Book Clubs are Fun

Our 5th book club just happened at the middle school! I had a total of 51 teens throughout the lunch periods...I'd rather have more,  but I'm impressed with the loyalty of those 51. This month, we talked about The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal...

One day, the princess wakes up and speaks with her parents.  That day, she finds out she is in fact, NOT Princess Nalia.  She is Sinda, a lowly peasant girl that has been raised by the royal family to avoid a prophecy fortelling of the princesses death by age 16.  Now that both girls are 16, Sinda is shipped out of the castle to live with her aunt, while Princess Nalia leaves the convent she grew up in to take over her princess duties.  Sinda will never know her parents, her father, under a wizard’s spell, believed his daughter to be dead, and died himself years later.  Sinda had only one friend, Kieran, who she can no longer see because he is royalty and she is not.  When she meets Tyr in the village, she falls head over heels because he is so good looking and charming.  But Sinda’s aunt warns her that he is trouble—he thinks he is better than he really is.  When Sinda finds out the truth, magic bubbles inside her and she burns a few flowers and the grass around her.  Scared by this new development, she leaves her aunt to attend the Wizard’s College in the city.  When they fail to accept her (she is too poor now), she finds Philanthia, the crazy wizard to teach her.  Fortunately, she also makes contact with Kieran again! Unfortunately, the real princess has requested from Kieran that he introduce the two. When Sinda and the princess meet, followed by a strange man in a dark cloak, Sinda begins to wonder if what the world believes about the princess is true, or if there may be a vengeful wizard behind everything wrong with the story.  When Sinda and Kiernan find out the oracle gave a false prophecy, and is related to one of the wizards, the story begins to unfold and Sinda finds herself in danger.

All who participated learned how to be princesses! I taught them to walk like a princess, greet royalty like a princess, and accessorize like a princess. And at the end of those 3 rounds, we chose the BEST princess--check it out!

6th Grade

7th Grade

 Our winning princess, Abigail!

8th Grade

 Our winning princesses, Elisa & Andrea!

NERDS UNITE!

IF anyone loves their Teen Librarian a ton, you can get me this:

I am a nerd, and I'm okay with it! I have a great life, a great job, and good times, so embrace your inner nerd!

The Walking Dead

Who, here, reads this blog AND loves The Walking Dead? You might find this GIF funny...

 I almost peed my pants when I read this! Bahahaha

Also, there are Walking Dead graphic novels...I'm considering getting them for the library. Thoughts?

Yay! only a few more weeks! Catch the return Sunday, February 8, 2015!

Manga Mania!

Some of you may know that I am trying to up my game when it comes to Manga.  I have asked quite a few teens what series I should get, and I've gotten GREAT feedback! Did you know that if you request a book, I generally buy it within the next 3 weeks for the library? So, here are some of the Manga series I have...not all of them, but a good start. Let me know if I'm missing some you want!

Conferences

At the end of January, I get to go to ANOTHER conference! I'm really excited about this one, because I will probably be getting a TON of free stuff--posters, pens, stickers, books, and more. If you are interested in anything you want me to get, let me know.  I will probably use books for prizes, and that includes ARCs which stands for "Advanced Reading Copy" which means you may get a chance to read a book BEFORE it's even published and in libraries!

Also, at this conference, I get to relive my childhood. Have any of you seen Reading Rainbow, the daytime book show on PBS?

 Well, Levar Burton...THIS guy from Reading Rainbow is speaking! Hooray! I hope I get his autograph!

For those "trekkies" out there, Levar Burton is also:

Whoah! Time warp!

What's YOUR favorite?

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has come out with the Teens' Top 10 Books of 2014! These were voted on by YOU, the teens as well as librarians across the country.  I regret to inform you that I only have 8 out of the 10, but I'm working on it.  If you see this sticker....

                                                                 on a book in the teen section, it's a 2014 top pick!

Here is a list of the books that made the cut...we will vote for 2015 books in October.

1. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell





















2. Splintered by A.G. Howard

3. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

5. Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne

6. Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

7. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

8.  Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

10.  The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Book Review

I finished the series! Emmy Laybourne wrote a GREAT science fiction trilogy and I loved it from beginning to end!

Savage Drift

Emmy Laybourne

Emmy Laybourne ends her trilogy with a bang!  The series starts with a biochemical weapon released into the air. Depending on your blood type, you have hallucinations, suffer from infertility, go crazy and start killing people, or blister and burn until you die...not good options.  When 2 school buses stop during the hail near the shopping center, it seems like a group of kids have a choice at survival.  When a bomb is dropped on the city, fortunately some of the kids have escaped.  We are now in the third book...the kids and teens have been rescued and are staying at a refugee camp.  But when Niko finds out Josie is still alive (one of the teens that starts killing people when exposed), and being mistreated at another camp, he chooses to go find her and help her escape.  Astrid, pregnant and sick, is about to be taken by the government for testing.  Dean helps Astrid escape with Niko and Jake.  This story follows their struggles to get help and freedom.  But, there are still drifts of the poisoned air...

This is a wonderful shift from the Dystopian genre.  Still futuristic, Laybourne adds more science than zombies.  Laybourne is able to create a realistic future world, with struggles among the teens, but can also incorporate real teen issues that happen right now in our present state.  The combination adds to a story all readers can relate to.  The third story stretches the series out a little bit, and it is possible that the story could have been shorter or added to the second story, however, Laybourne's writing is superb and hold readers' attention throughout the story.

Check out the whole series of Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne at MCPL!