Monday, December 28, 2009

Are You the Smartest Reader You Know?

Author Garret Freymann-Weyr (After the moment, Stay with me, My heartbeat, The kings are already here) put together this list for NPR:

Three Books For The Smartest Teens You Know
The publishing world likes to say that young adult literature is in a golden age, full of great writing, and most important, growing sales in an otherwise dismal market. But the genre is not without flaws: Many young adult novels don't set the bar very high in their language, character complexity or emotional nuance, which is why I — a young adult author — like to encourage young readers to venture into the adult shelf. Here are three non-young adult novels featuring young protagonists that anyone — young or old — will read with both joy and fervor.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Boombox!


Ok, so boomboxes saw their heyday when I was still in a stroller, but I have to confess to having fallen completely in love with Fred Flare's Boombox. It's the perfect mix of familiar and new music to keep me going hour after hour at the computer. They even have a holiday mix, if that's what you're looking for these days. Their mixes change monthly.

Take a listen. If you like what you hear, talk to your librarian and recommend we buy the stuff the library doesn't have. We can't place a hold on music or dvds that we don't already own, but we are ALWAYS eager to get requests - be they music, dvd, or books. Most of the time we buy what you want. 'Cause, really, we want to make sure that what's on the shelves reflects the people perusing them. And that would be you. So ask. Seriously.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

ECO-HERO? There's $500 in it.

From Action for Nature:

"WHY?
To recognize the individual accomplishments of young people (ages 8-16) whose personal actions have significantly improved the environment.

HOW?
Action For Nature will award cash prizes of up to $500 to young Eco-Heroes from around the world for their outstanding accomplishments in environmental advocacy, environmental health, research or protection of the natural world. Their individual initiatives will inspire others to preserve and protect our fragile environment.

ARE YOU AN ECO-HERO?

DO YOU KNOW AN ECO-HERO?"

Find out more.

Deadline is February 28, 2010.

Via SLJ.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Download the new Will Shetterly vampirish book

Will Shetterly has written some great books, including some of my favorite urban fantasy book (alas, many are now out of print). Now he has a brand new "vampirish" book called Midnight Girl you can read online for FREE!

Your dad used to be the spooky-mysteries TV show host Professor Midnight. Your grandmother lives in the basement and only comes upstairs after dark. Your mom died when you were a baby, and nobody will tell you about her. Oh, and you have two birthdays, both on Halloween. And that's the part of your life that's normal. But with this birthday, everything is going to change...

Sounds great! I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Morris Award

It's only in it's second year, but the Morris Award for best first book is quickly becoming my favorite teen literature award. I rather hope someday I'll be judged worthy to be on the selection committee. But you aren't hear to learn about my hopes and dreams, are you?

From YALSA, Ze List:

"2010 Finalists

Download a bookmark (PDF) featuring all five finalists to distribute to teens at your library!

Ash by Malinda LoBeautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret StohlThe Everafter by Amy HuntleyFlash Burnout by LK MadiganHold Still by Nina LaCour

ash

By Malinda Lo, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316040099).

Consumed with grief after the death of her father, Ash's only escape from her harsh life and cruel stepmother comes from re-reading the fairy tales that her mother once told her and hoping against hope that the fairies will appear to her. When the fairy Sidhean appears, Ash hopes that he will steal her away to his enchanted world; but when she meets the King's Huntress, Kaisa, she realizes that staying in her own realm can also lead to beauty, romance, and perhaps even love.

Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (9780316042673).

Sixteen-year-old Ethan has lived all his life in Gaitlin, South Carolina, a town that hasn’t changed much since the Civil War. While coping with the loss of his mother, a father who spends all of his time in his study, and high school, his world turns upside down with the arrival of Lena, a new girl with whom he seems to share a psychic connection. As they grow closer, Ethan discovers that Lena and her family share a dark secret and that she is headed for doom on her sixteenth birthday.

The Everafter

By Amy Huntley, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (9780061776793).

Maddy is a ghost, surrounded by things she lost when she was alive. By touching these objects, she relives the episodes in her life where she lost them. Even though Maddy’s dead, she explores the lessons these objects hold — and why are they still important.

Flash Burnout

By L.K. Madigan, published by Houghton Mifflin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (9780547194899).

Blake’s life is way too complicated. He’s a sophomore in high school with a girlfriend and a friend who is a girl. One of them loves him. One of them needs him. Can he please them both?

hold still

By Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Children’s Books, a Division of Penguin Young Readers Group. (9780525421559).

After Caitlin's best friend Ingrid commits suicide, Caitlin has a hard time making sense of the loss. She finds Ingrid's journal and slowly allows herself to read it and learn about why Ingrid felt the need to end her life. Caitlin also grapples with allowing herself to find another friend, to let in a boyfriend, and to understand why her favorite teacher is ignoring her. It is the haunting story of dealing with loss, moving on, and finding peace and hope."

I'm very excited about these titles, as I've heard good things about all of them. I already had Ash, Flash Burnout, and Beautiful Creatures on my list of books to read. What's a couple more?

Check out last year's list.

Have you read any of these? Are you especially excited about any of them? What do you think?


Thursday, December 3, 2009

Hunger Games 3

August 24th. No title yet. But doesn't it make you just a little giddy? Or is that just me?



You know they are making a movie, right?

There's a bit of a waiting list, but if you haven't read Hunger Games or Catching Fire there's still time to catch up!

via Publisher's Weekly

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Love Japanese Culture?

This Saturday the Mountlake Terrace Library is hosting our first Japanese Culture Appreciation Festival!

Small Meeting Room - Anime Marathon
Spirited Away 10-12:15
Howl's Moving Castle 12:30-2:30
Millennium Actress 2:45-4:15

Large Meeting Room - Classes
Learn to Play Go with instructors from the Seattle Go Center – 10-noon
Learn to make veggie sushi – 12:30-1:30
Learn how to dress in the Gothic Lolita style – 2-3
Gothic Lolita tea party – 3-4 (bring a donation for the foodbank, if you can!)

DVD prizes, popcorn and Japanese snacks provided by the Friends of the Mountlake Terrace Library.

Saturday December 5th – 10-4:30pm

Mountlake Terrace Library
23300 - 58th Ave. W
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043