14 February 2011
Book Obsessions
Ever had a book that you just can't get enough of...that you read and read and then immediately want another just like it? Well, I've got one I'm reading now that I can't put down. I wasn't really into the whole paranormal romance thing when it started. I've never read the Twilight books. But I decided to try these books by Maggie Stiefvater and they're about a girl who falls in love with a boy who's a werewolf. The first one is Shiver, I'm on Linger now, and I'm getting ready to put the third one, Forever on hold. So, my question to all of you is: What's your book obsession? What book did you hate to end? Share what you love and maybe someone else's comment will help you find a new book obsession.
05 January 2011
New Books!
I just had a pile of new books come across my desk and I thought I might share some of my top picks with you!
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway
Sisters April, May, and June suddenly develop special powers when they move to a new town. One can see the future, another can disappear into thin air, and the last can read minds. These powers are going to make high school a lot more interesting, but what if they're really to use for a greater good?
Flash by Michael Cadnum
This book begins when a bank robbery goes horribly wrong for a pair of brothers. Their bungled heist is overheard by a blind neighbor named Terrence, who tells his girlfriend, Nina, and her brother, Carraway. When Carraway disappears, Nina is afraid of what might happen next.
The Unknowns by Benedict Carey
Folsom Adjacent is a nothing kind of place. Really it's just a bunch of trailers next to the power plant, then people suddenly start disapearing. Lady Di Smith and Tom Jones are just two kids from Folsom Adjacent until they started playing with straws...
Shutout by Brendan Halpin
Amanda and Lena have been BFFs and soccer stars for forever. Now, in the 9th grade Lena makes the varsity team and Amanda doesn't. This one little thing changes everything between them. Is Amanda going to able to keep from losing her best friend forever and survive her first year of high school at the same time?
Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney
Missy and Claire are cousins and best friends who finish each other's sentences and look exactly alike. They've always had an eerie connection to each other; but when they post a video on YouTube for a project at school, they aren't quite expecting how eerie their lives are about to become.
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
Jebel Rum's father is the Royal Executioner in a kingdom without any mercy. When Jebel realizes that there is no chance of his scrawny self becoming his father's successor, he sets out on a quest to recieve powers from a god who can make him the most lethal of his brothers. But with him, he must take a slave to be sacrificed. His name is Tel Hesani and together they will face a world of danger.
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June by Robin Benway
Sisters April, May, and June suddenly develop special powers when they move to a new town. One can see the future, another can disappear into thin air, and the last can read minds. These powers are going to make high school a lot more interesting, but what if they're really to use for a greater good?
Flash by Michael Cadnum
This book begins when a bank robbery goes horribly wrong for a pair of brothers. Their bungled heist is overheard by a blind neighbor named Terrence, who tells his girlfriend, Nina, and her brother, Carraway. When Carraway disappears, Nina is afraid of what might happen next.
The Unknowns by Benedict Carey
Folsom Adjacent is a nothing kind of place. Really it's just a bunch of trailers next to the power plant, then people suddenly start disapearing. Lady Di Smith and Tom Jones are just two kids from Folsom Adjacent until they started playing with straws...
Shutout by Brendan Halpin
Amanda and Lena have been BFFs and soccer stars for forever. Now, in the 9th grade Lena makes the varsity team and Amanda doesn't. This one little thing changes everything between them. Is Amanda going to able to keep from losing her best friend forever and survive her first year of high school at the same time?
Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney
Missy and Claire are cousins and best friends who finish each other's sentences and look exactly alike. They've always had an eerie connection to each other; but when they post a video on YouTube for a project at school, they aren't quite expecting how eerie their lives are about to become.
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
Jebel Rum's father is the Royal Executioner in a kingdom without any mercy. When Jebel realizes that there is no chance of his scrawny self becoming his father's successor, he sets out on a quest to recieve powers from a god who can make him the most lethal of his brothers. But with him, he must take a slave to be sacrificed. His name is Tel Hesani and together they will face a world of danger.
14 December 2010
Guest Blogger Busy B on HP7
If you haven't gotten a hold of J.K. Rowling's final Harry Potter book yet, well you definitely need to. HP7 tests your faith in the characters more than any other book in the series, whether you're forced to turn your back on Ron, Dumbledore, or even Harry. HP7 opens with Voldemort torturing a muggle studies teacher at Hogwarts. It gives a somewhat spooky insight into Voldemort's sick mind and exactly what might occur over the course of the book. Then Harry is brought into the picture, reading the Daily Prophet and all it's outrageous lies. Following this, one of the most shocking surprises of the book is displayed: Dudley's kindness towards Harry. After a frantic chase later on with Death Eaters and dealing with Ron's time consuming mother, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally slip away from the Burrow to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes. The complicated task left by Dumbledore leaves the three friends bickering day and night, and wearing Voldemort's Slytherin Horcrux necklace surely doesn't help. As you're about to pull your own hair out, Ron just up and leaves a torn Harry and Hermione, only to re-appear again a few chapters later. Meanwhile, Harry battles with the speculations following Dumbledore's death. He constantly wonders if some of the gossip is indeed true. An encounter at Godrics Hallow with Voldemort leaves Harry broken, but his spirits are lifted when Ron comes back, saves his life, and retrieves a once lost treasure. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out again, but this time to learn more about the Deathly Hallows. Hermione is convinced that they are mere fairy tales, but Xeno Lovegood proves her wrong and unfortunately betrays the trio in the process. They manage to escape with valuable information. At last, Harry believes he knows what Voldemort's after, however, one night on the run Harry slips up by using Voldemort's tabooed name. Wizards surround their tent and capture Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They are brought to Malfoy Manor and luckily escape, but not without a devastating loss. Eventually Harry, Ron, and Hermione wind up at Hogwarts to search for the final Horcrux and a horrendous battle breaks out between Dumbledore's Army and Death Eaters. When it comes down to it, who is the last one standing? Harry, or Voldemort? Read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and you'll find out!
08 December 2010
A little nonfiction talk...
If I'm *really* being honest, I don't do non-fiction. I read to escape. Period. However, in going through our non-fiction here at Teen Central, I've found some books that I'm adding to my must read pile and I thought maybe some of you would be interested as well...
1. Chew on This by Eric Schlosser
I really didn't need to browse through this one after stopping at a local burger joint for lunch. I'm sure the faces I made while browsing some of the facts in this expose on American fast food were humorous...to everyone else in the room. I officially don't want to know how many cows my lunch came from. Makes a girl look for the nearest friendly piece of lettuce.
2. Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler
I've always loved looking into other people's lives. Books that provide glimpses at how other people live and the experiences other people have fascinate me. This one offers the look into the hearts of a thousand teenage girls on subjects that range from boys to school to politics. I can't wait to read this book of honest confessions.
3. America Through the Lens: Photographers Who Changed the Nation by Martin W. Sandler
In history class, I always found it hard to concentrate on the text because the pictures were always so arresting. It was like peering back through a window in time to really connect with the people of a particular time period. I flipped open this book and found one of my all time favorite historical photos. It's a photo of a woman and her two children during the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange called "Migrant Mother". I always had thought the woman in the picture must be in her late 40s, according the the photographer she was just 32. This book shows and tells the stories of many photographs and photographers dating from the civil war on up to some really cool NASA photographs that were taken in the late 60s.
4. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye
Speaking of pictures, I've always thought of poems as the photographs as literature. If a novel is a movie, then a poem is a freeze frame snapshot of a particular moment momentous or simple. Just reading two or three of the poems in this book of verse made me want to gobble the whole thing in one sitting. I'm not sure if I like "Moving House" or "Worry" better.
5.The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon
I'm a sucker for a good memoir and The Burn Journals looks like a good bet. Brent Runyon set himself on fire when he was fourteen. And he survived. He tells all about that startling act, what came after, and the what got him there in the first place.
1. Chew on This by Eric Schlosser
I really didn't need to browse through this one after stopping at a local burger joint for lunch. I'm sure the faces I made while browsing some of the facts in this expose on American fast food were humorous...to everyone else in the room. I officially don't want to know how many cows my lunch came from. Makes a girl look for the nearest friendly piece of lettuce.
2. Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler
I've always loved looking into other people's lives. Books that provide glimpses at how other people live and the experiences other people have fascinate me. This one offers the look into the hearts of a thousand teenage girls on subjects that range from boys to school to politics. I can't wait to read this book of honest confessions.
3. America Through the Lens: Photographers Who Changed the Nation by Martin W. Sandler
In history class, I always found it hard to concentrate on the text because the pictures were always so arresting. It was like peering back through a window in time to really connect with the people of a particular time period. I flipped open this book and found one of my all time favorite historical photos. It's a photo of a woman and her two children during the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange called "Migrant Mother". I always had thought the woman in the picture must be in her late 40s, according the the photographer she was just 32. This book shows and tells the stories of many photographs and photographers dating from the civil war on up to some really cool NASA photographs that were taken in the late 60s.
4. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye
Speaking of pictures, I've always thought of poems as the photographs as literature. If a novel is a movie, then a poem is a freeze frame snapshot of a particular moment momentous or simple. Just reading two or three of the poems in this book of verse made me want to gobble the whole thing in one sitting. I'm not sure if I like "Moving House" or "Worry" better.
5.The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon
I'm a sucker for a good memoir and The Burn Journals looks like a good bet. Brent Runyon set himself on fire when he was fourteen. And he survived. He tells all about that startling act, what came after, and the what got him there in the first place.
23 November 2010
Can't Read Just One!
I'm so excited. The newest book in one of the series I like just came in (It's E. Lockhart's The Treasure Map of Boys, by the way). I just love series. There's something about coming back to the same set of characters and the same world time and time again. We've also changed up the series shelving down here in Teen Central, so if you can't find what you're looking for; it's likely moved. Just ask at the desk and we'll be glad to help you find your favorite series.
Here are a few of my favorite series you might want to check out:
1. Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars Series
2. Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series
3. Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls Series
4. Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series
5. Suzanne Collins Mockingjay Trilogy
What are some of your favorites? Are we missing a series you adore here at the library? Talk about both in the comments!
Here are a few of my favorite series you might want to check out:
1. Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars Series
2. Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series
3. Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls Series
4. Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series
5. Suzanne Collins Mockingjay Trilogy
What are some of your favorites? Are we missing a series you adore here at the library? Talk about both in the comments!
22 November 2010
Guest Blogger - Busy B
Hello everyone! We're going to start to have guest teen reviewers here on the FCPL4Teens blog. Our first review comes to us from Bethann over at the Busy B. Take it away Bethann.
Book Review: Toxin by Robin Cook
Being a cardiac surgeon, Kim Reggis' life is complicated enough. Add a divorce and a critically ill daughter and his life goes from complicated to out of control. He is driven by his daughter Becky's pain to find out the cause of her disease, and runs into a plethora of problems. It turns out that E. Coli 0157:H7 is the exact bacteria that has Becky lying in the hospital, and Kim is willing to do whatever it takes to find out why. A trip to a popular fast food restaurant, The Onion Ring, gives him a few clues and a bit of trouble. His next stop is Mercer Meats, a meat-processing company. Conveniently, Kim runs into Marsha Baldwin, a USDA inspector. Together they go on a quest to stop the spread of E. Coli and to shut down Higgins and Hancock, a slaughter house. Kim's ex wife Tracy steps in for Marsha when she turns up missing while investigating Higgins and Hancock! This leads Kim to believe that there is something mysterious going on in the meat-processing industry and decides to get to the bottom of it for good! The underlying question through all of this is: Will Becky fight off the E. Coli? And what happens to Marsha Baldwin? Packed with suspense and gruesome truths, Toxin is definitely a great read for those who enjoy solving the unlikely!
Book Review: Toxin by Robin Cook
Being a cardiac surgeon, Kim Reggis' life is complicated enough. Add a divorce and a critically ill daughter and his life goes from complicated to out of control. He is driven by his daughter Becky's pain to find out the cause of her disease, and runs into a plethora of problems. It turns out that E. Coli 0157:H7 is the exact bacteria that has Becky lying in the hospital, and Kim is willing to do whatever it takes to find out why. A trip to a popular fast food restaurant, The Onion Ring, gives him a few clues and a bit of trouble. His next stop is Mercer Meats, a meat-processing company. Conveniently, Kim runs into Marsha Baldwin, a USDA inspector. Together they go on a quest to stop the spread of E. Coli and to shut down Higgins and Hancock, a slaughter house. Kim's ex wife Tracy steps in for Marsha when she turns up missing while investigating Higgins and Hancock! This leads Kim to believe that there is something mysterious going on in the meat-processing industry and decides to get to the bottom of it for good! The underlying question through all of this is: Will Becky fight off the E. Coli? And what happens to Marsha Baldwin? Packed with suspense and gruesome truths, Toxin is definitely a great read for those who enjoy solving the unlikely!
20 October 2010
Teen Read Week Reading List!
I told you guys about our awesome Teen Read Week theme on Friday and, then, today, I was reminded of all the really cool music themed teen reads there are out there. I decided to put together a list of a few of my favorite indie, rock, and music-centric Young Adult Books in honor of Teen Read Week. Enjoy!
P.S. The movie we're showing in Teen Central at 6 tonight was based off of one of these books. Figure out what it is using the Internet Movie Database.
Meagan Brothers' Debbie Harry Sings in French
Robin Benway's Audrey, Wait!
Cecil Castellucci's Beige
Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Sarah Dessen's Just Listen
Gordan Korman's Born to Rock
Christopher Krovatin's Heavy Metal and You
Yvonne Prinz's The Vinyl Princess
Jon Skovron's Struts and Frets
Gaby Triana's Backstage Pass
P.S. The movie we're showing in Teen Central at 6 tonight was based off of one of these books. Figure out what it is using the Internet Movie Database.
Meagan Brothers' Debbie Harry Sings in French
Robin Benway's Audrey, Wait!
Cecil Castellucci's Beige
Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Sarah Dessen's Just Listen
Gordan Korman's Born to Rock
Christopher Krovatin's Heavy Metal and You
Yvonne Prinz's The Vinyl Princess
Jon Skovron's Struts and Frets
Gaby Triana's Backstage Pass
15 October 2010
Teen Read Week!
Can I just tell you guys how excited I am that it's almost Teen Read Week. We get to spend an entire week focusing on teens and books for teens. The bonus this year is that the theme is really cool. We're talking about "Books with Beat", so all of the books and programs we're featuring involve music. The very first one next week is Teen Central's 5th Birthday Bash. There will be music, games, fun, and cake galore. The really cool part is that we're going to have local teen band Epic Failure in to play for that event. If you missed them in our Garage Band competition this summer, be sure to be here for the party on Monday. The party starts at 4 and the band starts at 4:30. There's also going to be a game competition on Tuesday, a movie on Wednesday, candy sushi on Friday, and a dance performance on Saturday...and that's just in Teen Central. There are going to be 10 other programs around the branch library's for you to participate in. Check out all of our awesome programs here.
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