Win a Free Book: Dirty Little Secrets

All summer long we are going to be giving away FREE BOOKS! It will be happening at random times, so check back here on our blog regularly to see when you can WIN.

Today's book is Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu.

When her unstable mother dies unexpectedly, sixteen-year-old Lucy must take control and find a way to keep the long-held secret of her mother's compulsive hoarding from being revealed to friends, neighbors, and especially the media.

How can you your own brand new copy to keep forever? Email teens@sno-isle.org and tell us one of your little secrets (a crush? least favorite sibling?). We will post it anonymously to our blog, then randomly draw a winner Tuesday June 15th at noon. Winner (but not their secret) will be posted in the comments here at that time.

Good luck!

Download Audiobooks for Free

Did you know you can download audiobooks from the Sno-Isle Library website to listen to on your mp3 player? I absolutely love listening to audiobooks on my iPod when I'm exercising, doing housework, or in my car. It makes what could be a boring task entertaining and even fun. Here are just some of the great titles you can currently request to download from our website:








In addition to audiobooks, you can also download eBooks, videos, and music!

Deathly Hallows Trailer

I'm going to miss these when they are gone.



What do you think? Will you be there opening night?

Place a hold on your favorite Harry Potter book or movie in anticipation!

You want that laptop, but what to read?

It's started. Summer Reading is officially accepting your reviews and now every single review you send us gets you entered into the prize drawings.

But what to read?

The teen librarians are always happy to help you find the perfect book for every mood, so, if you aren't finding anything that strikes your fancy on any of our many booklists, send us an email here and we'll create a personalized list for you! Be sure to tell us your favorite books, or one that you hated - and whether you like fantasy, horror, realistic fiction - or whatever you think will help us find the perfect books for you!

Like everything else at the library, this is free - so never hesitate to ask!

Teen Summer Reading Contest

It is that time again: Teen Summer Reading is here!

For each teen or adult book you read or listen to this summer (June 1 through August 31), submit a review here. You could win a special prize:

* Grand Prize: Earn an entry in the drawing to win a VAIO® W Series mini notebook computer for each review you submit.

* Librarians' Choice Award: Win a 32GB iPod Touch if the teen librarians select your review as the best one of the summer.

* Your review also enters you in weekly drawings to win a Sno-Isle Teens Infamous for Information T-shirt and other prizes depending on your library.

Grand and Librarian's choice prizes funded by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

Grand Prize drawing takes place on September 1, 2010. See posted results on the Sno-Isle Teens Infamous for Information blog. We will notify the winner.

The Librarian's Choice Award will be announced Friday September 10th.

Teens must be 12-18 to participate.

Top Ten Sci-fi & Fantasy in the last year

at least, according to Ian Chipman at Booklist. Here's his list, with his comments:

1. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
   The middle volume in the Chaos Walking trilogy expands the series’ litany of heavy themes (genocide, extremism, civil war, terrorism), all while delivering some of the most pulse-pounding action around.



2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
   The deal was, if you win the Hunger Games, you get to live out your life in fame and comfort. The Capitol, however, has other plans for last year’s heroes, Katniss and Peeta, as whispers of growing unrest flit about the Districts.



3. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
   In this stand-alone return to the series begun in Turner’s 1997 Newbery Honor Book The Thief, the focus shifts from Eugenides to Sophos, the reluctant king of Sounis, who relates his own rise to power, which is fraught with political intrigue.



4. Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
   People always mistake 12-year-old Liam for a grown-up, which might help explain how he got to be the adult chaperone for a bunch of kids in a rocket hurtling through space 200,000 miles above Earth.



5. Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
   Fantasy veteran Jones hits a high note with this tale of a boy who is stalked by dangerous magical beings and seeks help from a powerful sorcerer. Instead, he finds the magician’s grandson, who has forgotten everything he was taught.



6. Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve
   Set hundreds of years before the Hungry City Chronicles, this story of young Fever Crumb digs into the foundations of Reeve’s intricately imagined future, including how cities started gobbling each other up.



7. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
   Ten years ago, the royal family of Lumatere was murdered by assassins and the kingdom ravaged by a blood curse. Now, a group of outcasts, led by the son of a former royal guard, look to resurrect the hopes of their people.



8. Fireby Kristin Cashore
   This romantic and suspenseful fantasy, a prequel of sorts to Graceling (2008) set in an adjoining kingdom, introduces another deadly strong heroine who struggles to use her formidable powers for good.



9. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
   No one from Outside ever goes into Incarceron, a vast futuristic prison gripped by tyranny and strife, and no one Inside ever escapes. Until Finn finds a crystal key that unlocks every door, and the great escape is on.



10. For your younger sibling:
    The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz
    This uncommonly dynamic story of a wee sprite is set in the familiar yet exotic landscape of a backyard, where a determined and egocentric young fairy weathers peril and finds redemption.

My opinion? I think Incarceron was slow, that Fire & Catching Fire were good, but not as good as their predecessors (Graceling & The Hunger Games, respectively), and that A Conspiracy of Kings about gave me a heart attack whilst lying in bed it was so awesome (read The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, then The King of Attolia first, though!).

What do you think? Have you read any of these? What's YOUR favorite fantasy/sci-fi book you've read in the last year?

Summer Blog Blast Tour

Ok, I'm not QUITE sure how they are getting away with calling it summer yet, BUT, there has been a cadre of bloggers interviewing some really awesome authors and illustrators all week long. It's worth perusing the master list of the week - I promise you'll see some fascinating stuff. I especially recommend the Nick Burd and Tom Siddell interviews. But that's probably because I [heart] their books.