Saturday, December 26, 2009

Winter Reading List

2009-12-23 by you.

I made my first ever library pamphlet and boy am I proud! Stop by the library and find out what Muhlenberg's picks are for the best books to read this winter.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Diary of a Witness


In Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde, the witness is Ernie, an overweight teen who's only friend in moody complicated Will. Ernie and Will go through a lot during the course of the book, including the accidental death of Will's brother and the constant bullying they face at school.


The bullying gets so bad and it effects both boys differently, Will is broken and turns to violence. Ernie, on the other hand seems to get stronger. Ernie can see Will drifting away and doesn't know how to help his best friend.


I liked Ernie's character a lot. He found inner strength that frankly, was very surprising. Some people might not find it believable. The fact that all of a sudden, he could stand up to the people that made his life miserable. But it surprising how much strength you can find when you feel like you have nothing to loose.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Once Was Lost


Oh, how I love Sara Zarr. Sweethearts was one of my favorite books last year.


Once was lost is the story of Samara, a fifteen year old pastor's kid is facing a summer away from her mother, who has just started rehab after a DUI. Her father, who everyone knows as "Pastor Charlie" is too focused on his congregation to see that she is drifting. The sudden disappearance of a young girl in their small town snaps Sam back to reality and forces her to face the future of her family.


At first I thought the book might be too preachy, I mean, she's a pastor's kid after all! But, for me, this story was all about finding something truthful and honest to hold on to when the things you've always counted on fails you. That's some deep and complex stuff. And defiantly worth reading.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Familes: Ties that bond, ties that break


I've been thinking a lot about families, probably because we are on the verge to the holiday season. Muhlenberg's YA collection has a lot of books that focus on the family. Sometimes family is what saves you, and sometimes you have to be saved from your family. The following books cover those themes and everything in between.

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
A mother-daughter con artist team on their last big heist.


The Mob Princess series by Todd Strasser
The ultimate family has a new leader, the teen daughter.


Converting Kate by Beckie Weinheimer
After her father dies, Kate faces off against her very religious mother.


Between Mom and Jo by Julie Ann Peters
14 year old Nick faces prejudice because of the relationship of his two mothers.


Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Annabel's perfect family has dark secrets.


Hit the Road by Caroline B. Cooney
Brittney plays a reluctant chauffeur for her grandmother who is trying to break her best friend out of a nursing home.


Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons
Evan is the only person who could clear his father of murder charges, unfortunately for his father, Evan hates him.


Zig Zag by Ellen Wittlinger
A high school junior takes a road trip with her aunt and two cousins.


Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
Sean believes his father is trying to kill him.


Saturday, November 7, 2009

TAG's Picks-November

Teen Advisory Group met yesterday and brought in the books the love this month.

Without further ado:

Sabrina chose The Bad Book by Aranzi Aronzo
Luis chose The Naruto Series by Masashi Kishimoto
Sage chose Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (Graphic Novel Version) by Darren Shan
Oscar chose Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Samantha chose The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
Samson chose The Bone series by Jeff Smith
James chose The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Erick chose Cirque du Freak: Tunnels of Blood by Darren Shan

Man...Darren Shan is really popular these days...I wonder why...


These books are on display in the library...come check them out!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Magazine "Monday"


Sigh...I always try to post the new magazines on Monday but alas...it had to wait till Tuesday.


This weeks magazines are:




Sports Illustrated for Kids (with a special Teen section)


and Wizard!


Enjoy!


ps-there are also a lot past issues of your favorites in the free box, I did a little reorganizing

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

New Series! Evernight



I know, I know, vampire books are everywhere. Ever since Twilight, we have had a lot of copycats around with books that are, lets face it, pretty weak. So I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Evernight by Claudia Gray.


The first book of the Evernight series takes place at Evernight Academy, an exclusive boarding school in the middle of nowhere. Bianca is forced to go there when her parents both get jobs as teachers and she is running away, pretty much to get attention from her parents. That's when she runs into mysterious and handsome Lucas.


Bianca and Lucas seem destined for each other...but then a dark secret comes to light and threatens to tear them apart.


I won't tell you what the dark secret is! I won't! But if you love star-crossed romances, this is a great book for you.

Magazines!


New Magazines this week:



Latina

ESPN

Game Informer

and Spin (featuring The Flaming Lips you need to listent to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots...amazing)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Hate List


Hate List is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel by first time author Jennifer Brown. The novel picks up five months after a tragic school shooting in a small suburban town. Valerie has spent the last five months trying to get over the guilt she feels after the shooting. She and her boyfriend Nick spent countless afternoons putting people on their "hate list," a notebook that the police found after Nick went on a shooting spree in his school, killing students, teachers, and then himself. Even though she never pulled a trigger many people in her community blame her for what happened, including herself.

I started reading this book thinking, how could anyone possibly cope with this? It was an impossible task, handled well by the author. There are no easy answers when you are faced with a tragedy like this and Brown didn't try to give you one. My only compliant was that Valerie's parents seemed a little too awful, especially her father, blaming her for getting between him and his mistress with the shooting. But you know, sometimes people can be just awful.




Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei


I'm not a manga expert by any means. In fact, I've only read a handful of graphic novels and manga since I started as a librarian, mainly because people who liked it knew way more than me and didn't need any suggestions. But while I was shelving yesterday I came across the first in a series by Koji Kumeta called Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei: The power of negative thinking volume I. Quite a mouthful.


The book follows Nozomu Itoshiki, a depressed schoolteacher who is the head of a class of very eccentric students. Kafuka, one of his students, finds him trying to kill himself (he is constantly looking for the perfect place to die) and saves him, she also happens to be the world's most optimistic person. There is also a stalker, an obsessive-compulsive, and a girl who comes to class with mysterious bruises.


Itoshiki seems like the worst possible teacher to be but in charge of the class, but it works, with hilarious results.


This series is definitely for older readers because of its sophistication, its also a great start for manga novices.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Upcoming Field Trip: :01 First Second Books



Teens! Remember that next Friday is Teen Adivsory Group's first trip. On October 16th we are going to :01 First Second books, a publishing house for some really great graphic novels for all ages. We will be touring their offices and learning more about how great novels such as American Born Chinese, The Sardine series and Robot Dreams, were created.




Pick up a permission slip anytime this week or next week before Friday at the library. We'll meet on the 3rd floor (as usual) for snacks and then head over to the Flatiron Building around 4:30. See you then!




TAG Display!


Every month, Muhlenberg's Teen Advisory Group picks out their favorite books for a display in the Teen Space. Here's October's picks:


Leafar picked The Giver by Lois Lowry because it has suspense and drama and would recommend this book to someone who likes suspense and drama and "is not afraid of a long chapter book."


David picked The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan because it talks about ancient Greeks and the gods.


Winona picked the book Wake by Lisa McMann because its is filled with enough action, romance, and tragedy to keep you flipping pages. She would recommend this book to girls over the age of at least 12.


Samson picked the book Elf Realm: The High Road by Daniel Kirk because it was action packed, he would recommend this book to people who like fairy tales.


Jorge picked the book Brisingr by Christopher Paolini because it is very exciting and has a lot of action in it. He would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and adventure books.


Ginnah picked the book Hotlanta by Denene Miller because it has a lot of drama and its good. She would recommend this book to anyone who likes drama.


Rafael picked DriftX: Slide or Die by Todd Strasser because it has a mix of genres like mystery, drama, action, and racing. He would recommend this book to teens who don't like to read.


Oscar picked Eldest by Christopher Paolini because it is interesting.


Xena picked The Simpsons comics because its funny!!!




Monday, September 28, 2009

Magazine Monday!

(hype hair's September covergirl)

This week I checked in:



(with Taraji P. Henson as the cover girl)



(NHL preview for all of the Hockey fans out there)



(now featuring a teen section called SI Teen)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Unplugged this Thursday!


Twice a month, the library has "unplugged" events for teens. All activities have to be electricity and battery free. Tomorrow is Unplugged's first craft program: Make your own journal.


I'll have all the supplies you need to make a book (up to 30 pages) of your very own. Snacks are provided as well. This is a program for ages 11 and up!


Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

New Magazine Alert!



We've just started our supscription to Game Informer magazine. October's issue just came in. come and check it out!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Beastly


For fairy tale fans who want something a little more grown up, Alex Flinn brings us Beastly, an updated version of Beauty and the Beast.


Here, the Beast is Kyle Kingsbury the prince of the 9th grade class at his private school in New York. Kyle's father, a newscaster, taught him that good looks are the key to being special and popular, and while Kyle is beautiful on the outside (and rich, and popular) he's ugly on the inside, looking for ways to humiliate those less popular than he is.


But he messes with the wrong classmate.


Kyle wakes up to find that he has been turned into a Beast. A beast so hideous that his father sends him away to his own house in Brooklyn where he can't be seen by anyone. Kyle becomes Adrian, the dark one, and has two years to find someone who will love him for who he is or he will stay a beast forever.


Sounds familiar? Sure, but there is a reason why this story stays popular.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Catching Fire


I talked about The Hunger Games earlier this summer. If you didn't read the post (and don't feel like clicking on the link to read it again) let me quickly tell you what I said:

1) i love this book
2) you will love this book
3) i'm wondering why you haven't read this book yet

yep. that pretty much sums it up.

Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games left off and I don't want to tell you too much about it because if you haven't read the first book I would be totally ruining it for you. Let me just say that Catching Fire is even better than The Hunger Games and i didn't even think that was possible.

Catching Fire is now available at the library. So check it out and read it. Do this now, before The Hunger Games becomes a movie (and you know it will) and then it will be really hard to get the book.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

(doritos: the official snack of TAG)

For the Teen Center at Muhlenberg, back to school means one thing: TAG!


That's right. Teen advisory group is back. Last year we were busy planning parties, writing book reviews (some that went on the website) and playing games. And, of course, the snacks.


This year we have more of the same. PLUS we are testing crafts, taking trips, and meeting very cool new people. I hope to see you on the third floor Fridays at 4!!


Saturday, August 29, 2009

Great Series Alert: Violet on the Runway

This is a great series for readers that might be a little shy but it doesn't stop them from having big dreams.
The three books in series follows Violet Greenfield's rise to fame in the fashion industry as a top model. In high school, Violet was very shy and embarrassed by her height (6'1'') and they fact that she was very skinny. She was shocked when she is discovered by a modeling agent while she was at her job at the movie theatre. Violet was immediately flown to New York and caused a splash at New York fashion week. While in New York, she can't help thinking about her two best friends Julie and Rodger, and the simple life she left behind in North Carolina. More of Violet's modeling life is chronicled in Violet by Design and Violet in Private picks up when Violet is trying to balance romance, modeling, and college.

Living Dead Girl

There is a news story that broke out recently about a girl who was abducted 18 years ago by a sexual predator. Her parents thought she was long dead and were shocked to find that she had been held captive by this man for almost two decades and had two children with him.
The story is horrifying and shocking and you can't help thinking about what his girl, now a woman, went through. It reminded me of a book that I had read a couple of months ago, Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.
Living Dead Girl is the story of Alice, a fifteen year old who has been held captive for five years by Ray, a pedophile who says he's in love with her. Alice lives with Ray in an apartment about 4 hours away from where she lived with her parents, and she is terrified to leave because Ray threatens to kill her family if she does so much as lie to him. Alice is also afraid to grow up, because she knows that Ray's "Alice" before her was killed once she got older.
One morning Ray decides that they need to find a new girl, a younger girl and Alice is the one that has to find her.
Scott's story is haunting and terrifying. I couldn't put it down, all the time wondering if Alice would find a bit more strength to be able to find a way out or if she is capable of forcing another child into the life that she has. If you are interested in true crime or survival stories, this would be a fascinating read.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Paper Planes!





Paper Planes was a blast! Thank you to everyone who came!




And congrats to S. who's plane flew the furthest!



(Brian, a librarian, attempting to make a plane)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Cool New Series Alert!


The Gifted Series by Marilyn Kaye



The series is about a class of gifted students at Meadowbrook Middle School. Instead of extra homework and reading, these students are learning how to control their gifts. Each student has a special power, from body-swapping to mind control.




The first book focuses on Amanda, the mean "queen bee" of the eighth grade. Under her perfectly crafted image she's hiding a deep secret. She has the power to swap bodies with those she feels sorry for. Amanda learned at an early age that she had to block her compassionate feelings if she wanted to stay in her own body and by the time she turned 13, she is the most feared student in her school. After a run in with Tracy Devon, a quiet girl in her class that everyone ignores, Amanda starts to feel some pity. When she wakes up in the morning, she's Tracy and is stuck as Tracy much longer than her last body swaps.


This is a really great series for readers who like mainly realistic problems (friendship, parents, grades, etc.) but love a supernatural twist. Think the X-Men in middle school.


New Magazines this week

(from Nylon Magazine)

This just in! New issues of:












and ESPN





Come and take a look!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Paper Planes!


No, not the hit M.I.A. song...


This friday, come to the Muhlenberg Branch to compete in the world's greatest sport, paper plane throwing. Prizes for the planes that go the distance...and prizes for those that don't make it so far.


Friday, August 14th at 4Pm

On the 3rd floor

Ages 12 and up (younger kids can come if they are with a teen)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Reach for the Sky!



Last Friday was the great skyscraper building contest. Budding architects built their own structures out of popsicle sticks, glue and tape. The team with the tallest building won amazing prizes (and there was a pretty great prize for those who came in a close second).

Lessons we learned:

1) The stronger the base, the more solid the building


2) But sometime you have to take a risk and just build big


3) Tape was mightier that glue.


4) But in the long run, the glue lasted forever






Stay tunes for the next project...




Paper Planes!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Converting Kate


Before her father's death, Kate's entire life could be defined by one thing; the Church of the Holy Divine. After her father, a non believer dies, Kate and her deeply religious mother move to her father's hometown in Maine and it is there that Kate starts to question the authority of her mother's church and what she truly believes in.
It would be very easy for a book to handle the idea of religion in a clumsy way. But Weiheimer takes care to show the many different sides of religion in the United States and shows how very personal it is to each person. This is a very good novel, especially for readers who are interested in faith and self discovery.

Monday, July 27, 2009

If I Stay



Before the accident, 17 year old Mia had a lot of choices to make. But she had a lot of help. She had her cool, supportive parents. She had her adoring little brother Teddy. She had the love of her life, Adam. And she had her music.
After the accident, Mia only has one choice to make. Should she stay, and live her life grieving to loss of her family. Or should she let herself go?
You know a book is fantastic when you find yourself crying in subways, at work, or telling friends about the book. Luckily you also want to laugh out loud when you read about Mia's family or sigh over her relationship with Adam.
I read this book in less than a day, but I'll be thinking about it for awhile.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Grace has always felt a deep connection to the wolves that she can see in the woods. Especially one wolf, that saved her from an attack when she was young.


Sam has been watching Grace from the forest, helplessly in love since the moment he saved her. He has resolved to stay away from her, until they meet by chance during his last summer as a human.


Once they've found each other, they will do anything to stay together.


This is a great story, especially for readers who love romance with a supernatural element (Twilight anyone?). I liked how the story was told with both perspectives (Grace and Sam), and dealt with issues other than romance like family and friendship.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Craft!!!


The Mission: Build the tallest "skyscraper" in the library

The Supplies: Popsicle sticks, glue, and paper

The Prize: To be announced!


Friday, July 24th at 4 PM

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Swish: the quest for basketball's perfect shot


Swish: The quest for basketball’s perfect shot

by Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy


I've never been a very athletic person, and because of this, I left the sports books to other kids while a read a lot of Fear Street. I’m not a huge basketball fan, but I was still very interested and entertained in this book. Swish starts with the history of basketball in the United States. Then it talks about famous last minutes shots which is pretty exciting. Then it talks about different kinds of shots used in basketball like the jump shot, slam dunks, the bank shot, and the fadeaway.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

She's So Money

She's So Money by Cherry Cheva

Maya is a overachieving high school senior who's only goal is to go to Standford. Against her better judgement, she agrees to start an underground homework cheating ring with her school's most charming bad boy in order to save her family's Thai restaurant.


This book is very very funny. Maya says all the stuff that you want to say to stuck up, lazy, popular people, but you don't have the guts. Maya is great, her family is great, and I love how the story doesn't have a easy ending.


Did I mention that the book is really funny?

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

have you seen....

Our CD collection? That's right, the library doesn't just have old dusty copies of Gloria Estefan albums. We have a ton on new ones! Here for you to check out!


Examples:





T.I.-Papertrail

So many hits!









I Am...Sasha Fierce-Beyonce

All the single ladies!






Folie a Deux-Fall out Boy
Rock out!

Go to you library to check out all the songs you want to hear this summer!


Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Author Spotlight-John Green


I love John Green's books. Is it because of the cool, complex teenage girls? Or the funny, loyal and interesting guys? Is it because the diolauge is sharp and makes me laugh out loud? Or that no one in his stories are a YA novel cliche? Or maybe its because he lives in Indiana...where I am from. Nevertheless, John Green is an author you must check out. (and you should check him out on You Tube)
John's reading list is tragically short. But he just started! So I should give him a break. The plus side is that you could defenitely read all of his books this summer*:
Looking for Alaska: "Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words--and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. "
An Abundence of Katherines: "When it comes to relationships, everyone has a type. Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. He has dated--and been dumped by--19 Katherines. In the wake of The K-19 Debacle, Colin--an anagram-obsessed washed-up child prodigy--heads out on a road trip with his overweight, Judge Judy-loving friend Hassan. With 10,000 dollars in his pocket and a feral hog on his trail, Colin is on a mission to prove a mathematical theorem he hopes will predict the future of any relationship (and conceivably win the girl). "
Paper Towns: "Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows.
After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew. "
***Yes! I copied the book blurbs from the website. I know it! But John Green can write blurbs way better than I can*******

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Event! July 10th


We are having our first summer craft event for teens next Friday!

Make your own memory box!
I'll provide the materials, you decorate your own box any way you please.

Friday, July 10th @ 4pm

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Tattoo


In Tattoo, four best friends, fashion crazy Delia, brainy Annabelle, tomboy Zo, and quiet Bailey buy temporary tattoos that give them special powers. Powers that they will need to defeat a sinister fairy trying to destroy the world.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes gives all four girls a chance to shine in this fast paced, exciting supernatural thriller. My only complaint was that there was a lot of information crammed into this book. There is a sequel though, Fate, so there might be more action in that one. Barnes is no stranger to this genre. She has another great set of books, Golden and Platinum about girls who discover their supernatural powers in high school.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Hunger Games


AHHHHHH!!!!! Have you read this book yet?


Suzanne Collins had already made a name for herself writing The Underland Chronicles series. Her latest book, The Hunger Games is a runaway success with fans like Stephan King, Stephanie Meyer, and your favorite librarian (me!).


Here's what Stephanie Meyer has to say:


"I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it...The Hunger Games is amazing."


I couldn't agree more.


In the Hunger games, 16 year old Katniss and her family are living in Panem a land that used to be the United States but is now split into 12 districts and is rules ruthlessly by The Capital. Long ago, the districts rebelled against The Capital and were defeated, one of the terms of their surrender is that each year, every district must give two children, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, 24 "tributes" must fight to the death on live television. In District 12, the poorest district, Katniss' 12 year old sister has been chosen for the Hunger Games. Before anyone could change her mind, Katniss volunteers to take her place.


READ THIS BOOK!!!!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Author Spotlight: Sarah Dessen





I just finished reading Sarah Dessen's latest, Along for the Ride (not yet in the library's catalog). And I started to think of all the books that I've read by Dessen, and I loved every single one.





For those of you that haven't read anything by Sarah Dessen, she is worth a glance. Dessen's books are gentle but substantial. She creates a world that you are reluctant to leave, and characters that you want to keep on reading about. Some of my Dessen favorites (in no particular order):




Dreamland: A lot of teens have asked me for this book, which might be Dessen's darkest. Sixteen year old Caitlin falls for handsome and mysterious Rodgerson Briscoe. Their perfect relationships is shattered when he starts to abuse her.




This Lullaby: This might be my favorite. Remy is tough and no nonsense, especially when it comes to love. Her mother is getting ready for her fifth marriage and is everything that she doesn't want to become. She meets Dexter, a struggling musician and is determined to keep him at arm's length, but he's just as determined to stay in her life.




Keeping the Moon: Fifteen year old Colie is spending the summer with her aunt while her mother, a fitness superstar, starts her European tour. Colie has always been an outsider, first because of her weight, and then for "being easy". But in the small beach town of Colby, North Carolina, she starts to find friends and a life of her own, and then finds herself.
There are so many more, these are just a few of my favorites. And if you have some time check out Sarah Dessen's website, she talks about all of her books and you can read her blog and more!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Plain Janes


Cecil Castellucci has written some very cool novels for teens. Including a personal favorite The Queen of Cool, about a popular girl who decides to take a very unpopular elective at the zoo.
I really love her Plain Jane graphic novel series. In The Plain Janes, Jane is an young artist in Metro City who moves to the suburbs after falling victim to a terrorist attack. She seeks out other outsiders (who happen to be named Jane) to start a radical public art group called P.L.A.I.N. Amazing. The characters are different and funny and complex and the art is inspired.
The follow up is Janes in Love. Which gives the Janes some dreamy crushes without becoming a big pile of mush.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Big Twilight Post


I really don't have to say much about the story of a star-crossed romance between Bella, a charming but clumsy high school student and the vampire that loves her. Twilight (by Stephanie Meyer) was recommended by Sage who said, "I would recommend this book to anyone who has time on their hands and who enjoys thrillers."
So true, Meyer's books are a little on the long side and what if you want a quick read that involves vampires and the women who love them? Check out the following list:
Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schriber. (series)
16 year old Raven is an outcast in her school. It might have something to do with the fact that she always wears black and wants to be a vampire someday. Perhaps the mysterious new boy in school could help her with her wish.
The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd by Heather Brewer (series)
A vampire story told from the male perspective. After his parents mysterious death, Vladimir and his Aunt take great measures to hide the fact that he is half vampire. With the help of his new teacher, Vlad uncovers clues to the reason for his parents death.
Thirsty by MT Anderson
When Chris finds out that he's a vampire, he desperately tries to find a way to be human before his vampire hating family finds out.
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (series)
Cal finds out that he has been infected with vampirism and has to hunt down all the women that he might have infected.
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Vampires + a Gossip Girl-esque clique = A really great series.
There are plenty more! So come to the library and check them out!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

King of the Screwups


Liam has never had any trouble being popular. With his mom's supermodel looks and his dad's money, he's able to have the style and confidence that makes people notice. The only person who doesn't notice Liam is his father, who is convinced that he is nothing but a giant screw up.
After his father kicks him out of the house, Liam has no choice but to move in with his "Aunt" Pete, a gay glam rock disk jockey living in upstate New York in a tiny trailer park. Liam is determined to be more like his father, studious, serious, and unpopular so that he can be welcomed back into his home. Only his Aunt Pete can see the real Liam and wants him to shine.
It’s a very well written book that moves at a great pace. And it features a male lead character that both boys and girls will be interested in. And everyone loves a great fish out of water story!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Genius Squad

Genius Squad by Catherine Jinks

Recommended by Iltimas

I liked this book because: Its about hacking, with a great premise. In this book the archenemy is really smart.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

TEST





And you thought your standardized tests were rough! In the not so distant future, America relies on one single test, the XCAS, to decide your future. Those who pass can go to college, get a job and live in luxury. Those who fail are doomed to a life of traffic that never ends, breathing in toxic pollution and no bright future. Its no wonder that all the teachers have stopped teaching and only work on the XCAS and that the test's answers are worth people's lives.

Ann knows that she won't pass the XCAS, but when she finds a connection between a powerful corporation and the XCAS, failing becomes the least of her worries.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Brisingr



Recommendation by Tyler at Teen Advisory Group

"I liked this book because: It has dragons
I would recommend this book to: Someone who likes dragons"

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Fireworks


Just in time for the warm weather! Niki Burnham, Erin Haft, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle, all successful YA authors in their own right, have collaborated on the short story collection Fireworks.


Fireworks is a collection of for great short stories about summer romances, camp, traveling, best friends, and well fireworks. Perfect for readers who love romance, but only want it in short doses. Take this book to the beach, on a road trip, or for a day when its way too hot outside and all you want to do is stay next to the air conditioner and you won't be dissappointed.