Weekend Book Give-Away: The Fox Inheritance

Love teen books and their authors? Right now there is an awesome tour happening that you will not want to miss. It is the Pen Fatale Tour and will be coming through our area next month:

Come meet Alyson Noël (author of the Riley Bloom series), Gabrielle Zevin (author of All These Things I've Done), Jessica Brody (author of My Life Undecided/The Karma Club), and Mary Pearson (author of the Adoration of Jenna Fox/The Fox Inheritance)!

Thursday, October 13 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Barnes and Noble
19401 Alderwood Mall Parkway
Lynnwood, WA

In celebration of this fun event, we will be giving away some of the titles to a lucky teen to bring to the even to be signed! This week it is The Fox Inheritance by Mary Pearson.

Two-hundred-sixty years after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, sixteen-year-old Locke and seventeen-year-old Kara have been brought back to life in newly bioengineered bodies, with many questions about the world they find themselves in and more than two centuries of horrible memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld wondering what would become of them.

This week's question is if you woke 260 years in the future with a newly bioengineered body, what features would you want it to have?

Drawing will take place Tuesday October 4th. Check back here to see if you won! (No anonymous answers, please...though initials are ok).

Book Trailer Tuesday: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The first time I watched this it freaked me out. It becomes less creepy with repeat viewings, but I still totally want to read this book.



Place a hold on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (is that an awesome author's name, or what?)

Maureen Johnson's new book

has a trailer:



And it looks like she's going to join the tumblr craze, based on where this was found... The new book is called The Name of the Star and is about an American girl spending the summer in London as a rash of Jack the Ripper-style murders start to occur...

You can place it on hold here!

Adult books with teen appeal

I've read two adult books recently that have some major teen appeal and couldn't wait to share them!

Ready Player One by Ernest Clive: What would you get if you combined the 198o's with the Matrix? You'd wind up with this soon-to-be cult favorite. Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future (the year 2044)--the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday’s fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. This high-energy book has it all: action, puzzles, nerdy romance, and 80's nostalgia.

The Night Circus: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco fall in love—a magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Check them out today!

Weekend Book Give-Away: Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life

This week's book is a perfect light back to school read. Written by adult author James Patterson, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is a fun read with wacky illustrations that is the perfect break from homework.

When Rafe Kane enters middle school, he teams up with his best friend, "Leo the Silent," to create a game to make school more fun by trying to break every rule in the school's code of conduct.

There are 32 people waiting for Sno-Isle's copies right now, but you can win a free ARC (advanced readers copy) this weekend by telling me what rule you are most likely to break and why.

Winner will be picked Tuesday September 27, 2011.

Don't forget to put your initials somewhere, and check back here for the winner!

Northwest Bookfest 2011

Are you ready for this year's Northwest Bookfest?!? All the action happens between 10a-6p on both Saturday October 1st and Sunday October 2nd at Peter Park (202 3rd Street) in Kirkland. The event will feature over 50 author panels, hundreds of authors, all kinds of writing and publishing workshops, various programs, and other surprises, and best of all the entire event is FREE!!!! (Donations will be taken at the event and do help to fund next year's Bookfest. They are gratefully accepted, but not required).

If you've never been to the Bookfest you should check it out! You could meet a cool local author like Deb Caletti or Cherie Priest. Or attend a writing workshop hosted by one of the awesome scheduled presenters. There are so many progams at several different locations throughout the park that you are sure to find something memorable and fun to attend!

Help - I'm stumped!

Let's face it - school is in full swing and you're probably feeling the pressure to keep up with your homework. What do you do if you run into difficulties? Maybe you have a math problem that just doesn't make sense, or your teacher wants you to write about the themes in Hamlet and you're not sure what where to get started.

Sno-Isle Libraries has just the thing to help make your life easier - HelpNow live tutoring service.

Real live people are available between 1-10 pm every day to assist you with your homework. As long as you have a Sno-Isle library card, you can log in, select your grade level and subject, then connect with a tutor for one-on-one help. They can help you with a specific problem, or if you want to brush up on a subject you can select from the Skills Building section.

The Writing Lab is another great service. Upload your paper and they'll send it back within 24 hours with suggestions for improvement. What a great reason not to put your papers off until the last minute!

The best thing - all of these services are FREE. So there's no excuse not to take advantage of them and relieve some of the stress of school.

Weekend Book Give-Away: Shut Out

Last month I got to check out Mill Creek's Teen Book Brunch. This is a monthly book group that features our awesome teen librarian Danielle takes place at the University Book Store. The book store rep was super, the teens who came were incredibly great, and there were FREE DONUTS. And not just any donuts but delicious Top Pot Donuts. YUM.

Well, they are meeting again this weekend, and will be joined by Kody Keplinger author of The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) and brand new book Shut Out a retelling of the naughty Greek classic Lysistrata. Did I mention that Kody is only 20 and already has two books out?! And you can meet her at here:

Teen Book Brunch
University Book Store in Mill Creek Town Center
Saturday September 17, 2011 - 11am-noon

Can't make it? So sad. But you CAN win a copy of Shut Out (which I'm just going to say here and now is definitely for mature teen readers...lots of strong language and sexual subject matter). Just tell me what your favorite teen book based on a classic piece of literature is for your chance to win! Drawing will take place Tuesday September
20th, 2011.

Also...anonymous/unknown entries will not be entered in the drawing, as those folks never seem to claim their prizes! You must at least include your initials and what library you go to.

Weekend Book Giveaway: I am Number Four

Ok, I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore has been out for a while, but there are over 60 people waiting for it, so we figure it is hot enough an item to give away on the blog. Plus, it has been made into a movie (with 342 people waiting for it!), which we are showing at some of our libraries this fall! Join us and watch it here:

Monday September 19 - 3:30pm - Marysville Library
Wednesday October 12 - 3pm - Oak Harbor Library
Wednesday October 19 - 4pm - Mountlake Terrace Library
Friday November 11 - 3:30pm - Darrington Library

So...to win an ARC of I am Number Four, tell me about your favorite movie made from a book...OTHER THAN Harry Potter (I know they are super awesome already).

If you are posting anonymously, please include your initials, so I know it is you if you win. And when you comment mark the box that says you want to be notified when other comments are made...we have like 5 books that haven't been claimed from this summer!

Giveaway will take place on Tuesday September 13, 2011. See you back here then!

Show your favorite librarian some love!

Do you love your librarian? Have they helped change your life? Now through September 12 you can nominate your favorite teen librarian for the 2011 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

Up to ten winners will be selected this year and receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and $500 travel stipend to attend an awards reception in New York hosted by The New York Times.
The award is administered by the American Library Association with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times.

There's nothing like this award. The I Love My Librarian Award is unique. Previous winners have referred to it as the "People’s Choice Award" of the library world because library users nominate librarians for the difference they are making in their schools, campuses and communities.

Thousands of incredible nominations come in every year from teachers and principals, members of Friends groups, parents, students, administrators and members of the community. Now is your chance to tell the world how much your local Sno-Isle librarian means to you! Nominate your favorite librarian today!

National Read a Book Day

Did you know that today is National Read a Book Day? I just learned that this morning. So my question to you is - what are you reading? Something just for fun? Something you've been assigned for school?

I'm currently reading (and thoroughly enjoying) The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge.

"In an alternate 1950s, mechanically gifted fifteen-year-old Aoife Grayson, whose family has a history of going mad at sixteen, must leave the totalitarian city of Lovecraft and venture into the world of magic to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance and the mysteries surrounding her father and the Land of Thorn. "

I highly recommend it!

Know What We Need? Your Advice!

It's time for the new school year and all of your new school activities. We know that you have classes, sports, clubs, jobs--it's a lot! Your local teen librarian would love to have you save an hour or two a month for a very rewarding library activity, being a Teen Advisor. Teen Advisors can do everything from planning programs to reviewing books to helping to decorate the teen area to whatever you can imagine! This is a chance for you to help make the library a better place for you and your friends while earning volunteer credit (not to mention adding a nice activity to your college applications!) Check with your local teen librarian to see how you can help.