Merideth Says: A Librarian with Opinions

The Fault in Our Stars

2012-02-04T15:49:00.001-07:00

Over at the blog for my "day job" I wrote a love letter to John Green's latest The Fault In Our Stars. A snippet: I don't love you, love you, because you're 17 and fictional and that would be creepy. Hit the link to read the whole thing.

Literary Dinner: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

2012-01-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the awesome Christian and Julia of That Hapa Chick, my daughter and I have decided to start having "Literary Dinners" featuring food inspired by our favorite books. To give you all a little background, my daughter Mari is 10, and has a good amount of cooking knowledge. Her father managed to make it all the way to his 30's without learning any cooking skills, and feeding himself

2011-12-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

Please bask in the epicness of my library's teen volunteers! Each gingerbread man was made by them.

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

2011-10-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This book is a little heavier than Perkins' debut, but is still a fun, unabashedly romantic read. Summary: Lola, just barely 17, has 3 goals in life. 1) To convince her two dads that her (much older) boyfriend is THE ONE; 2) To create and wear a full Marie Antoinette costume for the Winter Formal and 3) to never see the Bell twins again. However, Dad and Dad are

Review: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

2011-10-08T12:25:00.001-07:00

What You Need to Know: This YA Dystopian is the best contender for the "next Hunger Games" and an amazing book on its own, and one of my Best Books of 2011. Summary: Saba lives in Silverlake, a small piece of (kind of) sustainable land carved out of the ever shifting dust that has taken over the world. She lives with her father, broken since the death of her mother, and her baby sister. Most

Blatant Self Promotion: My Book, On Sale!

2011-10-07T08:20:00.002-07:00

Hey Look! I wrote a book! And it's on sale! Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season! Celebrate Teen Read Week with Special Savings. Oooooh! Look, a gift with purchase! Ladies love the gift with purchase!

Review: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

2011-09-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

What You Need To Know: This is a solid entry in the post-apocalyptic/zombie genre that suffers from a last minute plot twist. Summary: Alex is dying. The monster in her brain, an inoperable tumor, has stubbornly refused treatment. Rather than continue, Alex has taken the ashes of her parents to the mountains where they used to camp. She intends to say goodbye and face her own mortality.

Books I Didn't Finish: Record Collecting for Girls by Courtney E. Smith.

2011-09-25T01:52:00.000-07:00

Total Finished: 97 out of 240 pages So, Why Didn't You Finish It? But how much thought have you given to what your music choices say about you to other people? Boys who love records (and let's face it, at some point we will al date a boy who is a little too into his records) are totally obsessing on what music you like when they meet you. They're using it to figure out how crazy you are

Review: Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

2011-09-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This intriguingly written tale of street kids and second chances takes a major left turn in its final third. Summary: Blink has been living on the streets for a few months now, but has figured out that well dressed kids don't get hassled. Thus, he uses a stolen set of clothes to wander through hotels, looking for uneaten food on room service trays. When he hears the

Review: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor.

2011-09-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This urban fantasy is is an amazing, trope- twisting read, and one of my Best Books of 2011. Summary: Karou, a blue haired art student living in Prague, lives a double life. Most of the time, she lives like any other college kid, hanging with friends, dating and learning. What her friends don't know is that Karou's family is a race of half-human/half-animal chimera,

Chime by Franny Billingsley

2011-09-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This beautifully written steampunkish fairy tale is an antidote to cookie cutter supernatural romances, and one of my best books of 2011. Summary: Briony Larkin is 17 years old and a witch. She knows that she is evil; responsible for her sister Rose's mental difficulties. However, she must care for Rose and that means keeping her ability to hear the Old Ones a

I'm Back!

2011-09-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been more than 8 weeks since I last posted here. I apologize, but Summer kicked my butt this year. While I had a very successful summer at the Day Job, it was very stressful. July brought Comic-Con and presentations and the end of summer reading... it was very hectic. It took most of August for me to recuperate. When school started, there was a lot of drama with the kidlet,

My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star by Joyce Raskin and Carol Chu

2011-06-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: Fourteen year old Alex finds herself via playing bass and skateboarding in this slight novel. Summary: Alexis, age 14, is miserable. She is neither blonde, nor pretty, nor cool. All she can do is cry and mope. However, once her older brother suggests that she learn to play bass in a friend's band, her life turns around. Now a "rock-chick", she wears combat boots

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

2011-06-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: The steampunk superhero conceit will draw in readers, but the excessive length, meandering plot and predictability of this book will turn off all but the most determined. Summary: Finley, a servant girl in "reduced circumstances" fears the angry thing inside of her. When, upon being attacked, the thing causes her to harm the young lord of her household, she runs into

My Foray into Paranormal Romance

2011-06-13T20:27:00.002-07:00

I am not a romance reader, and double that for paranormal romance. But, The Iron Duke. Damn, I love that book. Really, if you're over 18 and O.K. with thrusting and heaving, you should totally read it. So, I thought, maybe, possibly, that I haven't been fair to the genre. That I had dismissed it out of hand. And, I wanted to read more of Meljean Brook's work. Enter Hot Spell and Burning

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

2011-05-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

What You Need To Know: This charming middle grade fantasy combines unique characters with Levine's trademark world-building skill. Summary: Elodie is a poor farmer's daughter, who leaves her impoverished, but loving, home for the city of Two Castles. Under orders to become an apprentice weaver, Elodie instead seeks to become a mansioner, or actor. Broke, unused to city life and desperate,

Putting Makeup On Dead People by Jen Violi

2011-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This is a well-done, quirky coming of age story with an appealing main character that struggles under too many divergent themes. Summary: Donna’s dad died her freshman year of high school. Now getting ready to graduate, Donna realilzes that she’s walked through the last four years in a fog, just getting by, not making any connections or feeling much of anything. She

Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin

2011-05-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This typical coming of age novel features lots illicit behavior, but ultimately falls flat. Summary: Charlotte's life pretty much sucks. Forced to transfer her senior year, a learning disability keeps her from getting into an exclusive prep school. That same disability keeps her from getting into the gifted and talented program at her new high school. Going to a

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2011-05-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This dystopian sci-fi tale will find an audience with teens seeking the "next" Hunger Games, but doesn't live up to the pre-release hype. Summary: Beatrice lives in a world of factions. She has been raised as a Abnegation, trained to value selflessness and service. But as she turns 16, she must choose a faction, which will supersede all else in her life. Will she

The Cellar by A.J. Whitten.

2011-05-05T15:19:00.001-07:00

What You Need To Know: This poorly-written Twilight-with-zombies will have fans, but there are far better teen horror books. Summary: Meredith lost her dad months ago in a car wreck caused by her sister Heather. Now, Heather has become an emo poster-child and Mom is a shopoholic. But when the amazingly handsome and charismatic Adrien St. Germain moves to town, Heather falls instantly in love.

LITERATURE: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953 by Dave Kellett

2011-05-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This Eisner-nominated collection of webcomics features nerd-humor, literature jokes and a talking duck that would appeal to the geek minded. Summary: Sheldon, a 10 year old software millionaire, lives with his grandfather, a talking duck, a pet lizard, and a dog. This group, along with Sheldon's dim best friend, discuss various aspects of culture and literature,

Red Glove by Holly Black

2011-04-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

What You Need To Know: Cassel and his fascinating world of magic and crime return, in this strong second volume of The Curse Workers. Summary: After discovering his gift, and how his brothers misused it, Cassel has more problems then ever. Mom's out of jail, working her own game, and the girl he adores has been cursed to love him -- which sucks. But when Cassel's brother turns up dead, and

Shine by Lauren Myracle

2011-04-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This amazing modern southern-gothic mystery is one of the best books of 2011. Summary: Once upon a time, Cat was best friends with Patrick. Now Patrick lies in a coma, the victim of a hate crime. Although nobody in the small North Carolina town of Black Creek wants to look too hard for the criminal, Cat takes it upon herself to find out who hurt Patrick. While local

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

2011-04-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This Western masquerading as a zombie novel features lots of action and guy appeal. Summary: Benny Imura can’t keep a job, so he decides to go into the family business – killing the undead. When Benny was 2, the zombies rose, and humanity was forced into small, technologically deficient enclaves. Benny lives with his older brother Tom, who like many others, makes a

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

2011-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

What You Need to Know: This is a romance-y spin on the current Greek Gods trend, featuring a strong heroine and an interesting premise. Summary: Kate Winters has spent the last several years waiting for her mom to die, living to care for her, and shutting out everyone else. Now, as her mom reaches end stage, Kate has come to Eden, Michigan, her mom’s hometown, to wait for the inevitable.