Book Review: Prized

The second installment of the Birthmark Trilogy--and it blew me away!

Prized

Caragh M. O'Brien

     Gaia has left Enclave.  She is a criminal there, for trying to save a pregnant woman from the death penalty, in this dystopian trilogy.  Gaia, while trying to find a new place to live in a futuristic world where little is left, must also take care of her newborn sister.  But Gaia cannot provide for Maya, and when the two are found by a mysterious stranger and taken to his village, Sylum, Gaia meet the Matrarc, the woman in charge and the way the world works becomes new territory for Gaia.  In Sylum, the women rule the city of 2,000 souls.  Women are rare finds; only boys tend to be born.  Gaia must submit to the restrictive rules of Sylum if she wants her sister to survive, but when Leon returns to find her, Gaia must decide where her heart and values lie.

I read this book in 2 days.  It's one of those.  I want to kick myself because I read the first book 2 years ago and just now decided to read the second one.  This story is VERY problematic for readers and challenges the readers to rethink and reevaluate opinions on very pertinent issues that we face today.

Abortion is a prevalent piece of this story--Gaia helps a young woman miscarry in order to save her family from complete ruin.  The reader has both sides of the story for abortion in this narrative, and the discussion from both sides might make some readers squirm.

Another issue is equality between genders.  Currently, we live in a very patriarchal society, but O'Brien flips the switch and gives a look at when women rule.  The strict matriarchal society doesn't seem to work out much, either.  It is when you combine the two, and give equality to all that the society begins to function, thus, O'Brien is able to make a political statement between the lines.

All in all, however, the storyline is incredible.  Multiple love interests, where Gaia must find the person that truly makes her heart sing and encourages her to be the strong, independent woman she knows she is.

This series is making it up the list of my top book series for YA.  We have the whole trilogy at MCPL. Come and get it!

Book #3 is on my list next:

Think...

I found this great photo online, and I thought I'd share some deep thoughts.

I feel that books, whether we realize it or not, are present in every facet in our life.  Obviously, when we read, or research, or anything having to do with school.  But also, there are many people that use books for crafts, quote authors on Facebook, find funny memes, watch movies (which by the way, 99% of movies started as a book...).

What I also want to state here, that as a Librarian, and working at a library, we are more than just books.  We want you to THINK.  At MCPL alone we have the following:

Research databases

16 public computers

6 kid computers

research help

Summer reading program

craft nights

book clubs

comfortable meeting spaces for teens to hang out

Ebooks/Audiobooks

movies

apps

blogs

Teen Advisory Board

fax machine/photocopiers

kids programs

One on One Reader's Advisory

and ohhhh so much more.  So THINK about it--don't avoid the library because you don't like to read.  

You can avoid the library IF and ONLY IF:

you don't like books AND the worldwide web AND meeting/chatting with friends 

Since that accounts for NO one, there should be no reason to use the library. Think about it.

Book Review: Earth Girl

A really astute and intense futuristic Science Fiction story featuring a girl stuck living on Earth with the rest of the disabled...

Earth Girl

Janet Edwards

Goodreads Summary

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an “ape,” a “throwback,” but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.

Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they’ve been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn’t expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love. 

This is an incredible YA novel! Which, then makes sense that it was one of the choices for the Top Ten Teen Books of 2014.  Edwards is an incredible writer--she is more like an adult fiction author, but has concepts for teens.

This Science Fiction story is a new twist on a futuristic Earth, where citizens can portal from continent to continent, and planet to planet.  In a future where some babies are born unable to live on other planets, Jarra is stuck on Earth, which seems fine to the reader--we are all stuck on Earth, but she is a second-class citizen, handicapped, disabled.  No one wants to interact with those stuck on Earth, which makes Jarra's battle that much stronger.  Not only is she trying to make sense of this futuristic world where she doesn't belong, but she is trying to fit in at University where NO one but the teachers and administration know who she really is.

This is the first book of a series, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Get Ready...

Star Wars!!! Only 7 months away. I'm already sitting on pins and needles. 

A little then to now...

And if you haven't seen the trailer:

STAR WARS TRAILER

Some great library advice...

Not sure if you knew April was School Library Month, but nonetheless, Author Tom Angleberger (author of The Quickwik Papers and Origami Yoda) has a great quote!

Though, I may know some librarians who would love to wear a legitimate batsuit!

Here's another one that strikes a chord with me.  I'm not a fan of banning books...I feel like it is the parents' job to talk to their kids about things that may be in books and to help them censor their own literature, therefore, learning life lessons and morality, analyzing, and virtue.  Just because a book doesn't fit in a pretty mold making everyone happy doesn't mean it should be banned.  We don't shut our eyes to the reality of life, and literature only imitates life, so why should we ignore literature, but not society?

Time for more Doctor Who?

Some great Doctor Who memes I found while piddling on the Internet...

    I'm not sure if you're all caught up on your Doctor Who, but the writers of this series pull at your heart strings and mess with your emotions.  For the first 2 season, you see the Doctor and Rose Tyler slowly form a bond, and you're never sure if it is romantic in nature, and when the Doctor leaves to go to another dimension, he ALMOST says those 3 little words, but he is gone before he can...leaving fans wondering if he WAS going to say "I love you!" Holy moly Doctor Who!!

And on the flip side, the 11th Doctor and his companion were present at this AMAZING wedding proposal!!!

Book Review: Half Lives

An interesting take on biochemical warfare, survival, and a cross-time narrative!

Half Lives

Sara Grant

 Goodreads Summary:
Present day: Icie is a typical high school teenager - until disaster strikes and her parents send her to find shelter inside a mountain near Las Vegas.

The future: Beckett lives on The Mountain - a sacred place devoted to the Great I AM. He must soon become the leader of his people. But Beckett is forced to break one of the sacred laws, and when the Great I AM does not strike him down, Beckett finds himself starting to question his beliefs.

As Beckett investigates The Mountain's history, Icie's story is revealed - along with the terrifying truth of what lies at the heart of The Mountain.

Sara Grant's HALF LIVES is a dystopian chronicle of the journeys of two unlikely heroes in their race against time to save future generations

Wow! What a weird approach to a dystopian story! But I like it! I love when authors take a general genre and make it their own, and the narratives between 2 teens in different time periods that connect is incredible. Not to mention, the reader does not know the extent of the connection to the very end.  Grant gives glimpses of the past in Beckett's narrative, and you find some clues to the future in Icie's.  

This book is great for anyone with a taste for Dystopian literature.  I believe this is a stand-alone book, so those of you who are scared of a daunting trilogy or longer series are in luck!  You get the whole story in one go. 

There is a bit of adult content, so make sure you know what level of maturity you are allowed to read.

Book Review: In the End

The last book of a 2 book series is here! This is a QUICK read, and addicting to boot!

In the End

Demitria Lunetta

Amy has escaped New Hope, the deceitful post-apocalyptic village where her mother reigns--the mother that helped release the virus that has turned its victims into zombie-like plant people.  But when Amy finds out that Dr. Reynolds, the doctor responsible for creating the virus in the first place, has "Baby," Amy's friend/sister she took care of outside the city walls, she travels to a new town in order to get help.

Amy rushes to Fort Black to enlist the help of her friend's brother, Ken.  What she finds at Fort Black is not what she expected.  She finds an intriguing and handsome boy her own age, an evil warden, and men at every corner trying to get Amy alone.

Fighting against time, Amy finds what she needs to escape Fort Black and tries to get back to New Hope to save Baby before it's too late.

In the End is a relatively original spin on post-apocalyptic literature.  While the creatures in this book are similar to zombies, Lunetta has taken that idea and turned them into plant-like creatures created by science.  Amy goes back and forth with her feelings with the boy at Fort Black and the boy at New Hope.  While Amy is attempting to remain and independent, kick-butt heroine, she lacks this ferocity when it comes to these boys.  She consistently lets her guard down when it comes to guys, which is ridiculous frustrating.

Fortunately, the story saves itself.  Amy is successful at getting the help she needs, and stays strong to who she is, despite her weakness for the male gender.

Fans of Rot & Ruin will love this book!

Are your books overdue?

Are your books overdue? If so,

 

teehee, cats and libraries are the perfect combination at all times

Book Review: VIII

Have you heard of King Henry VIII? Who couldn't keep a wife...he liked so many women, then he didn't, so he had them beheaded.  He turned out to be a pretty cruel king.  They made a TV show about him, The Tudors.  One good thing from Henry VIII, his daughter was Queen Elizabeth I, one of the most incredible rulers of Great Britain! Check out this historical fiction story!

VIII

H.M. Castor

And just a cool little thing to share, I DID get to go to England a few years ago.  I visited London for two days, and was able to capture some of this AMAZING history!

  This is the castle in the middle of London, where King Henry VIII was taken as a boy.  It now holds a TON of historic artifacts including the Crown Jewels!

   The Tower Bridge

  Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth lives part of the time, and works most of the time

"The Rack": a torture device that stretches your limbs, basically until they pop off. I'm sure King Henry VIII used this.

  Parliament

It's another Star Wars Day

I'm sorry I post so much Star Wars stuff on here...oh wait, no I'm not!

Have you seen the trailer for the new Star Wars movie? I can't freaking wait. Here's some memes to get in the mood.

Seriously, right?!

It's HERE!

Thank you to the teens who helped make the movie for the summer reading program! They were amazing! They sacrificed a Saturday in March to film, and left the splicing and editing to me--which means all that bad cinematography is my fault, not theirs :D Enjoy! Hope to see you this summer!

The teen reading program is anyone that is going into 6th grade through just graduating high school.  You can sign up starting June 8.  You read 6 hours a week to get small prizes, and raffle tickets to be entered for larger prizes every 2 weeks.  We have a TON of stuff happening--black light party, meeting veterans, playing "old school" video games, and more!  

Email, call or visit if you have questions or comments!

Book Review: Ashen Winter

This is the second book of the Ashfall trilogy, and though it is nearly 600 pages, I couldn't put it down.  Mike Mullin for the win!

Ashen Winter

Mike Mullin

Does anyone else do this?

There are times I find these really great little nook of a bookstore, and I absolutely love the novelty of it!  I scan the pages, touch the covers, and talk to myself, much like Gandalf the Grey.  My experience is very much captured by the following meme: 

Book Review: Breaking Free

This is an incredible and mind-transforming view into the world of human trafficking of young girls, both in the U.S. and internationally.  These stories will give you chills and make you wonder just how much is out there that we have no idea about...

Breaking Free: True Stories of Girls Who Escaped Slavery

Abby Sher

Human trafficking is rampant, not only in third world countries, but thriving ones--even the United States of America.  Around the world, young girls are being sold into slavery, generally sex-related, but that is not the extent of it.

Breaking Free follows three girls around the world that have been through some of the worst situations of human trafficking, but have been able, after years and years, to escape their bondage and go on to do great things and show what they are capable of.

This book is VERY difficult to read.  People don't like to acknowledge that human trafficking and sex slavery can happen...especially not in our own backyard.  The fact that one of these girls lives in California, and another girl an immigrant from Mexico is horrifying.  Sher paints a haunting, but true, picture of the nature of the beast--you will learn a lot about the seedy underbelly of seemingly innocent people.

From Cambodia to Mexico to the U.S., your skin will crawl from the horrors these girls endure, and I hope after reading this book, you will be moved to speak out, to stand up for these girls and women to help put an end to human trafficking around the world.

Last Book Club with the High School Girls :-(

I can't believe we have already done a WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR of book clubs! I have had the privilege of meeting with these five amazing girls since September to discuss a variety of books, from classics, to pop literature, to old children's favorites.  I'm sad to see Kaeley go next year, but excited about the coming year and all the great books we will read!

Here's to celebration! Thank you 41 Degrees North for letting us take over your restaurant!

The struggle is real

Being a Librarian doesn't necessarily mean you are an introvert that likes to shush people...but in my case, I think I very  much meet this stereotype.  I AM an introvert.  I love when I have programs and I get to hang out with the teens, but when I get home, that's where I want to stay! I found this graphic on Pinterest, and this is really real.  We will unite...but not actually with other people--cuz we like to be alone :D

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children

A book that was not at ALL what I thought it was, but EVEN better!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Ransom Riggs

When Jacob's grandfather is found dead, and Jacob sees the creature that killed him, he begins to believe all those crazy stories his grandfather told him about "The Bird" and the peculiar children he lived with when he was young, during the war. 

Jacob convinces his dad to travel with him to Great Britain in order for Jacob to try and locate Miss Peregrine and her home on the mysterious island he's heard about for years.  When Jacob spots a mysterious girl, he follows her and is thrown out of time into a "loop" of the same day where he meets all the children from Miss Peregrine's home.  Together, Jacob, Miss Peregrine, and the children must work to stop the wights and ghosts that lurk on the island attempting to destroy the home, and everyone in it.

This IS a peculiar story, and not what I was expecting at all! I thought this book was about old carnival shows and the crazy stories of people with different abilities and physical deformities we hear about from the "olden days." It was a pleasant surprise when I picked this book up and realized it was a fantasy story that meshed two time periods into one incredible story!

Jacob is an investigator. He's curious, and he is sure his grandfather is telling him the truth.  He quickly forms bonds with all the children and Miss Peregrine, and while it takes Jacob quite a few chapters to get to Miss Peregrine, when he does, he sweeps the reader up in his whirlwind adventure and quest to save all of his new friends!

Riggs does an amazing job setting this story up. From the tales from the grandfather, to the perhaps mistaken culprit of Grandfather's death, to the time travel, the story is solid.  I'm excited that there is a second book out! I shall be reading that one too!

Book #2: Hollow City

Last Young Hoosier Book Club of the Year :-(

I'm so super sad the the Young Hoosier Book Club at the middle school is over for this year.  But I had such a FANTASTIC time with them! Check out the pictures of In a Glass Grimmly book club.  I can't wait for the next school year!

Book Review: No Safety in Numbers

New Science Fiction series with biochemical weaponry!

No Safety in Numbers

Dayna Lorentz

When Marco, on his way to work in the mall, finds a suspicious package in the duct work, he calls 9-1-1 immediately.  No one knows what the package contains--probably biochemical in nature.  So when the Senator, who happens to be eating at the mall with her family, is called in to help the police, the order the mall into quarantine.  When those in charge realize their mistake, it is too late.  

When people around the mall start getting sick and turning blue, those in power realize just what damage might have been done.

This story is told from four different teen perspectives that connect with each other and paint the large picture of what a true bio-weapon attack could mean.

Yeah, this is another story I read in about 2 sittings.  It's a fast paced, easy-language, engaging story that brings to light a very real idea of terrorism.  The teens face incredible odds, and they begin to see just how animalistic humans can be when stretched to their wits' end. Each teen has a different story, so any reader can relate SOMEhow to one of the narrations.

This is the first in a series, and I cannot wait for the next one!

Book Review: Her Dark Curiosity

Book 2 of the Madman's Daughter Trilogy---actually better than the first book!

Her Dark Curiosity

Megan Sheperd

Juliet is back in London.  She has left the island, her father now dead, and her love, Montgomery left her to stay behind.  Juliet's health condition is beginning to worsen, and she is determined to find the ultimate cure, as long as that will not lead her down the dark path her father followed long ago.

When mysterious murders begin to occur in the dark streets of London, all signs point to a creature with claws and a thirst for blood.  When Juliet figures out all the victims have, at one point, wronged her, she realizes the murderer can only be one person...her lost friend from the island--the one successful chemically made human/animal hybrid.  

Juliet must face Edward Prince and help them both to find a cure before it's too late...

This story is a new take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I love! The first story was a classic, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and Shepherd is taking a page from the teen handbook and taking classic stories and forming them into interconnected teen series.  Instead of redoing fairy tales or vampire, Shepherd uses great literature and fuses it together to make a jam-packed mega-book of awesome sauce (Sidney, you will like that term!).  

This story IS a bit more difficult to read, only because it does take those elements from the original texts, which has some impressive underlying themes that Shepherd tries to, and succeeds in, adding to her new storyline.

There are three books to this series, so check out the first, The Madman's Daughter, and I can't wait for the third book, A Cold Legacy (which eludes to the story of Frankenstein)!!!

Book Review: Aquifer

A new take on Dystopian fiction--

Aquifer

Jonathan Friesen

In a futuristic world, where water is scarce, a small town must rely on one man to travel into the depths of the Earth to meet with the allegedly ratlike creatures that dwell below in order to receive water from their source.   When the "Deliverer" mysteriously disappears and the life of his son, the new Deliverer is at stake, Luca must escape the clutches of the corrupt "Nine" to find out the truth in the Earth below.  

When Luca finds out the dwellers underground are not at all like rats, but gorgeous humans with incredible power and science, he realizes he must do anything to spread the truth about the Nine, his father, and the water.

This book took a little getting into...a lot of the themes and futuristic ideas were a little hard to grasp.  Friesen did a great job of only revealing bits and pieces to form clues to the big puzzle, but at the same time, I struggled to wrap my mind around both things.  However, I love a good Dystopian novel, and Friesen has written a book that has elements that have not been used before.  Sure, there is a fundamental equation for creating a Dystopian world and story, but Friesen gets incredibly creative and goes outside the box to form a likely world in our, perhaps, not so distant future?

Luca is a young man struggling with independence and the introduction of a new young lady, who is beautiful...Luca comes from a world where people must suppress every emotion, so when the floodgates open to this mysterious underground stranger, you have an interesting and intriguing little love story.

I am unaware of a sequel to this book, but the book ends well enough satisfying the reader that the problem has been solved and the story has come to a nice conclusion.

Last Teen Craft Night of the School Year :-(

Gah! It begins...the last program for everything. Last Book Buddies, last book clubs, and last craft nights.  I'm going to miss these smaller gatherings, but I can't wait for the summer to begin to have a crazy, bombastic party time with the teens!

Here are some pictures from our last craft night--we got to tear apart computers and use the computer guts to make some cool stuff!


Tricia decided to COMPLETELY take apart a keyboard and was surprised just how much was tucked in there!

                                                                                                 
                                                                                                     Elisa tore apart a mouse or two...

                                                                    Chris and his general destruction! 

                                                                The girls working hard!

Book Review: If He Had Been With Me

Not JUST a "girl" book!

If He Had Been With Me

Laura Nowlin

I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial.

So let me tell you... 

This is a romance book with an incredible twist.  It's a classic "girl/boy next door" story, but with an incredible, heart-wrenching approach.  Readers, get your tissues--you're gonna need them.  Finny and August have a complicated relationship.  While they used to be inseparable as children, when Finny kissed August in middle school, she didn't know what it meant or how to deal with it.  Ever since then, they've drifted apart and now walk on eggshells when together.  

But deep down, August knows the truth.  She loves Finny.  She wanted that kiss.  But Finny has a girlfriend.  August has a boyfriend.  Life just doesn't seem to bring these two together...When they finally have their moment, it's shattered...irreparable. It's gut-wrenching.  The love these two keeps the reader on edge.  You want them to get together, but you also know they are both really good people who refuse to hurt their current friends and significant others.

The tiptoeing around the two teens is agonizing-- it's like watching your favorite Rom Com and KNOWING the main characters will get together, but suffering through all the trials and tribulations that get them to that point, thus making their relationship even MORE romantic.  Nowlin knows what she is doing.  You have to check this book out!