have helped you do your homework. What is up with that I say :) )

I can't get the books I want to read without it (33%)

I love to rock out at the Teen CoffeeHouse (0% - come on people, I am not feeling the love here :) )

All of the above (33% - thankfully, this means that some of you do love the Teen CoffeeHouse, which I really already knew since you ask often if we can have it more than one day a week.)

Thanks all for voting and letting us know what Marion Public Library means to you.

It's the Final Countdown

Today is Thursday, July 9th - that means you only have 3 more days to get your ballots in for the Teen Summer Reading Club. All reading ballots must be turned in by 5:30 PM on Saturday, July 11th. I will be working on doing the grand prize drawing next week. I hope that YOU are the lucky grand prize winner who will get their choice of either a Wii or an iPod Touch.

Check back next week to pick up a survey and let us know how you think we are doing. You get to tell us what to do - and win. Check back here next week for more info, details and all the hub bub. (What is hub bub? I do not really know, but I'm a gonna say it 'cause I want to.)

Tick tock - what are you doing still reading this? Finish your book and turn in your ballot already :)