Teen Read Week 2010 and Zombies

Last week was Teen Read Week and I want to say thanks for all the teens who participated.

There was lots of zombie fun - and zombie reading.

Some of you even read some zombie books, and just in time for Halloween.

Just as we were getting ready for Zombie Read and Rock, a new zombie book crossed my desk - Zombies vs. Unicorns. This is a collection of short stories which argues the age old question of which is better, zombies or unicorns. Each short story is written by a different author. If you are a fan of either (or both), you should check it out.

Zombie fans will also want to check out Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. In this world, zombie hunter is a totally recognized profession. And everyone must have a job by the age of 15 or else they will lose their food rations. So zombie hunter seems like a good idea, right? But what does it truly mean to be human?

Teens' Top Ten 2010

Every year YALSA (an organization of librarians who serve teens just like you) lets teens vote on their favorite books of the year. Yesterday they announced the Teens' Top Ten for 2010. This is a list of the best books for teens voted on by teens.

The Teens' Top Ten 2010 is:

#1 Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

There are a lot of great reads on this list, but my vote for #1 would definitely be If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Follow this link to view a video of WWE Diva Eve Torress announcing this year's winners!

It's Teen Read Week! October 18th - 23rd

Check out this message from teen author Nikki Grimes about Teen Read Week



Be sure to stop in the library this week for a wide variety of activities as part of our Zombie Read and Rock fun . . .

All week long, for every 15 minutes you read fill out a Read Around the Clock slip for your chance to win a prepaid $50.00 gift card. All entries must be turned in by closing on Saturday, October 23rd.

Guess the amount of candy in our Ghoulish Candy Guess Jar for your chance to win it all.

Also, be sure to fill out a Nightmarish Reads contest entry form.

In the News: Bullying

Let's face it, bullying sucks. Seriously. It doesn't matter if it happens online or in person. And as we keep hearing in the news - it can have serious consequences. What is it like for someone to get up every day and know that they are going to have to go somewhere full of fear and pain? There are lots of stories out there that deal with bullying and one of my all time favorites is Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher. Whale Talk is the story of T.J. and his misfit group of students that make up the school swim team. Imagine what could happen if this group of outcasts could earn a letter jacket and rub it in the face of the tormentors. And yet, somehow, along the way it becomes about more than just that letter jacket - it becomes about them revealing themselves and being there for each other.

Another oldie but goody is The Misfits by James Howe. This is the stroy of Skeezie, Addie, Joe and Bobby and the 7th grade. First Addie refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then all of the sudden, they are creating a new political party and running for student council. This year, the 7th grade, is there chance to be more than what others try to make them, but to be themselves.

Perhaps the most gripping story of what it is like to be an outcast is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. At the beginning of the school year, no one will talk to Melinda - and Melinda will not speak. You see, over the summer she was at a party and she called the police. Everyone hates her because they got busted. Throughout the course of the school year Melinda must slowly come to terms with what happened at that party, what caused her to call the police . . . she must find her voice, she must learn to speak again.

Sometimes we hear in the news about those teens who have been victims committing suicide. And of course, sometimes we hear about them getting revenge. The Hate List by Jennifer Brown is about one of those times. Valerie and Nick made a list of the people they hated. The people that bullied them. The people that tormented them. The hate list. Valerie had no idea that one day her friend Nick would go to school and shoot the people on that list. Valerie is shot herself trying to stop Nick, right before he kills himself and some of the kids on that list. Now Valerie must deal with the after. Valerie must return to that school her senior year and deal with it all. Her emotions. Her guilt. Her classmates. The Hate List is a powerful and moving story about what it is liked to be bullied, and what happens when someone takes revenge.

Other books that deal with bullying, old and new, include . . .
Names Will Never Hurt Me by Jaime Adoff
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Undone by Brooke Taylor
By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman
What Happened to Lani Carver by Carol Plum Ucci

You can read Teen Author Amy Holder's and see Ellen Degenere's plea to stop bullying here

If you or someone you know is being bullied, tell someone. Learn more about bullying at kidshealth.org

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