The Real Real

MU was fortunate enough to have an author panel come to the library this month. One of the panelists that came to speak was Emma McLaughlin, one have of the writing team that brought us The Nanny Diaries and Citizen Girl. McLaughlin and her writing partner Nicola Kraus released a novel for young adults called The Real Real. It's great.

Jesse is a high school senior in a high school in the Hamptons. Posh right? Not really. Jesse's mom cleans the houses of the Hamptons elite, and her dad manages a restaurant. Jesse has been working her butt off to get enough money for college, and when XTV comes to her school, looking for the next big reality star, Jesse gets swept up in the excitement of becoming the next Lauren Conrad.

But things aren't so great as they seem. XTV decides that her best friend isn't camera ready, so she has to go, neither is her crush. Jesse finds out that this "reality" couldn't be farther from the truth.

The Real Real is funny, fast paced and a sharp look at how reality stars are made.

Bones of Faerie

After the War, Liza has always been afraid of magic. When she was young, she saw her father leave her newborn sister in the fields because she showed signs of a faerie power. Shortly after, her mother didn't come home after dark, so Liza knew she would never return.

To Liza magic is wild and uncontrollable. Nothing good can come from it. So when she starts to have visions, she runs away, fearing her father. Lost in the woods, Liza begins a dangerous journey, trying to make sense of her visions bridge the world between humans and faeries.

Bones of Faerie was a little difficult to follow at times, maybe because I haven't read a lot of fantasy before and didn't know how to keep track of the characters. I had to push through a couple of times, and reread passages, but I was glad I did. It is really great and I think fantasy fans will really like it.

ABBCBGFAG

Woooaaaahhhh!

So there are certain books that are destined to be passed around by girls for years to come. This is one of them.

A Bad Boy can be Good for a Girl by Tonya Lee Stone looks at three very different girls and their relationship with one very bad boy.

Josie is self-confident and very naive. Nicolette already knows how powerful sex can be, and is curious about and Aviva is a smart and funny senior who is surprised to find out that a handsome jock wants her. All of them get in over their head, but all of them come out a whole lot wiser.

I normally don't love books written in verse, but this book grabbed me. I was on the train and I missed my stop while reading it! A sure sign that a book is good.

I would definitely recommend this book to older teens.

Magazine Monday!

(Spin's Cover Artist: My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way)

Just In!

Spin

and

WWE Magazine



We also have some new magazines in the free bin, come and check it out!

The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine

Any book that starts in a dingy Brooklyn police station has my attention.

It all started at Century 21. Dylan Fontaine was standing in line, waiting to buy some underwear when he though he saw his mother standing by the front door. His mother had left his family earlier this summer with her painting instructor their last conversation had been less than friendly. Dylan rushes to the door, completely forgetting the underwear in his pocket. When security stops him, he also remembers the bag of weed in his other pocket. The bag of weed that was given to him by a drug dealer who thought he was his burnt out brother.

Then he ends up in jail.

The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontiane by April Lurie is a great great book with a really wonderful main character that you'll root for.

Stitches

David Small's memior Stitches has been getting a lot of buzz lately, most recently as an Alex Award winner. The Alex Awards are books for adults with great teen appeal. Stitches, is an absolutely amazing graphic novel that covers Small's childhood. His mother was a bitter penny pincher who was incapable of giving him any love. His father was a frustrated doctor who tried to cure Small's asthma with radation, which ended up giving him cancer.

I read this book in less than a day, not because of the fact that its a graphic novel, the illustrations actually kept me glued to the page. The story itself was mesmerizing and made me want to learn more and more about the Small family.

Magazine Monday!

Here's some big news:

For the first time in MONTHS we got a copy of Mad Magazine! Welcome back MAD!

Also in:

Teen Vogue: Featuring Miley Cyrus and this years PROM guide

Latina

Game Informer

and of course,

ESPN magazine

New Books

Just finished reading two books that I think you'll really like.

The first is Beautiful by Amy Lynn Reed. Beautiful is the story of thirteen year old Cassie, who has just transferred to a new school in Seattle and desperately wants to shed her good-girl past. And boy does she. I had a hard time reading this book, I kept on wanting to yell "make better choices!!!" when Cassie is spinning out of control, but that is something that comes with age. This is a great book for readers who liked Go Ask Alice or books by Ellen Hopkins.

The second is Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald, the story of two collage girls from very different worlds, desperate for a change of scene after their romantic lives fall apart. Tasha, a party girl from California was to escape her sudden notoriety after an infamous hot tub scene. Emily, reeling from a break up at Oxford is looking for some fun in the sun. So they switch, and hilarity ensues.

Both of these books are available at the MU branch.

Magazine "Monday"

Oh...we had a LOT of magazines this monday. Here is the list:

Entertainment Weekly (with Johnny Depp on the cover)

ESPN

Latina

Spin (the magazine for people who love rock and roll)

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated Kids

WWE Magazine

and

Wizard

Phew! Come and take a look, you can also check out the back issues for three weeks!