Category Archives: Books

Teens’ Top 10 List

clockwork  angelTeen’s across the country chose Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare as their favorite book in the annual Teens’ Top Ten vote. Nearly 10,000 votes were cast online between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15.

The 2011 Teens’ Top Ten is:

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Matched by Ally Condie
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Did your favorite make the list? I’ve read Matched, Paranormalcy, and Nightshade with Iron King and I Am Number Four on my To Be Read list.

Witches of East End

Engaged to Bran, the heir to Fair Haven and Gardiners Island, Freya, a bartender and witch who has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, finds her life spiraling out of control when she is drawn to Bran’s brother and a young girl goes missing after taking one of her irresistible cocktails.

Melissa de la Cruz’s latest book, Witches of East End – reserve your copy today.

New Books in October

crossedCrossed by Allyson Condie, the sequel to Matched. Seventeen-year-old Cassia sacrifices everything and heads to the Outer Provinces in search of Ky, where she is confronted with shocking revelations about Society and the promise of rebellion.

inheritanceInheritance by Christopher Paolini, latest book in Inheritance Cycle. Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances.

legendLegend by Marie Lu. In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

destinedDestined by PC Cast, latest in the House of Night series. Zoey, safe at home with her guardian warrior Stark, confronts new forces at work in the House of Night, including Aurox, a devastatingly handsome teenage boy, created by Neferet as her greatest weapon.

gossip girl psycho killerGossip Girl: Psycho Killer by Cecily Von Ziegesar. The beautiful Serena van der Woodsen returns to her privileged private school in New York to make amends with her best friend, Blair Waldorf, and decides the only way to set things straight is to kill Nate, the guy who came between them, while Blair has her own ideas about who should be murdered.

Books with Bite

Have you seen the trailer for Breaking Dawn: Part 1? If you just can’t wait for November, here are a few other vampire stories to help you pass the time.

  • Blue Bloods—Melissa de la Cruz. Some people have everything—money, status, fancy NYC digs…and a vampire bloodline? This is what would happen if Twilight met Gossip Girl and had a sparkling, scandalous child.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Before Edward, there was Angel. A brooding, tormented vampire in love with a high school girl. But Sunnydale, California is no Forks—it’s built over a hellmouth, which means all sorts of evil beasties are drawn to the town. Fortunately, Sunnydale is the home of Buffy, the one and only Slayer.
  • The House of Night series–P. C. Cast. This series, starting with Marked, takes place in a prep school for vampires. When Zoey finds out that a friend is abusing her powers, what can she do to stop her?
  • iDrakula–Bekka Black. Jonathan Harker has a rare blood disease, and it’s up to him, along with his girlfriend Mina and a medical student called Van Helsing, to figure out what it is. Sound familiar? It should–it’s an update of the classic vampire novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
  • The Vampire Diaries–L. J. Smith. Two vampire brothers fall in love with high-school senior Elena. How far will they go to be the one she chooses? (Also a TV series.)
  • Vampire Kisses–Ellen Schreiber. Raven is as Goth as Goth can be, and she longs to be turned into a vampire. Can the mysterious new boy give her what she’s after? If you’ve already read the books, try the manga series, too.

Teens Kinect

Come to the Owensville Branch on Saturday, September 24 at 2pm to test out your skills with the our new XBox 360 Kinect. Space is limited so call 732-6084 to reserve your spot.

Do you feel lucky, punk?

clockwork angel coverSteampunk, Cyberbpunk, Genepunk–what are all these punks doing in teen lit? Here’s a quick guide to these genres, and some books and movies to get you started!

Steampunk: Imagine the past, with the future’s technology. Want to fly? Take a hot air balloon, or maybe a steam-powered airship. Top hats and crinolines rule, but look out for mechanical umbrellas and the occasional jet pack. Get started with a few of these:

Cyberpunk: Computers are a part of everything–every waking moment is monitored or enhanced or connected, somehow, to technology. Sounds pretty close to reality, huh? Cyberpunk gets into the gritty underground of a techno-society, with hackers and revolutionaries working to survive.

Genepunk: Also called biopunk, this is what happens when genetic engineering takes over. From giant whales that serve as airships to human beings grown in pods, this genre often features mad scientists.

So what kind of punk are you?

New Books – August

These books are coming soon to a shelf near you. Reserve your copy now!

obsession After Obsession – When Alan, a half-Navajo in touch with the spiritual mysticism of his ancestors, meets Aimee, a gifted psychic in his new high school, they realize they’ve had precognitive dreams of each other and that they must confront an evil spirit that has been responsible for mysterious deaths in the river in their small Maine town for hundreds of years and which is now haunting Alan’s cousin Courtney.

 

 

 

beautiful darkBeautiful Dark – On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

beautiful daysBeautiful Days – For the bright young things of 1929, the beautiful days seem endless, filled with romance and heartbreak, adventure and intrigue, friendship and rivalry.

After a month in New York, Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are small-town girls no longer. They spend their afternoons with Astrid Donal at the Greys’ lush Long Island estate and their nights in Manhattan’s bustling metropolis. But Letty’s not content to be a mere socialite. She is ready at last to chase her Broadway dreams—no matter the cost.

Cordelia is still reeling from the death of her father at the hands of Thom Hale, the man she thought she loved. Now she is set to honor Darius Grey’s legacy . . . and take her revenge.

bloodBlood
- “I do not remember being bitten. I wish I did, for then I would know the creature who did this to me and I would have a purpose, to track him down and repay him for the poisoned gift he gave me.” Back in the 13th Century, Will was destined to be Earl of Mercia. He never lived to inherit his title, struck down by a strange illness and buried beneath the city walls. But Will was not dead, and only now, seven lonely centuries later, does he begin to understand that there was a reason for all of this, that he has a destiny. To find it though, he will need help, and as ever, he will need blood.

Teens’ Top 20 – 2011

sisters redHere’s the list of Teens’ Top Twenty Nominees. Read the books and then vote for your favorites next month (I’ll post the link once the polls are open).

Drought by Pam Bachorz
I Am J by Chris Beam
You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Love, Inc. by Yvonne Collins
Matched by Ally Condie
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Lies by Michael Grant
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
The False Princess by Eilis O’Neal
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Paranormalcy
by Kiersten White

Bumped

Description: When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Read an excerpt of Bumped

Are you Dauntless?

DivergentHave you read The Hunger Games yet? Maybe you’re still on that mile-long waiting list. Either way, here are a few similar series-starters to hold you over until the first movie comes out in March 2012.

  • Divergent by Veronica Roth. Society is divided into five factions; when you choose your faction at age 16, you leave behind everyone in your old life. Tris was raised in the selfless faction of Abnegation, but she chooses the Dauntless, who leap on and off of moving trains for fun. But being fearless isn’t as easy as it looks, especially when you have a deadly secret to keep.
  • Chaos Walking: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. On a dusty outer-space colony, a germ called the Noise has made everyone’s thoughts audible. Todd, on the run from a crazy preacher with only his talking dog for company, faces secrets that make him question everything he’s ever been taught.
  • Wither by Lauren DeStefano. A virus has infected the population: Now girls die at the age of 20, and boys at 25. To keep the human race alive, girls are often kidnapped and married off—sometimes as young as 13. Rhine finds herself married to Linden along with two other girls, and she never stops plotting her escape. But is it worth it to run away when you’ve only got a few more years to live?
  • Matched by Allie Condie. Cassia is happy to be Matched to her best friend, Xander, when she turns 17. But an error in her Match file shows the face of another teenager before suddenly being deleted. Ky is an Aberration who can never be Matched, so why would his face be in her file? Suddenly Cassia has questions that no one will answer—what do those pills do? Why does her grandfather have to die? And what does the Society have planned for them all?