Friday, December 30, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Unleashed


For everyone who is sick of vampires and zombies, today's book is Unleased the first in a brand new werewolf series by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie called the Wolf Springs Chronicles:

Orphaned Kat McBride, nearly seventeen, must leave California to live with her grandfather in small-town Arkansas, where she is drawn into a paranormal world of feuding werewolf clans.     

To win the advanced readers copy of this popular new title (already has a holds list!), tell me about a time you thought something was going to be boring (Arkansas?) and was surprisingly exciting (werewolves!)  and/or...what is your favorite werewolf story? 

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday January 3, 2012. Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 Favorites

As 2011 comes to a close, people everywhere reflect on their favorites of the year - books, movies, music, live concerts... lists can be found all over the internet.  Sometimes it can be hard to narrow it down, but for me there was one book that really stood out.

Rotters by Daniel Kraus turned out to be a very different book than I expected.  I'm not really sure what I expected - the subject matter seemed intriguing, but other than that I wasn't sure where it might go.  It's best described as a horror book - and there are some pretty gruesome scenes!  There is also a good dose of psychological horror.  Joey, the main character, is not only bullied and tormented by students and teachers at his new school, but also has to come to terms with his father's chosen line of work.  Once I started reading, I was sucked in and couldn't put it down - and I'm about to read it again!

Watch the book trailer for a hint about Rotters - I don't want to give too much away.



What were your favorites of 2011?




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: Between Shades of Gray

"We don't need your death. We need your pain and suffering."



Not so much a book trailer, as a author interview, but it is captivating all the same. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is an amazing, horrifying novel about a period of history that's probably missing from your textbook.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: How to Save a Life

This weekend's book is a mixture of hope and love, angst and heartache.  If you've ever read a book by Sara Zarr, you know she is incredibly good at writing the teen heart and all the hardships it can go through.  In How to Save a Life:

Told from their own viewpoints, seventeen-year-old Jill, in grief over the loss of her father, and Mandy, nearly nineteen, are thrown together when Jill's mother agrees to adopt Mandy's unborn child but nothing turns out as they had anticipated.  

Drama potential? Unlimited.  Emotional read potential? Great.  How good is this book?  You tell me.

If you would like a lovely brand new hard copy of this book to keep and love forever, write about something that turned out completely different than you expected.

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday December 27, 2012.  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

VOYA's Teen Poetry Contest

A poetry contest for teens age 12-18, but the catch is that entries MUST be sponsored by a teacher or librarian. Teens, you can't just enter yourself. However, if you come up to one of us, I'm sure we'd be happy to send in the poem for you.

Submission Guidelines:
  • Contest submissions may be poems of up to thirty lines on any topic.

  • They must be typed in a Word document.

  • Include the following information on the same page of each poem entered: poet’s name, age, town, and state; sponsor’s name, title, organization/school/library, address, phone, and e-mail.

  • Name the document file with the poet’s last name. Ex: Smith.doc

  • Attach the document to an e-mail with “VOYA Teen Poetry Contest” and the poet’s last name in the subject line.

  • Only one poem per teen, please.

  • Contest Deadline: December 31, 2011.


Each winner will receive a $20 cash prize and a copy of the April 2012 issue of VOYA in which their poem will be printed.

From VOYA, where you'll find more info.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Trailer Tuesday: Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe

Compulsion is intense. There's no murderer to track down or chase scene, but it is nevertheless a tense thriller. Will Jake be able to overcome his OCD to save his sister?

Friday, December 16, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Slayers

For this week's book give-away, I thought you might be getting sick of winter and too much frantic holiday craziness, and appreciate some pure escapism (plus a touch of summer). 

When I was a kid I loved dragons.  Correction.  I LOVED dragons.  Couldn't get enough of them.  So I would have loved to have what happens in Slayers by C.J. Hill happen to me:

At a rustic summer camp, sixteen-year-old Tori, a senator's daughter, learns that she is descended from medieval dragon slayers, that dragons still exist, and that she is expected to hone her special abilities to join her fellow campers in battling the beasts and the man who controls them.  

Whoa! Doesn't that sound AWESOME?  Or is that just 6 year old me talking?  If 6 year old you also thinks this is awesome and wants a chance to win this beautiful brand new hard cover, tell me what sorts of skills you would want to be trained in, if money and realism were no problem?

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday December 27, 2012 (as I'll be on vacation next week).  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Trailer Tuesday: The Flappers by Jillian Larkin

It starts with VIXEN:



and continues with Ingenue, but you'll have to wait until July for Diva.

Ok, I'll admit, I was a little bored reading the first book, but, wow, isn't that a great trailer?

Monday, December 12, 2011

Morris Award Finalists Announced

Last week YALSA announced the five finalists for the 2011 Morris Awards.

What are the Morris Awards you ask?

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults.

The five finalists are:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

The winner of the Morris Award will be announced on Monday, January 23rd at the Youth Media Awards at the midwinter American Library Association Conference in Dallas, Texas.

Have you read any of these finalists? Who deserves to win? Who was shut out?

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Anya and Her Ukulele!

There are some REALLY talented teens in Snohomish and Island Counties, and here is one of them:



I first met Anya at the Monroe Library's summer talent competition called "Monroe's Got Talent". It was held this past June and Anya won first place in that competition when she sang the Bruno Mars song "Grenade", which you can hear her play below:



After hearing Anya play, we thought it would be awesome if she came and played a concert for people in Monroe at the library. The YouTube videos you see in this post were recorded at that concert, which was held last month. There were over 50 people from our community in attendance at the program, and Anya really put on an entertaining show with her music and stories about the ukulele and it's history. She did a great job and the library was really lucky to have her perform!



Do you have a special talent, play an instrument or have a unique skill? Share it with us in the comments section!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Winter Town

Winter break can be many things.  It can be a time filled with family and fun traditions.  There are often trips to the mall.  Maybe if you are lucky, there is snow.  If you are really lucky, you have time to read a few books.

And like with many things, the older you get, the more complicated it all seems to be.  Who doesn't long for those days of childhood when you could have a break with no homework, no job, no responsibilities, just playing in the snow, drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the wonders of the season?

Stephen Emond (author of Happyface) has a new book just coming out called Winter Town:

Every winter, straight-laced, Ivy League bound Evan looks forward to a visit from Lucy, a childhood pal who moved away after her parent's divorce. But when Lucy returns this year, he learns just how much a person can change in twelve months.

I'm in the middle of reading this right now and am really enjoying this realistic and emotional book.  To get a chance to win this brand new book (which hasn't even hit our shelves yet!) Tell me about who you are looking forward to hanging out with this winter, and how your relationship has changed (or not) over the years.

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday December 13, 2012.  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Trailer Tuesday: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Blood Red Road is EASILY my favorite book this year. I haven't been so geeked about a book or character since Graceling. Those of you I've forced Graceling on understand those are strong words.



I'll admit that I was thrown by the lack of punctuation, but once I got used to it... I Can Not WAIT for the next book, people. It's the first in the Dustlands Trilogy, so I've got two whole books to look forward to.

Dare I say it'll appeal to you Hunger Games fans out there?

Monday, December 5, 2011

Teen Art Show


It's that time again in Oak Harbor - the annual Teen Art Show is happening this weekend! Every year yours truly and a small crew of dedicated, hard-working volunteers transform the somewhat drab meeting room into a gallery showcasing the work of Oak Harbor's very talented teens.

We open the show on Thursday evening, with a reception catered by Wildcat Catering - yet more talented teens showing off their culinary arts prowess. The show is then open Friday and Saturday - all are welcome to visit and admire the art. All visitors are invited to vote for their favorite pieces for the People's Choice Awards, and each year we honor many teen artists.

I'm always stunned by the quality of the work each year - I can't wait to see what this year's show will look like!

Show hours:

Thursday, 7-9 pm
Friday, 10-5
Saturday, 10-5

Friday, December 2, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Ashfall

When I was a little kid, we were on a family road trip when Mt. St. Helens went off. Because of the huge amount of ash dumped, we were unable to go back across the state to home for days. Last summer, I finally went and visited the volcano in person, and was totally awed by the amount of destruction still evident 30 years later.

Every now and then I hear rumors about how dangerous Mt. Rainier has the potential of being.  It is much bigger than St. Helens, and has a lot of people living in line of its mudflow.  But would two volcanos in one state go off in the lifetime of a human?  Seems doubtful to me, since geologic time moves so much slower than ours, so I try not to worry about it.

But then the new book by Mike Mullin, Ashfall came across my desk.  It is about what might happen if the supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park went off.  Supervolcano?!  According to the Discovery Channel's website this supervolcano is totally active, and if it went off it would be HUGE:

The last major eruption at Yellowstone, some 640,000 years ago, ejected 8,000 times the ash and lava of Mount St. Helens.  And that wasn't even the largest eruption in Yellowstone's prehistoric past.

Yikes!

Tell me about what potential natural disaster freaks you out the most, and how you have tried to prepare for it (or distracted yourself from thinking about it) and you could win not only a beautiful brand new hardcover of Ashfall, but a poster featuring Mike Mullen's Top 10 Tips for Surviving a Supervolcano!

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday December 6, 2012.  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Trailer Tuesday: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer



Yeah, that looked intense, and I've already READ the book!

Mara was in a coma for three days. Upon awakening, she is told that her life-long best friend, her boyfriend, and another girl, died in the accident that plunged Mara into unconsciousness. Understandably haunted by the events, the loss of her memories surrounding the accident, and the loss of her friends, Mara is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her entire world is a reminder of what she's lost, and she manages to convince her family to move away and start new lives in Florida, but starting over doesn't keep the memories at bay, and it doesn't mean she's safe.

Place a hold on The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: All the Earth Thrown to the Sky

When going through hard times, people have different ways of coping.  Readers seem to be split into two major groups.   Some like to read fantasy that takes them a thousand miles away from their troubles.  And then there are those who like to read about people who are having an even worst time then they are...telling themselves "well at least I don't have it that bad".  Me, I try to practice gratitude ever day and be thankful that I have wonderful creative escapist books to read whenever I like, and that I also can learn empathy and how lucky I am by reading about struggles brave people endure.

Jack, the main character in All the Earth Thrown to the Sky by Joe R. Lansdale, is having a very hard time, and living in really tough time in America's history:

When the devastation wrought by endless dust storms in 1930s Oklahoma makes orphans of Jack, his schoolmate Jane, and her brother Tony, they take the truck of a dead man and set out to find a new start. 

This week's question has two parts:
  1. What do you like to read to get you through challenging times?
  2. What are you thankful for this week?   
Me, I like to read graphic novels when I'm stressed out, because they are imaginative, really pull me out of myself, and because they are quick...give me an easy feeling of accomplishment.   I'm thankful for my great job (working with you guys), my adorable French Bulldog Liza Lou, and my family...especially my brand new baby niece!

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday November 29, 2012.  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won. To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor is a lovely lady with impossibly pink hair. She has written an INCREDIBLY GOOD BOOK about a girl with impossibly blue hair. A girl who was raised by a monster...



Daughter of Smoke and Bone is, by my estimation, the front runner for the prestigious Printz Award, and it's a great read to boot. If you are looking for a story about epic battles, good vs. evil, or true love, this is definitely your book.

This is also one of the title for the Sno-Isle Mock Printz. We'll be having a Mock Printz book discussion at Marysville Library on Saturday January 14th, and all of you are welcome to attend. We'll have more information about the event as that date gets closer. In the meantime, place a hold on Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Rate and Review - Books, Movies, and Music!



Did you know that you can now rate and review books, movies, and music through the Sno-Isle Libraries catalog?

The next time you're searching the catalog, look for the "Write a Review" link under the picture of the book or DVD cover. You'll be able to tell if other people have written reviews or if you'll be the first! These reviews are collected from libraries in several states, so you'll be able to share with your opinions with a wide audience. All you have to do is create a user name and password, and then you'll be on the way to writing your reviews.

Reviews are moderated, so they won't show up right away. But as long as you haven't written a review full of bad words (of course you wouldn't) it should show up by the next day.

Don't forget to submit book reviews at the Sno-Isle Teens site too - these will still be the only way to earn extra credit if your school offers it, and of course the ONLY way to win prizes during summer reading.

What's the first thing you've written a review for? Let us know so we can check it out!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Black Friday Craftacular

With money tight this year, and many teens  having trouble finding jobs, Black Friday may be a grim day for shopping.   But Sno-Isle Libraries is offering a fun, free, gifting alternative for teens and families the day after Thanksgiving this year! Six of our libraries are offering free craft programs:

BRIER LIBRARY - 1:00 p.m. Fun crafts for the whole family.
SULTAN LIBRARY - 11:00 a.m. Fridge magnets and bird feeders.
MILL CREEK LIBRARY - 1:00 p.m. Buttons, duct tape creations, gift bows,and holiday cards.
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE LIBRARY 1:00 p.m. Duct tape creations.
MUKILTEO LIBRARY - 1:00 p.m. Angry Bird pom poms.
OAK HARBOR LIBRARY - 2:00 p.m. Duct tape creations.

I love making duct tape wallets and have been using mine for years!  I've never made these Sesame Street ones, but would love to give it a try.  Maybe I'll see you at Mountlake Terrace Library?


All programs take place this coming Friday, November 25, 2011.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Between

This week's weekend book giveaway is a gorgeous brand new hardcover of Jessica Warman's (author of Breathless and Where the Truth Lies) newest book Between.

By weaving through her memories and watching the family and friends she left behind, eighteen-year-old Liz Valchar solves the mystery of how her life ended in the Long Island Sound.    

Hmmm...reminds me a bit of The Lovely Bones or Before I Fall, so if you like that trapped in limbo between life and death, "what does it all mean?" sort of thing, this should be right up your alley!

This week's question:  If you had to revisit your memories at the end of your life, which ones would you want to linger on longest?

Random drawing will take place Tuesday November 22, 2012.  Be sure to leave a name with your entry, and check back to see if you won (I'm looking at you Macey and Nethmi!)  To win you must be a teen (6th-12th grade, or 12-18) who uses a Sno-Isle Library.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Miss Representation



I just stumbled across this trailer on a friend's Facebook page. It looks to be a very powerful movie that raises issues we should all consider.

From the YouTube page:

"While women have made strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States still ranks 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, depression rates have doubled among teenage girls, and cosmetic surgery on minors has more than tripled in the last ten years. "

For more information, check out the website.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: A.S. King

Last year A.S. King won a Printz Award Honor. Her latest book Everybody Sees the Ants has just been released. I read it, and it's really staying with me. I think it's for anyone who has ever seen, witnessed, or perpetrated bullying. While Lucky Linderman's voice was in a far lower register in my head, here's the trailer:



The trailer for her Printz Honor-winning Please Ignore Vera Dietz:



And the trailer for her first title, a Cybils finalist for Teen Science Fiction and Fantasy, The Dust of 100 Dogs:



I have to say that while the trailers are rather sedate, the books really aren't. Listen to the plot, and amp it all up a few watts, and then you've got a good idea of what to expect. What do you think? Have you read any of these books? Are the trailers good representations? If you haven't read them, do they make you want to?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Enter the 2012 Teen Video Challenge!



If you read this, you're probably already aware of the book trailer contest we hold each March during Teen Tech Month. Perhaps you've watched from afar and wanted to enter but were afraid to.



Here's your chance to practice making videos and possibly earn some extra cash in the 2012 Teen Video Challenge.



A little bit of imagination in a short public service announcement could make you the Teen Video Challenge Winner! The video produced by a Washington student or group of students that best encourages use of their local public libraries and promotes reading all summer long will take away the contest prize. The top video will be featured throughout 2012 as the official commercial for Washington’s Summer Reading Program.

The theme for the 2012 Summer Reading Program is Own the Night.


One video from each participating state will be submitted to the CSLP, which will award each State Teen Video Challenge Winner $275. Their public library or member affiliate will receive copy00 from CSLP and $50 from Upstart. The winning videos from each state will be posted to the CSLP website and become the official Teen PSA for the 2012 summer program.

In addition, the Washington State Library and the Washington Office of the Secretary of State will post the top 10 Washington applicant videos on their website.


The deadline to enter is March 9, 2012. You can read more about the contest details and rules at the offical site.




Need inspiration? Check out our Book Trailer winners from last year!

Official Hunger Games Trailer!!



WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Friday, November 11, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Without Tess

This weekend's featured book is the newest by Marcella Pixley (author of Freak) called Without Tess.  From the author's website:

If you look inside Lizzie Cohen’s high school locker you will see that her world is falling apart. First you will find the unfinished homework assignments and crumpled tests with failing grades and furious teacher comments scrawled in red pen. Then you will see the crushed coffee cups and half eaten bags of chips. Look closer. On the top shelf, beneath an old sweater she is hiding something. A secret. It is a battered journal that used to belong to her older sister Tess, who died six years ago when they were little girls. It is filled with Tess’s poems and sketches, a record of a time long ago when Lizzie almost believed in magic—back when she did everything her sister asked her to do, even if it meant putting herself in danger. The journal is also an account of one child’s mind teetering on the brink between make-believe and something much more frightening and serious—a time when Lizzie was ready to grow up but Tess was still clinging to her belief in magic like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. Now Lizzie is using the journal to come to terms with the terrible guilt of her own survival. She will need to learn that sometimes growing up means letting go—even if that means saying goodbye forever.


To win a brand new hardcover copy of this most excellent sounding book, tell us about something you lost, and how it affected you.  Winner will be randomly drawn from all non-anonymous entries Tuesday.  Must be a teen (12-18 or 6th-12th grade) in Sno-Isle Library service area to win.  Check back here to see if you won!
   


Thursday, November 10, 2011

Veterans Day


Every year on November 11th we celebrate Veterans Day, honoring all men and women who have served in the U.S. military.

Why November 11th?

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

Visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for more information about the history and observance of Veterans Day.

Sno-Isle Libraries will be closed on Friday the 11th, and will re-open with regular hours on Saturday.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: Deadly by Julie Chibbaro

I'll admit that I'm totally obsessed with diseases - to the point where people have told me I should have gone to medical school. Knowing that, you probably shouldn't be surprised when I say that Typhoid Mary is fascinating. Needless to say, after seeing the trailer for Deadly by Julie Chibbaro, I immediately placed the book on hold.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

An Author to Check Out







Last year I found the book Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick and thought it was amazing. It's the story of a teen living in a small town who begins to have dreams and nightmares that bring out unusual talents--he can paint other people's thoughts and memories and he can inhabit the mind of a child from the 1940s. Both talents endanger and frighten the teen and made this a mysterious and vaguely creepy book that I couldn't put down. I also couldn't wait for the author's next book.





And now her new book has arrived! But is Ashes anything like Draw the Dark? Well, it's just as mysterious and creepy, but it's nothing I expected. It starts as the story of Alex, a girl with a terminal illness, but suddenly moves into the story of how she, a child, and a veteran with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder survive an electromagnetic pulse that kills most of the people around them. Oh, and there are zombies, too. And menacing town elders. And forced marriages. And general awesomeness. And the best part? It's the first volume in a trilogy!


Give Ilsa J. Bick a try and let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite authors you can recommend?

Friday, November 4, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Everybody Sees the Ants

This weekend's featured title is award-winning author A.S. King's newest book, Everybody Sees the Ants. I read this a few weeks ago, and can personally attest to the awesome level. It's high.

Lucky Linderman is anything but lucky. He's been plagued with bullies for years, and ever since Nader McMillan shoved his face into concrete at the public pool, he's been seeing ants. Not normal ants, but ants that dance and hold signs and yell commentary about whatever going on in Lucky's life. Especially when things get weird. Well, weirder.

To win this excellent novel, tell me in the comments what type of creature you'd hallucinate when in uncomfortable situations. Keep an eye on this blog next week to see if you won!*

*Anonymous answers won't be counted, so don't forget to include your initials and home library branch!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Being an American Essay Contest


for ages 13-19. Teachers must submit entries.

From the Bill of Rights Institute:

How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?

In an essay of no more than 1000 words, analyze and discuss:

  • How one of the Founding principles established in the Constitution helps preserve liberty
  • Why at least one Founder, as evidenced in a primary source document, believed your chosen principle was a safeguard to liberty
  • Why your principle continues to be important today
  • How you personally help preserve a culture that ensures the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America


All contest entries are due by 11:59 (PST) on December 15, 2011.

Cash prizes for Students in each of the five regions of the
2011-2012 Being an American Essay Contest
First place - $1,000
Second place - $500
Third place - $250

Cash prizes for Teacher Sponsors in each of the five regions of the
2011-2012 Being an American Essay Contest

Teachers who sponsor a student with a winning essay will receive $100 for each
student that places in his/her region.

via SLJ

Art Contest Winners!

With 110 entries to go through, our judges had a huge challenge in selecting the four winners of our 8th Annual Teen Read Month Art Contest.  Finally they narrowed it down, and the winners are:

Annabelle Barrett of Marysville


















Megan Meadows of Lynnwood


















Michelle Domanowski of Arlington


















Garret Maytum of Monroe

















The winning art will be added to our winners' gallery here soon.

Each winner will be recognized at their local library with a special ceremony, have their art made into posters to be placed all over our libraries and community, and receive a $50 gift card for Amazon.com provided by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and to the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation for its continued generous support of teen programs and activities!


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

More Dogtag Flashdrive Winners!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed books that you Read for the Fun of It this Teen Read Month! I love reading your reviews and hearing what you think about books, their characters, and how they effect you. Sharing books is one of my favorite parts of reading them, and I'm glad to share that experience with you.

Here are the dogtag flashdrive winners for the second half of Teen Read Month:

  •  Amanda P. - Mountlake Terrace Library 
  • Anna G. - Mill Creek Library 
  • Anushri R. - Mukilteo Library 
  • Blake K. - Arlington Library 
  • Emma M. - Mill Creek Library 
  • Kayla M. - - Mountlake Terrace Library 
  • Liya E. - Mountlake Terrace Library 
  • Mark N. - Lynnwood Library
  • Nitesh C. - - Mukilteo Library 
  • Pauline W. - Arlington Library 
  • Rimal D. - - Mukilteo Library 
  • Shelby G. - Brier Library 
  • Victoria N. - Edmonds Library 
  • Violetta S. - - Mill Creek Library

Congrats to our winners! Your teen librarian will let you know when your prize arrives.

Much thanks to the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation for sponsoring this great prize, and so many wonderful things we offer here at Sno-Isle.

Check back soon for the winners of our 8th Annual Art Contest! Judging will take place Thursday...

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: The Trailee Award

The second annual Trailee Awards are under way! They seek to identify the best of the best in book trailers that really make you want to read.

For all of the categories and videos, head here, where you can also submit your votes.

Voting ends 12 PM CST, December 16, 2011.

For just a taste of some of the trailers up for the awards:

Category: Publisher/Author created for secondary readers (7-12)

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes, by Brandon Mull (trailer by Escape Goat Pictures)


Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann (trailer by Vand Media)


The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherynne M. Valente illus. by Ana Juan (trailer by David Taylor Design)


Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (trailer by Quirk Books)




Category: Student created for secondary readers (7-12 grade)

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer (trailer by Josie Baker, Ivy Kerr, and Xavi Stevens, from Denton, Texas)


Sleepless by Thomas Richard Fahy (trailer by Rachel Coleman, a student at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas)


Teen Idol by Meg Cabot (trailer by Anna Milius, a student at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas)


Tenderness by Robert Cormier (trailer by Daniel Neal, a student at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas)


Go vote!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!


How do you celebrate Halloween? Here in Oak Harbor this year we invited people of all ages to dress in costume and bring their pets along for our Picture it With your Pet Costume Contest. We had a good turnout, with a total of seven dogs and many more humans dressed in some very clever costumes.

Here are a few highlights for your enjoyment... it's probably a good thing nobody brought a cat.





Last Day for Teen Read Month Contests

Don't forgot...today is the last day to enter our Teen Read Month contests.  Submit your blog comments before midnight. 

If you have created some art for our 8th Annual Teen Art Contest, be sure to turn it in to your local library before closing today!

Hope you have enjoyed this month as much as I have, and found time to Read for the Fun of It!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Drugs and Zombies



I am in the middle of reading Edward Bloor's book A Plague Year and so far I am not too sure what I think about it.


It is well written and the main character Tom is a likeable, hardworking kid. He lives in a small Pennsylvania town that has a growing drug problem, specifically Meth.


The books promotion seems to be trying to tap into the current Zombie craze by drawing comparisons between addicts and zombies. If it is done well, I think it might work. Some of my favorite moments in the television show The Walking Dead are when the survivors, particularly the sheriff Rick Grimes, show sympathy for the undead.






I have yet to read the graphic novels the show is based on. But I believe the same sentiment is displayed there.


There has been one very notable scene in A Plague Year so far. It struck home to me the incredible sadness of addiction.


A character in the book is trying to describe addiction to a room full of students and he starts by asking two of them what they love. This is what he says:


"You love to read, miss. And then you get high, and you love to read even more when you're high."


And you love to play video games, Tom, and then you get high, and you love to play video games even more when you're high."



"But then something bad happens. You find that you don't love to read anymore when you're not high. It's not good enough."


"Now, here's the really awful part."


"Miss, you soon realize you don't love reading anymore even when you are high. And Tom, you don't love video games anymore, high or not. You don't love anything anymore. Not books, not games, not even getting high."


"But you keep getting high anyway because..well, that's what you do."

"That's what you do, so you keep doing it. Even though you hate it now. You have officially arrived at zombieland. You don't love anything. You don't like anything. You don't care about anything. It has all been taken away from you...by drugs."


A powerful statement.


Nate - Snohomish Library

Weekend Book Giveaway: Hades

This weekend's featured book is a beautiful brand new hardcover of Alexandra Adornetto's new book Hades:

Even the love of her boyfriend, Xavier Woods, and her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can't keep the angel Bethany Church from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, Jake Thorn bargains for Beth's release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly her loved ones as well.  

We've got 19 people lined up to read this right now, but one of you lucky blog readers will get this one to keep for yourself!

All you have to do to enter the random drawing is tell me in the comments is tell me if you had a supernatural motorcycle, where would you travel to first, and why do you want to go there?

Random entry will be drawn Tuesday November 1, 2011. To win you must include your name or initials, and be a teen in the Sno-Isle Libraries service area.


Thursday, October 27, 2011

Teen Read Month - Mini Contest #4

It is our final mini contest for Teen Read Month.  How did the time past so quickly?

Once again, we will be giving away a bag full of:
  • awesome swag
  • cool pins
  • books
  • candy
  • a really random surprise
This week's special featured prize book is an Advanced Readers Copy of Laini Taylor's newest, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which has huge buzz around it! Plus has been nominated for Sno-Isle Libraries' Mock Printz discussion, which I'll tell you more about soon. And there are 23 people waiting to read it, so you can skip that line!

Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters--the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.

To win our last Secret Surprise Bag, tell me about a reading experience that changed your life.  Winner will be selected Tuesday November 1, 2012.  Must leave name or initials in the entry (so I know who you are) and be a teen in Sno-Isle territory to win.  Check back here to see the winner!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Book Trailer Tuesday: Iron Fey Series

You'll find some of this hit fantasy series by Julie Kagawa on the Teen Explore shelf:


Or place a hold by following the links:

Iron King
Iron Daughter
Iron Queen



Released today, and eventually showing up on your library shelves:
Iron Knight

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Monster Pops!



Turn your typical dessert into a delectable monster on a stick. Think cake pops, monster-style. It's time to play with your food and make it awesome. And horrifying. Or cute. It's up to you.

Thursday, October 27 at 3:30 pm at the Lynnwood Library. Preregistration required. Register here.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Weekend Book Give-Away: Nightshade

This weekend's featured book is a hot new paranormal romance featuring werewolves called Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.


Calla and Ren have been raised knowing it's their destiny to mate with one another and rule over their shapeshifting wolf pack, but when a human boy arrives and vies for Calla's heart, she's faced with a decision that could change her whole world. 

Right now there are 35 people to waiting to read one of Sno-Isle's copies, but one lucky blog reader can win an Advanced Reader Copy to keep!   All you have to do is tell me in the comments what sort of monster you would like to date (werewolf/vampire/kracken/???) and why, to be entered in our drawing. 

Random entry will be drawn Tuesday October 25, 2011.  To win you must include your name or initials, and be a teen in the Sno-Isle Libraries service area.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Teen Read Month - Mini Contest #3

This week's Mini Contest is for a Secret Surprise Bag once again contains:

Candy.
Really cool pins.
More books.
A really random surprise.
An assortment of the newest and greatest Sno-Isle Libraries swag.

Plus...a shiny new hardcover edition of the long awaiting new book by one of my favorite authors, Jack Gantos, called Dead End in Norvelt:

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.


How can you win this great prize package?  In the comments below, write your own title and description (in the style above) about the book you would write about the summer you were 12 (or will be, if you are a 6th grader who is still 11).  For example mine would read something like this:

Bike Spokes and Weird Folks in Spokane

In the town pretending to be a city of Spokane, twelve-year-old Dawn R. spends the summer of 198something bicycling around with new found freedom, encountering fellow library geeks, dozens of books, milkshakes, swimming pools, Gremlins, and a bite in the butt from a surprisingly vicious dog!

Winning entry will be chosen next Thursday. Watch back here to see if it is you!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Creepy reads

It seems that without fail, every October my reading habits tend toward the creepy and spooky. The shorter days, chilly weather, and parade of pumpkins make me crave something that'll give me nightmares (or at least make me jump). Here are a few recent favorites:

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz: Once upon a tome fairy tales were awesome. As if Hansel and Gretel didn’t already have it tough in their original fairy tale, Gidwitz pops them into a handful of other obscure Grimm stories and casts the siblings as heroes. Over the course of the book the twins are beheaded (and reheaded), dismembered, hunted, killed, brought back to life, sent to hell, and a number of other terrible fates. Is there a happily-ever-after? I'm not telling. It's really good on audio and you can also watch the book trailer.

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann: This is still one of the creepiest books I've ever read. Missing boyfriend? Check. Creepy graffiti on your desk? Check. Strange whispers? Check. My advice, don't follow Kendall's lead and go looking for him alone in the woods.

Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku by K.A. Holt: This isn't so much scary as it is funny and gross, but nothing says Halloween like zombies. Nearly 100 haiku's cover middle school life. Middle school is hard. It's even harder when you're a zombie.

What are your Halloween reads?

TRM - Mini Contest #2 - Entry #3

From M.E.:

 My favorite place to read is in a nook area underneath my bunkbed. It has a foam bottom with pillows and lanterns. I would want to protect it from vampires because like KJ it is my home. Why would I want vampires at my house??? I also would want to protect it because my cat will sometimes lay in there it is one of her favorite places too. I wouldn't want the vampires to think my kitty was the perfect appetizer! My second favorite place to  read is in my living room. I like to read there because the chair I sit in is super comfortable and has the softest woven blanket on it. I would want to protect it from vampires because, again, it is my home. I also would want to protect it, because if it was gone where would I read?