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.