Thursday, July 29, 2010

Do You Believe in Past Lives?

Author Kirsten Miller (who wrote the fabulous Kiki Strike series) has a brand new series coming out, involving reincarnation and past lives:

Haven Moore has recurring visions of a romance from a past life that ended tragically, and when she sees playboy Iain Morrow on television, she goes to New York to meet him and discover if he is really the lover from her dreams.

There is great interview with the author at Publishers Weekly's website. She talks about past lives, secret societies, snake-handling, and how she will guess your past life for you on her blog :)

We've got the first book of The Eternal Ones on order, so reserve a copy today!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Which One Do You Like Best?

We are looking at giving away 1G USB drives as prizes for Teen Read Month. Which design do you like best?




Color Clip Flash Drives








Custom Printed USB Memory Bands







Guitar Shaped Flash Drives









Retractable Flash Drive Key Chains





I’d love to hear your opinion on this ASAP! Which ones do you like? Any you hate? What colors would you want?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chickens and The Girl Next Door

Flipped is one of my all time favorite teen books. It is sweet and funny, and not so much a romance as a book about relationships. It is a great read for both guys and gals, as it is told from the two main characters alternating viewpoints. And now it is being made into a movie! Why didn't anyone tell me?



Ok...I never pictured it taking place in the 1950s, but that looks ok. Not sure about it just being from the guy's point of view, but maybe that is just the preview. And it still has the tree and most importantly the chickens, so yes...I can't wait to see it!

Want to find out more before you decide? Here is the official movie site, and the fan site :)

One more thing...there is already a wait list for the book...but as of this moment all of the books-on-cd of Flipped are on the shelf waiting for you to enjoy them!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Hearts at Stake Winner + Favorite Vampires

We have a winner for Alyxandra Harvey's Hearts at Stake! Ashley C. was chosen in a random drawing. Ashley...email your home library to teens@sno-isle.org, and I'll send the book your way.

Who were people's favorite vampires?

Ann D said... My favorite vampire of all time would be Edward Cullen...but in the movie, Alice Cullen would be my favorite :)




Katie N. said... count von count from sesame street!






Ashley C. said... My favorite vampire would either be Lestat from the Vampire Chronicles (Interview with the vampire)or James Stark from House of Night. Lestat because he's beastly, hilarious, AND a rock star. And Stark because he's hot and is great at Archery.

Alex S. said... my favorite vampire would have to be Grimshaw from the darkside series by Tom Becker

Friday, July 9, 2010

Printz Winning Author Speeches

Last week I had the awesome opportunity to attend the American Libraries Association conference and go to the Printz Author reception put on by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The speeches the authors gave were funny, heartfelt and just plain wonderful. And now you can watch them, too! Libba Bray's especially is not to be missed.


Adam Rapp talking about his dark, but great, book Punkzilla:



Deborah Heiligman speaking about Charles and Emma (so romantic!):


Rick Yancey talking about his terrifying and gruesome The Monstrumologist:


John Barnes speaking from his heart about how writing Tales of the Madman Underground changed his life:


And of course, the big winner, Libba Bray being her witty, sweet, hilarious self, talking about the amazing Going Bovine:


If you needed a great little summer reading list...you could not go wrong with these books. I thought they were all great. Punkzilla was a bummer, but oh so good. Charles and Emma was incredibly sweet. The Monstrumologist was the goriest book I've enjoyed in a long time. Tales of the Madman Underground is very mature, with characters you just want to hug. And Going Bovine made me laugh so hard, but also broke my heart.. I'd love to hear what you thought of any of these!

Win a Vampire Book: Hearts at Stake

I was wondering if folks were getting tired of vampires yet, but clearly with the HUGE success of Eclipse this week in theaters this is not the case.

So this weekend I'm giving away Alyxandra Harvey's fun spin on vampires Hearts at Stake. From our catalog:

As her momentous sixteenth birthday approaches, Solange Drake, the only born female vampire in 900 years, is protected by her large family of brothers and her human best friend Lucy from increasingly persistent attempts on her life by the powerful vampire queen and her followers.

Vampire princess! What could make a better summer fun read?

Who are your favorite vampires of all-time? Answer below before Monday at midnight and you will be entered in a drawing to win this book.

Check back Tuesday afternoon to see who won!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Any Vampire Academy Fans?

I know you are out there, 'cause there are 124 holds on the 5th book.

Looks like you'll be getting your very own movie based of the series of books.

  1. Vampire Academy

  2. Frostbite

  3. Shadow Kiss

  4. Blood Promise

  5. Spirit Bound

  6. Last Sacrifice, will be released on December 7, 2010


Read up now, before the holds get REALLY insane!

What do you think? Will you go see the movies? Which book do you most want to see?

Via Variety

Monday, July 5, 2010

A best books list that's a little different

As you know I'm regularly sharing lists of books people think are the best of whatever category they are concerned with (I like books! I can't help it!). What makes this list just a little different is that it's mostly full of books (with a few exceptions) you've probably never heard of. The reason for that is the companies that published these books are more likely to be smaller and not have money to spend making book trailers or putting ads into magazines and websites. Basically, reading a book on this list is like going to Dave's Burgers instead of McDonald's, or going to the corner espresso stand rather than Starbucks.

It's also a great time to remember not to judge a book by its cover (although some of these are admittedly attractive) - 'cause another thing many small publishing houses can't really afford are super awesome graphic designers that make you drool before you even know what the book is about.

So, here are the best books you've (mostly) never heard of:

BOTYA 2009 Finalists in Young Adult Fiction Category

  1. Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
    When music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians, his talent attracts Nuala, a faerie muse who fosters and feeds on creative energies, but soon he finds himself battling the Queen of the Fey for the very lives of Deirdre and Nuala.

  2. Eli the Good by Silas House
    In the summer of 1976, ten-year-old Eli Book's excitement over Bicentennial celebrations is tempered by his father's flashbacks to the Vietnam War and other family problems, as well as concern about his tough but troubled best friend, Edie.

  3. Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
    In 1986, when seventeen-year-old Daniel's father arrives in Madison, Wisconsin, after five years of torture as a political prisoner in Chile, Daniel and his eighteen-year-old "gringa" girlfriend, Courtney, use different methods to help this bitter, self-destructive stranger who yearns to return home and continue his work.

  4. Hellie Jondoe by Randall Platt
    In 1918, as the Great War ends and the Spanish influenza pandemic begins, thirteen-year-old Hellie Jondoe survives on the streets of New York as a beggar and pickpocket until she boards the orphan train to Oregon, where she learns about loyalty, honesty, and the meaning of family.

  5. Shadow of the Leopard by Henning Mankell
    Sofia, who lost her legs as a child, is now grown up with children in Mozambique, but when she discovers that Armando, the father of her children, is cheating on her, she leaves him, igniting his terrible rage.

  6. The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
    Dante, a prisoner sent from fifteenth-century Italy into the present time as punishment, meets and falls in love with Abby, a high school senior who may be the only one who can save him.

  7. Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacock
    In broad daylight, a high society girl vanishes on a crowded street. Days pass, then weeks; the daring abduction remains an impenetrable mystery, without a ransom note, a single clue, or even public information. The moment young Sherlock reads about it, he knows that it's the case that will make his name.


For the whole list: ForeWord
via SLJ

(Summaries taken from the library catalog)

Friday, July 2, 2010

Psst!


(Have you seen Eclipse?)

What did you think? I'm on the fence about going to it - so tell me what's up - should I get to the theater asap, or avoid it like the plague?

Is it better or worse than the last two?

Help a teen librarian out!