Book Review: Destined For Doon

I finally got around to reading the second book of this series! Girls, start squealing! Scottish princes are back!

Destined for Doon

by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

Veronica chose to stay in Doon with her beloved Jamie, but when the Limbus, a dark force creeping into the land starts destroying everything in its path, Veronica HAS to get ahold of Kenna, her best friend.

Kenna chose to leave Doon, and the boy she loves.  When Duncan re-enters her life in Chicago pleading with her to return to Doon, she agrees, but can't get Duncan to forgive her for leaving him in the first place.

Together, the best friends must join together to become stronger to defeat the growing evil before it kills everything and everyone.

I will just get this out of the way so I can get on to the great parts of this book--TOO much romance! The whole story seems to revolve around Kenna and Duncan's star-crossed lover theme, and it really gets to be too much--but if you're a teen who likes a good romance, and the struggle of getting along and then fighting, you will love, Love, LOVE this story.

Also, Kenna, we know you love the theatre, but enough with the theatre expletives! I got so tired of reading "Holy Hammerstein" or any other frustrated gasps from Kenna that it became a struggle to get through her tantrums.

Whew, now that THAT's out of the way...this book is still well-written and flows nicely.  The plot picks up pretty much where the first book ended, though the passage of time is different between Chicago and Doon.

The reader sees Veronica struggle to hold her power as Queen of Doon and she grows up a lot.  No longer is she a timid, book nerd totally in love with a mysterious Scottish noble.  She is now in charge of the land she fell in love with in the first book.  This part of the story is the most engaging--the struggle to restore balance to Doon, the intricate workings of a new relationship, one that's committed and DOESN'T fall apart when things get tough.

All in all, you have to be the type of person to like this kind of story, but I know there are girls out there who will just swoon for these handsome Scottish guys!

Teen Read Week: Big Huge Labs

Thank you to the teens who took EXTRA time out of their week to join me for Teen Read Week at the library!

I had a great group; and it made me realize that the library needs to buy more laptops!

Together, we used the library computers and went to https://bighugelabs.com/ to create some great stuff! Here are some creations from the teens!

TOMORROW we will have Book Speed Dating AND some other games that I have prepared for you! Hope to see you from 5:30 - 7pm!

Shopping for New Books...

At the bookstore, I be like:

Big Huge Labs

TOMORROW, teens can come to the library and work on library computers (or bring your own) and create memes, movie posters, book posters, collages, video, and basically anything else you can think of using Big Huge Labs.  This is a free website, though you can sign up and pay for more.  I hope you can all come!

Snacks and the best Teen Librarian are ALWAYS provided!

Here is my example that I made with a picture from the Young Hoosier Book Club

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20

4:30 - 5:30 PM

Teen Read Week--TOMORROW!

Tomorrow starts Teen Read Week at MCPL! I hope to see some teens in the library this week!

Here is a recap of what will be happening!

I HEART NHS Book Club!

I thought I would take a moment just say how awesome my book club at the high school is.  I started this last year, because I wanted a more intimate setting with fewer teens. I also didn't want a book club that spanned from 6th grade to 12th.  Obviously 11 year olds think differently than 18 year olds, and I wanted a book club that challenged the minds of the high schoolers.  I was a little unsure, because I know getting teens in high school to commit, every month, to a library program is near impossible.

However, I have an amazing group of teens, and I enjoy the time we get to spend chatting about a tough book, catching up on what's going on in their lives, and of course, enjoying tasty snacks!

Here is the group! Anyone interested in joining, grades 9 through 12, please get in touch with me!

Next month's book is 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher....This is going to be a deep and intense discussion!

Book Review: Snow Like Ashes

If you haven't checked out any e-Books yet, I highly suggest you do! You can go here: http://mdypl.axis360.baker-taylor.com/ to download the Axis360 app for Apple products, Androids (Google Play), laptops, and Kindles (1st Generation Kindle Fire does NOT work).  I used this to check out and read Snow Like Ashes...I'm loving being able to read on my device whenever I want!

Snow Like Ashes

by Sara Raasch

Summary From Goodreads:
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

It took me awhile to read through this book, simply because I kept forgetting that I had the e-book on my phone! So, I urge library patrons to keep using e-books so we don't forget about them!

Now on to the actual story.  Meira is a fierce girl warrior--so from the get-go, I'm hooked.  There is a lot Meira doesn't know about the fall of Winter, and Raasch plans out the clues and unveiling throughout the story, leaving the reader hooked.

There is a bit of a love triangle, which wasn't too overdone, so I could handle it.  I am interested, though, to see which guy Meira does choose, if she chooses one at all in a second book of this series.

There is some gore in this book, so I will let readers know to be aware of that, but when you think about it... Meira's whole land, and the people in it, were destroyed.  So, when they confront the Spring army, obviously, there will be blood and violence.  Meira is captured, so this part gets a little tricky, but I always encourage readers to remember--it's not about the violence.  Don't take that part of the book with you.  Instead, there is hope among all the prisoners in the work camp, a hope that swells as Meira learns who she truly is and what she can accomplish.  The book is about overcoming the oppressors that have taken everything away from Meira, and the love that will bind her to her people.

With that in mind, strap in.  It's gonna be a crazy ride!