Ripper

Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous serial killers of all time, even though compared to some his confirmed body count was quite low.  Fascination about this case is as strong as ever, no doubt due in part because the case has never been solved.  Many books books have been written about Jack the Ripper - both fiction and non-fiction writers have told the tale or speculated on the identity of the murderer.  There's even a name for the in-depth study of the case - Ripperology!

This year not one but two books called Ripper have been published for teens.

Adopted by famous Pinkerton Agency Detective Hawking in 1895 New York, fourteen-year-old Carver Young hopes to find his birth father, but when he becomes involved in the pursuit of notorious killer Jack the Ripper, Carver discovers that finding the truth can be worse than ignorance.





 

Sent to do volunteer work at the Whitechapel Hospital in the east end of London in 1888, seventeen-year-old Abbie discovers the identity of Jack the Ripper.

I've read Stefan Petrucha's Ripper and really enjoyed it.  There were even some pretty good twists in the plot, so I'm not going to say much more about it!  Amy Carol Reeves' Ripper is waiting for me at home - I'm looking forward to comparing the two tales of the notorious Victorian murderer!

Video Contest: Re-vote Begins Tomorrow

I am very sorry to report we made an error and one of our excellent video contest entries did not get included in the initial voting. So voting will start fresh tomorrow and go through Monday April 23rd at 11:59pm. My deepest apologies to everyone who was waiting with baited breath for the winners announcement today. Instead it will take place next Tuesday April 24th.

Thank you for your patience, and do take this time to watch all our terrific entries!

Weekend Book Give-Away: Where It Began

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.  Most are small...waking up late for school, losing your keys, blurting out how you really feel about your best friends new hat.    But sometimes people make HUGE mistakes, the type that can change lives forever. In Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler, Gabrielle has made some sort of mistake, but she isn't sure just how bad she has messed up:

After she is in a horrific car crash when drunk, Los Angeles high school student Gabriella Gardiner assumes she stole her rich boyfriend's car and smashed it into a tree, but she cannot remember anything about the events of the evening.    

To win a copy of this new book, tell me about a mistake you made, and what you did to resolve it. 

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday April 17, 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.  

Trailer Tuesday: Eon(a) by Allison Goodman

A missing zodiac dragon reappears after being lost for 500 year. A small, disabled candidate, the last one anyone would have thought, gets selected to pair with the dragon and share its power. But it would have been much better if the dragon ignored Eon. The Rat Dragon isn't pleased for his year on top to have been subverted. Eon is in his way - and that's a very dangerous position to be in.




Place a hold here.

Weekend Book Give-Away: Various Positions

Have you ever worked super hard to try and be great at something you love?   Maybe it came easy at first, but to become truly great a something, it can be back and heartbreaking. This week's book is Various Positions by Martha Schabas is about a girl whose hard work is jeopardized by emotional complications:

When talented, dedicated fourteen-year-old Georgia Slade becomes a student in an elite Toronto ballet academy, her confusing feelings toward one of her teachers lead to disaster.   

To win this book, tell me what lead you to a disaster (you don't need to tell us the disaster, unless you want to).  Or if that is too embarrassing, what are you talented at and dedicated to (dancing? music? books?)

Winner will be selected by my buddy Random Number Generator on Tuesday April 17, 2012, as Dawn will be on Spring Break for the first part of April. 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.  

Trailer Tuesday: Grave Mercy

If you've read and loved Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, then you've got to put Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers on your list to read. If you haven't read Poison Study, then I have two words for you about Grave Mercy.

Two words: Assassin Nuns.

Yeah. I totally read this. Immediately.

Listening to Books

A few years ago, one of the Sno-Isle librarians started giving me a hard time about never listening to audiobooks. They're great, she said. You can listen to them in the car, she said. They're a whole new way to appreciate a book, she said. Finally, just to make her stop, I listened to an audiobook and learned that she had been right all along. I now listen to an audiobook almost every day (is that the definition of an addict?)

Sno-Isle offers lots of audiobooks on CD, as well as ones you can download to your iPod or computer or other device. Many of my favorites are teen books and have been winners of awards like the Audies or the Odyssey. I can listen to The Graveyard Book forever--author Neil Gaiman has an amazing voice, so hypnotic that I could barely force myself to get out of my car! Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver series has multiple narrators--it's like listening to a movie or a play and you can't help but create pictures in your head. The Jacky Faber adventures are so compelling that you'll feel like you're right there on a sailing ship with this girl disguised as a boy.

So, have you tried audiobooks? Which ones can you recommend? If you haven't tried listening to a book, don't wait as long as I did--you'll love them!