Thursday, February 28, 2013

2013 Teen Tech Month Video Contest

Yes, it is that time of year!  March is Teen Tech Month at the Sno-Isle Libraries and we are having our annual Teen Tech Month Video Contest once again.  This is one of my favorite Sno-Isle activities.  I absolutely love seeing the creativity you guys put into this. 

But maybe you've never made a video and aren't sure where to get started?  Here are some resources to get you going:

  • First check out our rules and guidelines.  If you break them, you are disqualified, so make sure you understand them up front.
  • Here is an awesome Video 101 class from Vimeo Video School.
  • Check out our previous winners to get an idea of what has done well before.
  • And don't forget the library has all kinds of helpful books:












Here is my personal challenge to you.  I'd like to see something as lovely and inventive as this Frog and Toad Together video done for Tacoma Public Library and the 90 Second Newbery Film Competition:

Isn't that sweet? Can't wait to see what creative and fresh things you come up with!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Trailer Tuesday: Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed should appeal to those of you who read The Luxe series or watch Downton Abbey (btw, have you seen Upside Downton Abbey? *snickers*).

Publisher description: "The intertwined lives of the prominent Averley family and the servants of Somerton Court are forever changed when an old secret comes to light."

Friday, February 22, 2013

Weekend Book Give-Away: The Archived

Now here is a job you've probably never considered before - in The Archived by Victoria Schwab, Mackenzie is a librarian of the dead: 

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive. Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive. Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

For a chance to win an Advanced Readers Copy of this intriguing new book, tell me what your job would be if you could do anything imaginable.

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 26, 2013. 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, February 20, 2013

Teen Book Brunch with Karen Finneyfrock and Marissa Meyer

The Teen Book Brunch series is continuing at the University Bookstore in Mill Creek Towncenter in February and March. Sno-Isle Libraries and University Bookstore are partnering up to bring two more local authors in to talk about their new books and how they write.

Karen Finneyfrock, author of the newly released The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, will be at the Teen Book Brunch this Saturday, February 23rd from 11-12. The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door is one of the best debut novels I've read all year. Celia Door enters her freshman year of high school with giant boots, dark eyeliner, and a thirst for revenge against Sandy Firestone, the girl who did something unspeakable to Celia last year. But then Celia meets Drake, the cool new kid from New York City who entrusts her with his deepest, darkest secret. When Celia's quest for justice threatens her relationship with Drake, she's forced to decide which is sweeter: revenge or friendship.



Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder and the follow-up Scarlet, will be at the Teen Book Brunch on Saturday, March 2nd from 11-12. Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second installment of the Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner. 

The Teen Book Brunches are held at the University Bookstore in the Mill Creek Towncenter and are open to everyone, not just teens. Top Pot donuts are provided and occasionally there are giveaways. These brunches are a great place to get to know authors and hear about new books. At the the last Teen Book Brunch, where Kristin  Halbrook had her release party for Nobody But Us, there were practically more teen authors in attendance than teens- including Daniel Marks, J. Anderson Coats, A R Kahler, and Marissa Meyer. You never know who will turn up at a Teen Book Brunch! Hope to see you at the next one!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Trailer Tuesday: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

This is an example of what makes a good trailer to me - it really leaves me wanting to know more.* What is her power? What does the name mean? Ugh. I'll have to READ it to find out!

Publisher description: "Sixteen-year-old Ruby breaks out of a government-run 'rehabilitation camp' for teens who acquired dangerous powers after surviving a virus that wiped out most American children."



*Are you ready for our annual Video Contest? Have you figured out your subject??

Friday, February 15, 2013

Weekend Book Give-Away: The Colossus Rises

Looking fora  fun new fantasy adventure series, with a bit of history mixed in?  Look no further, Peter Lerangis's new book The Colossus Rises is the first in an epic seven-book series called Seven Wonders:

One Boy: Jack McKinley is an ordinary kid with an extraordinary problem. In a few months, he's going to die. 
One Mission: Jack needs to find seven magic loculi that, when combined, have the power to cure him. 
One Problem: The loculi are the relics of a lost civilization and haven't been seen in thousands of years.
 Seven Wonders:  Because they're hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

For a chance to win an Advanced Reader Copy of this new book,  tell me about which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World you wish you could travel back in time to see, and why.

 Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 19, 2013. 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, February 12, 2013

Trailer Tuesday: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

No lie, I totatally dug Carriger's adult series The Parasol Protectorate. I have high hopes for her first teen endeavor, Etiquette & Espionage (especially since the trailer has some funny moments).

Publisher description: "In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is suprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage."

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Weekend Book Give-Away: Hokey Pokey

Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite authors.  He has writen so many wonderful books, that are surprising and moving and just great.  I'm really excited about his new book, Hokey Pokey:

Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen--and by a girl, no less--his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that's impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks. 

For a chance to win an Advanced Readers Copy of this new book, tell me about one of your favorite childhood memories.

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 12, 2013. 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, February 5, 2013

Trailer Tuesday: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Hold Still by Nina LaCour was such an emotional read for me that, even though her new book, The Disenchantments , sounds entirely different, I haven't yet read it because I'm scared I'm going to end up in a soggy puddle of tears. Have you read it? Am I being ridiculous? Let me know in the comments!

"Colby's post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Beth would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe, but when she announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future." -Publisher summary

Friday, February 1, 2013

Weekend Book Give-Away: Splintered by A. G. Howard

I don't know about you, but I love a story that takes something familiar and totally reinvents it in new and creative ways.  That is why I am excited about Splintered by A. G. Howard.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers...precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother's mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice's tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice's mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

For a chance to win a preview copy of this magical new book, tell me your favorite Wonderland image or detail (be it from the original books, a movie, or something else), and why it is special to you.

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Tuesday February 5, 2013. 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.