Enter the World of the Iron Fey

When most girls turn 16, they look forward to having a big party, a new boyfriend, maybe a car. Not Meghan Chase - she has a destiny she could never have imagined. A stranger is stalking her and it turns out that her dad is a Faerie King and she is a pawn in a deadly war. Meghan's story begins in The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. You can read an excerpt of The Iron King here

The world of faerie is the stuff of dreams: powers unimaginable, love, magic, quests - and often romance. There are a wide variety of good faerie books out there for you to read. Although, if I were you, I would never trust a faerie.

For other books about the world of Faerie try . . .

The Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr

#1 Wicked Lovely

#2 Ink Exchange

#3 Fragile Eternity

#4 Radiant Shadows

#5 Darkest Mercy

The Need series by Carrie Jones

#1 Need

#2 Captivate

#3 Entice Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

The Faierie Path series by Frewin Jones

The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

Who Killed Wesley Payne?

Prom and Prejudice

How early do you start thinking about prom? There are a number of great prom reads out there to help get you in the spirit, and it may just help with those winter blahs.

Coming soon (as in already on order) is Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg. And here is a fun trailer for it . . .



Other great prom reads include












Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

Ashley Hannigan does. not. care. about. prom. At all. But everyone else does - including her best friend Natalia, who is head of the committee. But when the faculty advisor steals all of the prom money, Ashley suddenly finds herself helping to put a dance together with almost nothing. Anderson is one of my favorite teen authors and I heartily recommend this book.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

Look, I love a good zombie book. And what can be better than an unpopular girl who is trying to protect her boyfriend from the clutches of the cheerleading captain inflicting a zombie virus on the entire school? Nothing. Nothing is better. Quite a fun read.

Top 10 Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress by Tina Ferraro

When you get stood up for the prom, what do you do with the dress? Nicolette is forced to answer this and other questions while she tries to manage her own feelings and help her parents navigate through their divorce. Touching and funny.

Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson

Chloe Thomas is going to the prom. Of course, she doesn’t have a date, she needs a dress, and she's the last person anyone expects to see there. Why on earth did she agree to do this?

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore (a part of the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series)

When her classmates start falling prey to bizarre accidents, the intrepid reporter Maggie Quinn can't ignore the story. In the end Maggie will end up throwing down with a demon at her senior prom. That probably won't happen at yours, but it sure is fun reading about the Nancy Drew wannabe with a supernatural twist Maggie Quinn.

The 2011 Michael L. Printz Award Winners

The 2011 Michael L. Printz award winner for best Teen Fiction is Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. Set in a bleak future, 17 year-old Nailer's job is to scavenge ship wrecks for profit. When he stumbles across a girl who is barely hanging on to life, he must decide if he should slit her throat and sell her for parts or take a chance and help her. Fans of Sci Fi like The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins will enjoy this book.

Honor books include . . .

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

The rugged Australian outback becomes Gemma’s prison after she is drugged and abducted by a handsome, obsessed stranger in a first novel filled with searing imagery and archetypal characters.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Vera Dietz wants to be ignored, but the ghost of her ex-best friend won’t leave her alone in this dark comedy that examines relationships, identity, grief and flowcharts.

Revolver written by Marcus Sedgwick

In Sedgwick’s grim, chilling story set in the Arctic Circle, Sig finds his father’s frozen corpse as human predator Wolff arrives seeking retribution and a hidden Gold Rush treasure.

Nothing written by Janne Teller

Pierre Anthon’s nihilism causes his classmates to begin a search for life’s meaning in this bold, unsettling parable translated from Danish.

Hush Little Baby Don't Say a Word, Momma's Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird

Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

When Alex wakes up in bed next to a guy whose name she can not remember, the evidence suggests one thing - she has been date raped. Her friends urge her to see out the help of the mockingbirds, a secret society which puts the students to trial for their crimes. If you are found guilty, you must give up the thing you love most. If you are found innocent, then your accuser must give up the thing that they love most.

The author, Daisy Whitney, was a victim of date rape in college. That is the reason that the after affects of the rape feel so real. Alex goes out of her way to avoid even a chance encounter with her rapist. She stops going to the cafeteria to eat. She maps out elaborate routes so she doesn't run in to him on the campus. She lives in fear as the details of that night slowly come back to her.

An interesting part of the story is the backstory of how The Mockingbirds came in to existence. They are based on the theory of justice and inspired by the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. And there are people involved that will surprise Alex.

Mockingbirds is a stunning, realistic read. From the very first sentence we are plunged into Alex's nightmare. Because of the subject matter, this book is recommended for older teens.

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

The Awakening Book Trailer

The Awakening Kelley Armstrong Book Trailer - Watch more Funny Videos

Banned Books Week: Hey, You Can't Read That!

Throughout history the apple has come to signify the idea of forbidden fruit, the taboo . . . It is ironic that it appears on the cover of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Edward is, of course, the ultimate forbidden fruit - a vampire. To love a vampire is to put yourself in mortal danger every day. But today it means more than that, you see there are those who think you shouldn't be able to read Twilight. That the book itself should be forbidden.

Throughout history people have been challenging books and trying to say that one or another is bad for us and we shouldn't be able to read it. There is nothing more powerful than words and thoughts, which is exactly why we need to continue to fight for the freedom to read . . . as we read and open our minds to new thoughts, to new ways of living, to new ways of thinking, we allow ourselves to be open to change. If we never opened ourselves up we would still think the Earth is flat and the center of the universe. We might still condone slavery and women might not have the right to vote. The computer that you are reading this on, it exists because someone had a vision of a future with a technology beyond their wildest dreams and they worked to make it happen. What would a world without the freedom to read look like? Try reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury or 1984 by George Orwell. Thought police and book burners, not cool.

You don't have to like each and every book you read. In fact, there are many in your life that you will be offended by. When you come across a book like that, stop reading it. Or finish it and talk to someone about it. But don't say that no one should be allowed to read it because it personally offended you. That is what the freedom to read is about: You should the books that are right for you and allow others to choose the books that are right for them.

Visit VOYA.com for a list of the top 10 teen books challenged in 2009 and the reasons why. And remember to celebrate your freedom to read by reading.

His Bruises are Not His Own

They call him Bruiser, because he is big and distant and it seems like he could take on anyone. But the truth is something they could never imagine. His real name is Brewster. And if he allows himself to become close with others, he can take their pain. When his brother falls off of the roof, it is Brewster whose arm is broken. And when his mother develops cancer, she sends him to live with an uncle so he does not die what should be her death.

Bronte and Tennyson are twins whose family is falling apart. Soon Bronte begins dating Brewster. She knows that he can take away her physical pain, but she does not realize how far his power reaches. How much like a drug it can be.

What would life be like if you never had to feel pain again? And can you really feel joy if you never feel sorrow or anger or the hurt that comes with life? Can the three of them find a way to love each other and save Brewster from this terrible "gift"?

Told in alternating viewpoints, this is a great story. From the moment that you first see what Brewster looks like without a shirt on, you are routing for him. At the end I cried satisfied tears at a story well done and a journey into a life that I genuinely cared about. Read it today. you won't be sorry. And then ask yourself, if you could take away someone else's pain but had to feel it for yourself - would you?

Also recommended, Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Angels Falling Everywhere

Pink is the new black and fallen angels are the new vampires. What else is popular?

Adult authors writing for teens. James Patterson is doing it with the Maximum Ride series and The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. Neil Gaiman does it (Coraline).

Now - you can get both trends in one place with this handy two for one deal: The Madison Avery series by Kim Harrison. Kim Harrison is the popular adult author of the paranormal series starring Rachel Morgan, who happens to be a witch.

In Once Dead, Twice Shy teen Madison Avery has been struck dead. Well, kinda. She is in a kind of purgatory. Here she is helping Barnabas, the light reaper, try to fend off the dark reaper who is taking the souls of those making serious life altering decisions. Madison's new death is quite the challenge. (Early to Death, Early to Rise is book 2 in the Madison Avery series.)

For other series with fallen angels, try Fallen by Lauren Kate (Torment, book 2 in this series, comes out on September 28th) and Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Crescendo, book 2 in this series, comes out on October 19th).

I Know What You Read This Summer

The Teen Summer Reading Club has come to an end (insert sad face here), but here is a look at what you all read and what you thought about it.

Amy S. (9th grade) read Fang by James Patterson and said "I want MORE!!!!!!!" (Exact number of exclamation points duplicated for authenticity's sake :) )

Megan H. (10th grade) read Red Palms by Cara Haycak and said it was "Child-ish and unrealistic". Ouch.

Lydia S. (9th grade) read Let it Snow: 3 Holiday Wishes and said it was "good but weird."

Katherine S. (7th grade) read The Lost Queen by Frewin Jones and said, "I loved it! I can't wait to read more!!"

Aulbri S. (11th grade) read Crank by Ellen Hopkins and says, "I thought the format was original. It's a series of shaped poems that make up a novel. It's depressing but needed."

Paige M. (8th grade) read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and said she "thought it was a really good book." (One of my faves :) )

Seth I. (8th grade) read the graphic novel Batman: Hong Kong by Dough Moenah and said, "Very good graphics. Well done." He also read The Quality of Mercy by Gilber Morris and said it was an "awesome Christian mystery."

Stephanie B. (9th grade) read Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr and said: "This is one of the best books I have ever read. A faerie that's considered a dark court hound falls in love with Devin a high court faerie and they help each save themselves."

Rayanna P. (1oth grade) read Dreamrider by Barry Jonsberg and said: "I like how they take a kid who is always getting picked on and beat up power. I like that he is using his power for good and not evil."

Evan H. (6th grade) read The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner and said, "The plot of this interested me, with all the fantasy."

Can You Hear the Whispers?

We've all that, at one time or another, that it would be cool to be able to hear
what others are thinking. You walk by a group of girls in the school hallway and wonder if they are talking about you. You wonder what the boy you like is really thinking. But what if you heard someone you love thinking that they would kill themselves if they had to . . . ?

Joy and Jessica are sisters, and they both can hear the "whispers" - brief thoughts from others. And while Joy thinks this talent is a gift, Jessica thinks it is a curse - and she will do anything to make it stop. Can Joy help her sister embrace her gift before she tries to destroy it, and perhaps herself? Read Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis.

Twilight: Eclipse Movie

So it seems like we can't really be at a place right now where we just don't mention the Twilight movie Eclipse. I did go see it. And I have decided that really, out of all the characters - I can't stand Bella. I'm sorry, but she is just mean and selfish to these two boys that she supposedly loves. Of the two boys I think the relationship with Edward is definitely less healthy - I mean, he sabotages her truck to control where she goes. That is just not cool. If you are in a relationship with a guy and he is acting like Edward - please do yourself a favor and run in the other direction. But I won't spend a lot of time rehashing what I thought about the movie, because this movie review says it so well:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/the-m-c-review-the-twilight-saga-eclipse

And I can't say it enough - if you love Twilight, please give Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater a read. Seriously. Go now.

Miley Cyrus to Star in Wake by Lisa McMann

From the back cover . . .

She is floating. Not the falling dream again, she thinks. She is sick to death of the falling dream.

The scene changes immediately. Now Janie is outside. It’s dark. She’s alone, behind a shed, but she can hear muffled voices. She’s never been alone before, and she doesn’t know how people can have dreams that they are not in. She is curious. She watches nervously, hoping this isn’t somebody’s nightmare about to explode through the wall of the shed, or from behind the bushes…

Wake is the story of Janie, who is drawn into other people's dreams. It has just been announced that this series (which includes both Fade and Gone) is being made into a movie which will star Miley Cyrus (http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/17/miley-cyrus-wake/)

Perfect 10s

A boy pushes someone off of a cliff (Freefall)
Valerie's boyfriend open fires on his school (Hate List)
Jessica learns that she is a vampire princess (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side)
What do these books have in common?
They all received a perfect ten score. Kind of like getting a perfect 10 on Dancing With the Stars or at The Olympics. You can see the full list of 18 titles here . . .
http://www.voya.com/2010/05/28/voyas-perfect-tens/

You Don't Really Want to Sleep Tonight . . . Do You?

"These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for more than forty years. The one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me."

Will, age 12, is an orphan and assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. This doctor's specialty is monstrumology, the study of monsters. A grave robber comes visiting in the middle of the night and brings them both the deadliest case they have ever seen. And the nightmares will never end . . .

The reviews say:
"This gothic thriller will appeal to kids who like scary with high brow Dickensian writing...Yancey builds the action towards the climactic cemetery scene while also deftly handling the changing interpersonal dynamic between the doctor and Will. Readers who enjoyed Yancey's Alfred Kropp* series...won't want to miss this one. Recommended."--Library Media Connection

"Yancey takes...gore and violence...to thrilling new levels in this sophisticated tale."--School Library Journal

"This story is gothic horror at its finest and most disturbing. A cross between Mary Shelley and Stephen King, the tale will force readers to stay up late to finish and then remain awake, afraid to shut off the lights...The richness of the language, the strain of wry humor, and the perfectly drawn characters make it a marvelous read...This book is perfect for readers who want their nightmares in a literary package."--VOYA

"This has all the elements of the best Victorian mystery and horror...Readers who like their horror truly horrible and yet archly distant and peppered with ecstatic Victorian-scented comments on the woes of the human condition will jump right in and not emerge until the last relieved gasp."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

And a grandma says . . . "I'll probably have nightmares for a long time over this, with the cold mist of the fog over cobblestone streets and unthinkable things that go bump in the night." (amazon.com)

*Also, do try the Alfred Kropp series, which mingles modern day life with Arthurian legends and super spy stories.

Now Watch This . . .