Feeling bored? Wishing August would get here quickly?!

I was just checking all the email that had accumulated and stumbled across Houston Public Library's Teen Page.  Oh, my gosh!  It is chock full of information ...fun workshops, movies, gaming events and of course, really cool new books!  Wanna learn to hip-hop?  There's a workshop!  Wanna watch free movies?  There are tons of times scheduled!  Wanna learn to draw manga?  Check out the workshops!  Here's the link: http://www.houstonlibrary.org/teens.

Also, I was tickled to learn that the sequel to Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs is out (it's a really fun read) and to find some new authors that I haven't read (I'll let you know when I find great books to add to our library).

Soooooo....quite whining about being bored and find yourself some fun things to do and great books to read! 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For those of you who've read and loved Epic by Connor Kostick, you'll certainly enjoy this book, too! Set in a future time, North America has been divided into 13 regions based on their natural resources and all the regions are under the thumb of Capital City, a place full of luxury and excess. Once a year, each district is required to hold a lottery, drawing two names from those 12 to 18, one male and one female to participate in the Hunger Games. Only one winner is allowed...and anything goes during the games. We experience the competition through the experiences of Katniss, a 16 year old huntress who volunteered to replace her 12 year old sister, and Peeta Mallark, the baker's son who has been in love with Katniss since he first saw her. The games are televised to all the districts sort of like the Super Bowl. Try to imagine an event that is part beauty pagaent, Survivor, and soap opera and you've got a start on The Hunger Games.

Full of action, adventure, some blood and guts (check out the "tracker jacks"), romance, and psychological elements, this is the beginning of a new series and I can't wait for the second book to be released! Take a read..and let me know what you think!

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature ... Whether you're a Christian or not, this books will give you pause to think. The tale begins on Mena's first day of high school, which she begins hopefully and ends realizing that it was a day that could have only been worse if she'd eaten snails. She is snubbed and verbally abused by all of her former "church friends" for having shown compassion to one of their gay classmates who attempted suicide as a result of the church groups attempts to convert him.

Before you think, "Wow! I'm not gonna read this book...it sounds too grim!" Mena's life does get better when she finds she's assigned Casey as a lab partner in Science class and that her teacher is AWESOME. Mena learns a ton about herself, finds herself writing a web column about the Bible, meets a dozen cute lab puppies and gets her first kiss. This book is much better than I'm describing it...It's on the Lone Star list so you know it's got to be good!!

Oh, yeah...after you read it, let me know if you think the cover fits the plot and characters.

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen is another one of those books that is impossible to put down. From the first page to the last, Bodeen keeps you interested.

First of all, the plot is creepy. Imagine a billionaire dad who has built an underground compound (not an itty-bitty storm cellar...we're talking acres of self contained underground living space) "just in case" there is ever a nuclear holocaust. Sure enough, the "big one" drops and the family runs for cover. Except they don't all make it inside....

The story picks up again after six years. All the kids are older, food is running out and dear old Dad is getting creepier by the day. When Eli, the twin who made it to safety finds a computer and realizes he has Internet access, he makes some very interesting discoveries about his world. The question is....will he be able to convince his dad to do the right thing?

This Lone Star Book is well worth the nail-biting suspense! Check it out and let me know what you think....

Antsy Does Time - Neil Shusterman

The last post was about Unwind and this one is about another Shusterman novel, Antsy Does Time. For those of you who are die hard Shusterman fans, Antsy is a character you will recognize from The Schwa Was Here.



In Antsy Does Time, the main character, Antsy continues his relationships with his buddies, Ira and Howie, Mr. Crawley (described as "very rich, very selfish, and generally mean"), and Lexie, Mr. Crawley's granddaughter. The new twist is that Gunnar Umlaut, another of Antsy's (or Anthony) classmates announces that he is dying of a disease called Pulmonary Monocis Systemia. Coincidentally, Gunnar's sister, Kjersten (pronounced Kirsten), two years older than Antsy and a member of the tennis team, develops a relationship with Antsy. The question is....does she like Antsy for who he is? Or does she like Antsy for what he is trying to do for her brother?



Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the novel....About Antsy's first kiss “She finally pulls away, and I say – I swear I actually say this: “Do you want your gum back, or should I keep it?” Or how about this description of Mr. Crawley....“He’s the kind of guy who’d hand out vomit-inducing candy on Halloween, and then sell Pepto-Bismol across the street at jacked up prices.”



This Lone Star book has tons of twists and turns and I promise it is worth the read. Check it out and let me know what you think.....Once you've read Unwind and Antsy Does Time, you'll be shaking your head like me! How could such different novels come from the same author?

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Have you ever wondered what an author looks like? Well, here's a picture of Neil Shusterman, who has written a couple of books that made this year's Lone Star Book List. I have to tell you, he may look like a normal person, but he has some very, very scary stuff living in his head. You might ask how I know that.....

Well, let me tell you about Unwind. It's set in the future, in the United States and in a time where abortion has been totally outlawed. As an alternative, parents can made the decision to have their children "unwound" anytime before they are 18. The novel begins with Connor, a 16 year old not known for keeping his temper, and his discovery that his parents have booked a cruise for 3 after Thanksgiving. Sounds cool, right? Yes, unless they're not planning on taking Connor because they've signed the papers to have him unwound. Then there's Risa, a ward of the state, who doesn't perform flawlessly at a piano concert, and learns that her mistakes will cost her her life. And then there's Lev, who has known for years that he was destined for unwinding. As the 10th child in the family, he's been designated as a tithe.

So these three characters hook up in a really exciting beginning and the book just steam-rolls ahead. It's really hard to put down, will give you tons of things to think about, and will, I promise, creep you out. Consider yourself warned.....

I.Q. [Book One: Independence Hall]

Roland Smith is one of my favorite authors and it was so cool to hear him talk about how he writes books last spring at the Texas Library Association Conference. He writes them by hand in little "journal-like" books called moleskins that he can carry around with him while he travels. I can't imagine writing a 300 page novel by hand, can you?




Anyway, I.Q. is the first novel in a series that kind of reminds me of James Bond's 007 (Bet you didn't know there were books before the movies?!). Book One begins with a wedding between two musicians, who each have a teenager. The guy's daughter is Angela, a fifteen year old "wanna be" spy and martial arts expert, and the woman's son is "Q" (stands for Quest), a thirteen year old magician. While the parents are making music and becoming famous, the two kids become partners in unraveling a terrorist conspiracy with the help of some retired intelligence agents and a really old gap-toothed dog named Croc and ends with a trip to the White House. In between, Angela and Q discover a mutual love for Big Macs and use their special skills to save each other.



This is quite a page turner...full of suspense, foreign terrorists, counter-terrorists, and has more twists than a roller coaster. Just when you think you've got the bad guys figured out, Smith throws another curveball into the plot! I can't wait for Book 2! In the meantime check out the IQ series website at http://www.iqtheseries.com/. You can learn Q's magic tricks, here music by the parents' band, and all kinds of really coooool stuff!!

Wings

Wings by Aprilynne Pike is a beautifully written book. Pike's first novel (and I hope she writes more....I could see a 2nd novel about these same characters), stretches the reader's imagination ever so gently to suggest that all those we know as human might not be as they appear.

Laurel, the main character, has moved to a new town and begun high school which is quite a change from being home schooled. On the first day of school, she meets David in biology class. They become friends and as Laurel begins to trust him, they discover that while Laurel looks human and sounds human, she's not human!

The characters are wonderful and there's enough romance, suspense, and drama to keep the reader quickly turning pages. For the guys who might be thinking this is a "mushy love story", I promise there are guns, fights, and people get thrown in the river with huge rocks weighting them down.

I'd give this novel two thumbs up. You'll have to check it out from the public library for now, but I'll be adding it to the BMS Library as quickly as I can. Happy Reading!

Box Out by John Coy

You know the old expression "you can't judge a book by its cover?". Well, for Box Out by John Coy, the expression clearly holds true.

I picked this book up reluctantly...because it looks like it's about basketball, a sport that I've never played and don't particularly enjoy (apologies to all you basketball players and fans!). And is often the case, I found more than just a book about basketball.

Coy's book does have tons of b-ball play by play but also has enough of a plot to keep readers like me interested and driving toward the finish. Liam, the protagonist, gets promoted to Varsity as a sophomore due to an injury. He's ecstatic, his dad is ecstatic and life couldn't get any better!

Until...Liam discovers that the Varsity team has some team building practices that he doesn't agree with (mandatory prayer in the locker room) and his girlfriend dumps him long distance. It is pure fun to see how Liam copes and stands up for what's right in spite of peer pressure from the team.

Check this one out at the Houston Public Library this summer (you'll need to put it on hold and have it transferred to the library branch nearest you) or from the BMS library in August.

What's new with you?

Sorry it has been awhile since I've posted, but I've been traveling a bit, trying to button up the BMS library for summer and starting my two grad. school classes. I've also been doing some reading (surprised?!... NAW!!)


One of the YA books I've read is Gym Candy by Carl Deuker. I love his books and he's written several. I always get insight into a guy's point of view. This is helpful since I'm not a guy. I think it's good to know how the other side thinks. So even if you're a girl, this book is worth reading.

So what's Gym Candy about? Football, steroids, relationships, personal integrity, and decision making. This is one of the Lone Star book titles that will be on the Name that Book list for next year's competition....hint to all you NTB readers....READ THIS!

Speaking of Name that Book, the list for next year's books hasn't been released by Library Services, yet. I'll have it out on the blog as soon as it gets posted.


Happy summer and HAPPY READING!!!

Summer Reading

One of my favorite things to do over the summer is....you guessed it! READ!!! When I was a kid, my mom, brother and I would have reading contests every summer to see who could read the most books. I was a frequent winner! I think my mom was inspired to come up with the idea. Trips to the library were basically free, reading kept us quiet and out of trouble, and she loved to read, too.

Think about picking up a book instead of turning on the TV or your Ipod. It is better for the environment ('cause it doesn't use electricity) and much better for your brain.

Here's another place to find good book recommendations - http://txla.org/groups/yart/Assets/Files/lonestar/lone0910.pdf

This list is designed to promote student reading. It's not about books that are "good" for you to read (like eating vegetables is good for you) , but rather includes "good" books you'll ENJOY reading.

Check it out and let me know what you think. I can't wait to hear from you.