Featured Teen Book Review of the Week: Way to Go

During Teen Read Month, we are going to feature (and reward) teen reviews of books you might not have heard of before, but deserve some recognition.  For the first week of the month, we have this 2012 titles, with 4 copies waiting to be checked out right now! 

Way to Go by Tom Ryan

4 stars.

Describe the book: Danny starts his first job at a reopened restaurant one summer in his small hometown of Deep Cove. He's almost positive he's gay, but is afraid of the backlash he would get around town, so he befriends a super cool girl at the restaurant named Lisa, hoping that their friendship will wash away the rumors of his schoolmates, despite that they're true

What did you think: I liked it a lot to the point where I finished in less than 24 hours; I really liked a lot of the characters. One of Danny's friends, Kierce, was really annoying, though; but annoying in a way that will make you keep reading to see what happens. Lisa was also a really great character, and I liked seeing Danny discover what he wants to do in life.

Who would you recommend it to: gr7+, lgbtq, friendship, relationships, realistic

- A.K. (Grade 10) from Mill Creek Library

A.K. will receive a surprise book, sent to the Mill Creek Library in a few days.

Trailer Tuesday: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

You may have seen The Night Circus kicking around the Teen Explore AND the Adults Best Bets collections. The reason for it is that Erin Morgenstern's first novel was published for adults, but was recognized as a 2012 Alex Award by YALSA. Alex Awards recognize ten books each January that were published for adults, but that teens will enjoy, too. Sort of payback for when your mom poaches your library books.

Teen Read Month Special: Our Favorites - Mothership

Jocelyn, our teen librarian at the Arlington Library recently read and loved Mothership: Book One of the Ever-Expanding Universe by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

Are you looking for laughs? Do you like snarky protagonists who are slightly geeky, yet full of common sense? Sort of scifi and definitely a comedy, Mothership still manages to provoke deep thought about some controversial issues. I absolutely adore quirky books and this one was no exception." - Joceyln

Teen pregnancy is never easy--especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy. Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole--and now she's pregnant. Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship--and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn't seen him since she told him she's pregnant, and now he's bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called. So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother--assuming they get back to Earth in one piece. "

Weekend Book Give-Away: Origin

Do you think your parents are overprotective?  Wait until you read about Pia in Origin by Jessica Khoury:

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life. Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever...

This new book is pretty hot right now, and getting hotter...11 people are waiting to read it right now.  But you, faithful readers, have a chance at winning your own brand new copy!   Just tell me a short story (3-7 sentences)  about your (totally imaginary) secret origin to be entered in the drawing. 

Winner will be selected with Random Number Generator on Thursday October 11, 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.

Meet the authors--lots of authors!

It is always fun to meet the people who write the books you enjoy and find out what they are really like. It's just as much fun for them to meet you and find out what you think of their stories and characters. The Mukilteo Library is hosting four wonderful authors for teens on October 18 at 4 pm and you're invited to join us, talk to the authors, even buy their books and get them autographed. Who's coming?

    Kendare Blake, the author of Anna Dressed in Blood and its sequel, Girl of Nightmares. Cas Lowood is spending his teen years getting rid of the murderous dead--until he meets Anna, a very unusual ghost. I don't even like horror stories, but I liked these!
  J. Anderson Coats, the author of  The Wicked and the Just. Cecily and Gwenhwyfar live in medieval Wales, but their personalities and conflicts feel as fresh as today. Wouldn't it be great if all historical fiction were this good?
  Daniel Marks, author of Velveteen. Velveteen may be dead, but she's still looking for the serial killer who murdered her. You may have to keep the lights on after you read this one!
  Jennifer Shaw Wolf, the author of Breaking Beautiful. Allie is a mess both physically and emotionally when her boyfriend Trip dies, but it's not just grief--she's dealing with his abuse, too. Just a gripping mystery--and it's set in Washington!

Trailer Tuesday: Lovecraft Middle School: Professor Gargoyle by Charles Gilman

Although the unusual cover and the trailer was really enough for me to be curious about Lovecraft Middle School, the fact that the author is apparently the same (under a different pseudonym) as the author who wrote Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children makes me doubly likely to read it.

And it's a great way to start off October, yes?



And hey, for those of you who've managed to miss the trailer for Mis Peregrine, here it is!

Teen Read Month is Here

When was the last time you read simply for the pleasure of it?  Once school starts and the homework rolls in, it is easy to forget that simple joy.  But here at Sno-Isle Libraries we believe that this is a gift you can give yourself every day.   Even if you can only squeeze in a small bit, say 15 minutes before bed or while taking the bus, it simply makes a day better.

So for the entire month of October, we are going to celebrate teen reading, teen books, and just plain reading for the fun of it!  I don't know about you, but I like celebrations with fun themes.  This year Teen Read Month's theme is It Came From the Library. And if you saw our Sneak Peeks for the month here on the blog, you know we have a ton of fun events going on.

We also have our 9th Annual Teen Art Contest happening right now.  Create 2D art celebrating what you see when you imagine "It Came From a Book." Use your creativity and talents to show us what you've got!

The top 4 entries will win a $50 gift card from Amazon provided by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation. Bring your entry form to any Sno-Isle Library by October 31. Teens age 12 to 18 (or in 6th to 12th grade) can enter.  Entry forms can be found here.