Book Obsession

Great Graphic Novels for Teens

2012-01-25T15:19:00.005-07:00

This past weekend and early this week, librarians from across the country met in Dallas to talk books and libraries. YALSA (the Young Adult Library Association) releases committee created lists on materials published in the past year that are for teens. There's the Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers List, the Best Fiction for Young Adults List, and the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list that I use every year to pick up the handful of titles that I may have missed while ordering.

This year's Great Graphic Novels list left me feeling rather blah about the list. It's not that it's a bad list, because it is a good list of quality graphic novels. It just isn't a list people should order willy nilly from since it doesn't feel it took popularity into consideration at all which teen appeal is part of the criteria for the inclusion on the list. Maybe I'm being too hard on the list--maybe the most popular graphic novels of 2011 weren't nominated. Maybe the committee decided not to consider books from the middle of a series. I don't know. I wasn't on the committee. All I know is that if I ordered the vast majority of these titles, I'd be weeding them out of my library system in two years with very little if any circulations.

Now that I've vented--I thought I'd share the titles from the list we do own and think will have appeal--as well as gave you some of the comments that my teens in the Ani-Manga Club made about the titles in general.

First up--Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine. When I mentioned this title--the comments were: Who is he? Is he Indian? Was he Buddha? Weirdly enough they were flummoxed by the idea of nonfiction manga.

Feynman by Jim Ottaviani. The synopsis provided by YALSA reads "The life and times of the world's smartest man." One teen's response was "I thought Sheldon Cooper was the smartest man alive." (FYI--Sheldon Cooper is a character on the Big Bang Theory)

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. All about a girl who befriends a ghost at her school. This was one of the titles picked up and browsed through by a teen at yesterday's meeting.

Laddertop by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card. A manga style space school story. I thought it might have some appeal to the teens in the program, but not really. I don't think it was the artwork, but more my teens weren't into the whole space school idea.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. New girl in town Paige uses her sketchbook to make sense of her new life. This one was also picked up at the program to take home.

Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato. Finally a manga that actually is popular on this list!!! Uber popular, this is a great action shonen title.

Mangaman by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran. Basic premise: manga character falls into the real world and tries to survive the typical American high school life. I wanted to like it, but as one teen told me, "The artwork is really busy."

Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori. I love this one, but the teen appeal is lacking in it. Seriously how many teens do you know really want to read a book about a 19th century arranged marriage?

Axe Cop by Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle. This is what happens when an artist asks his young brother what the story should be--an axe wielding cop with a dinosaur sidekick. This one was passed around by several of the guys in the ani-manga club yesterday.

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura. This gentle story is about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. Personally, I haven't read another book that is so well done in it's depiction. But the teens in my group called it "Boring!" :(

Bad Island by Doug TenNapel. Family vacation becomes a shipwreck survival story. Bold colorful artwork stood out to the teens yesterday.

Bake Sale by Sara Varon. Cupcake and his best friend Eggplant run a bakery together. This is a fun title, but feels young to me.

Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder by Mark Waid. This is a reissue of a long out of print detective story that I adored when it first came out. Think Sherlock Holmes with a female assistant who's smart and hiding special powers. I think more teens will find this one since the Sherlock Holmes films have been popular.

So that's just a handful of the titles. Next up the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. I always end up having issues with them too! :)

The Watch That Ends the Night

2012-01-24T12:31:00.005-07:00

See that cover? That is a glorious cover. THAT is the Titanic about to go under. This blog post might be coming a bit early because the 100-year anniversery of the sinking of the Titanic is April 12, but I can't hold back. I'm a Titanic junkie, absolutely obsessed with the tragedy of near a century ago, and Allan Wolf has captured the humanity of the tragedy in this most excellent novel-in-verse told from Titanic victims' points of view. Some of the narrators I knew would not survive--history tells us so--but others I fretted over. Would the lesser-known characters make it or succomb to the icy waters of the Atlantic? So many characters populate this novel, from the captain to the cardshark to the immigrant girl experiencing first love to the tailor who has kidnapped his sons from his wife to the baker to the ship rats to the architect who designed Titanic, and even, in some very creepy poems, the Iceberg that took the great ship down. Really, the iceberg's pages are the eeriest. I could have lived without the rats, but even they had found a small place in my heart by the story's end.The reader knows what's coming, but no one on board can imagine that the mighty Titanic could ever sink. Which is why it was so hard (heartbreaking!) for people to leave the ship and get into the lifeboats. By the time they realized they should have done it, it was far too late. The author painstakingly researched this novel, and the end notes, explaining which parts were completely historically accurate and which were embellished in the name of good storytelling and understanding the human factor, were fascinating. Particularly tragic were the poems showing the dozens of "Marconi-grams" from ships ahead of Titanic, all ice warnings that, sadly, went pretty much ignored.

I expected this to be a potential Printz honor if not the winner, but the winners were announced Monday and this book was not among them. (The Printz winner, incidentally, was Where Things Come Back, a worthy title and one our Mock Printz group chose as an honor title.) If you're interested in the Titanic, you need to read this beautifully written book.

Ashfall

2012-01-14T12:24:00.002-07:00

I have watched a program on the supervolcano which is situated under Yellowstone and the idea of it erupting scared the you know what out of me! Also the fact that I visited Yellowstone a number of years ago, my goodness, it could have erupted while I was there (okay maybe that's a LITTLE too dramatic). Seriously, a supervolcano erupting is horrifying.

Well Mike Mullin has done an excellent job in scaring me silly. His description of the eruption as far away as Iowa and its aftermath are terrifying. The research he did in order to write what took place did the story justice. What people will likely have to face is horrifying and something for which no one will probably be prepared.

Alex is alone, his family has gone for visit, when the eruption takes place. It is explosions, fire. buildings collapsing, having no power and pure terror. When Alex regains consciousness, he is hurt and practically deaf. He has no idea what has happen and no way to find out what just went on. He is left wondering if his family is alive.

Alex is 16 and a little cocky. But he is still scared enough to try to find out if anyone else survived. For a short time he finds shelter with neighbors, but after they are viciously assaulted, Alex decides it is time to search for his family.

The majority of the book is the tale of how Alex manages to stay a live. He is badly injured, food, water and shelter are constant concerns. Alex's determination to survive and find his family is admirable. It is also interesting to see how much he changes and the level of maturity he masters in the aftermath of this disaster. The people he meets on his journey run the gamut of types, heroic to slimebags.

It was difficult reading the book, since there were few uplifting things that happened to Alex. I could only hope I would be creative enough to survive more than a few hours. This eruption is inevitable, however, it probably won't happen during our lifetime (we hope). Still we have had too many recent instances of natural catastrophes where people had to find ways to stay alive until help came. As you read, think about what you would do and how would you manage to stay alive.

The sequel will be coming out in October of this year. I am looking forward to seeing whether Alex will be able to keep himself and other survivors alive long enough to have a future. In the meantime, I will be stockpiling MREs, blankets, aspirin, my favorite books..........

Mock Printz

2012-01-11T22:23:00.005-07:00

Tomorrow is one of my favorite librarian events of the year--the Mock Printz discussions, this year taking place at the Appaloosa Library in Scottsdale. There teen librarians will gather to discuss several books nominated as the best teen literarture of the year. After discussion we vote on the titles and try to select the one we think might win the actual Printz. This year, in my humble opinion, I think we read some great titles. I still don't have a really strong frontrunner and actually have no idea how I'm going to vote tomorrow, but the titles we'll be considering are:

Angry Young Man by Chris Lynch

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

Chime by Fanny Billingsley

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (loooved it--maybe this one?)

Family by Mikal Ostow

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Tighter by Adele Griffin

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

I've already reviewed a few of these. The one that sticks in my mind at present is Where Things Come Back. As I read this tale of two brothers--one of whom goes missing, leaving the other in distress--I kept thinking how much it reminded me of John Green. Very similar humor, very similar character types, the kind to whom you get very attached.

Sometimes we get close to the real winner in our Mocks; sometimes we totally dismissed the winning title and/or honor titles. Some years a nonfiction book gets in there and we've never, in my memory, nominated or discussed one. This year there were two strong fantasy contenders--Daughter of Smoke and Bone (already noted my love for that) and Chime, leaving me wishing that YALSA would create a separate award just for outstanding teen fantasy fiction.

Try any of these books and you won't be disappointed. (Although I cannot speak personally for Blink and Caution as, shamefully, it was the one title I did not manage to finish in time.) They're all quite different from one another. Between Shades of Gray will break your heart. It will also make you understand the true horror of the saying, "Be careful or they'll ship you off to Siberia." Chime is a quirkily written fantasy whose writing style first irked me then won me over. Family is a novel in verse about the horror of falling under the spell of a bloodthirsty cult leader. Shine is the mystery of who nearly killed a gay teen in the rural South. See? Very different. But all winners in one way or another.

The Future of Us: Facebook > Magic 8 Ball?

2012-01-05T10:57:00.002-07:00

As one of my New Year's "resolutions" (yes, like most, my resolve to stick to my resolutions is...flexible) is to Facebook less and read and review more, it seems fitting that my first review of the year be of Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler's The Future of Us.

Set in 1996, high school junior Emma's gotten her first computer and a CD for America Online from her former best friend/still next door neighbor, Josh. Expecting to set up a newfangled 'email' account and participate in some 'instant messaging,' Emma's startled to instead find herself on a website called "Facebook". And to find pictures of a 30-year-old woman who looks a LOT like Emma might in 15 years...

The Future of Us is one of those two-person, first-person narratives by two authors - Emma, written by Mackler, Josh, written by Asher - and while I do enjoy seeing events from different perspectives, these types of books (my favorite of which being Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) always take me out of the story and make me wonder how the authors write these. Do they simply write a chapter, send it off, wait for the next chapter, read it, then continue the story? Do they first agree on an outline of where the story will go? Do they let the writing take over? Do they flip a coin when they disagree? Are there ever any fist-fights? ALL THESE QUESTIONS.

As for the story itself: I did find it a bit cliched/predictable, though I enjoyed this quick, fun read. HOWEVER: It's set in 1996, which, incidentally, was the year I graduated high school. Emma and Josh did/heard/listen to/watched/talked about things that were my life at that time, but I wonder if much of it would register with teenagers today. What I do think will resonate are the questions posed by the story: would you look if you could see what your life would be like in fifteen years? Would you try to change it if you didn't like what you saw? How might 'knowing' the future change your behavior in the present? What do your status updates say about you?

Those questions have stayed with me for days, and have made me rethink a couple of status posts, which could very well be a good thing!

Overall, I enjoyed The Future of Us and am considering introducing it for a book discussion - did you read it? What did you think?

Wolf Mark by Joseph Bruchac

2011-12-28T17:04:00.003-07:00

I really enjoy contemporary tales based on American Indian legends. Joseph Bruchac has written a very interesting twist on the werewolf tale. Everyone is familiar with how humans turn into wolves, there are many cultures which share this story.

Lucas King is having a very hard time trying to adjust to the death of his beloved mother and how his father's grief is making both of them miserable. Luke doesn't understand how his father has let him down and how their roles have seemed to reverse themselves.

There is also the problem of the personal anomalies he can't understand about himself. He can't have a watch or a cell phone and he messes up computers if he tries to use them. Luke has a sense of smell that does not quit and he doesn't sweat. So what gives? To make matters worse, he is very interested in a pretty girl who is from Pakistan and is confused about his feelings towards her.

There is also this weird group of Russian students who are very strange, Luke calls them the Sunglass Mafia. They smell funny and seem to have a hypnotic affect on everyone but Luke.

Suddenly things change dramatically. Luke's father is abducted and people are watching and following him. His father leaves him clues as to what Luke's is all about. Unbelievable secrets that Luke couldn't even guess.

It is interesting to go along on the ride with Luke and find out what his heritage has given him and how his whole life must change in order to accept what he is. In some ways Luke is a typical teenager and the reader can relate to the kinds of problems that go along with being a teen.

Bruchac lets us see and share Luke's life and to be just as shocked and surprised to find out about Luke, his father and his "uncle". The mental and physical adjustments Luke must make are hard and it is almost a little hard to believe that he could handle all the changes without more help from his father. However, this was not enough to spoil the adventure.

I liked the characters. There was a good mix of good guys, bad guys and some who you are not sure are either good or bad. They were pretty realistic and I think we could all think of comparable figures that we have met in our lives. Wolf Mark is a good read and I like seeing a positive side to werewolves. There is no happily every after ending, but it is a hopeful one.

Kearsten’s Book Club: Shade’s Children by Garth Nix

2011-12-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Book club members powered through their post-Thanksgiving-turkey-comas to meet at the Main library November 28th to discuss Garth Nix’s 1997 scifi novel Shade's Children. Set in a future where adults have disappeared and children are raised to be ‘harvested’ by evil Overlords, young Gold-eye joins up with other young teens on the run, all who follow the mysterious Shade in the hopes of gaining their freedom by destroying the Overlords.

Our discussion, led by book club member Zach, ranged from "what would you do?" to problems with characterization and “what happened to that plot point?!”, but overall, most enjoyed this creepy dystopia (Kearsten included).

Already read Shade's Children? Why not try some of these titles? Anything we missed?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Battle Royale by Takami Koshun

Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young.

The City of Ember by JeanneDuPrau.

The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Runaways: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

School Library Journal's Best of 2011

2011-12-13T10:59:00.004-07:00

Today, I'm taking parts of the School Library Journal's best of 2011 list. For the complete list, which includes picture books, middle grade fiction and nonfiction. and teen books you can find it here. Like the Kirkus Review post earlier this month, this list is culled from a journal librarians use to read reviews of books for purchasing. Unlike Kirkus, this journal focuses only on children and teen material. It's emphasis is on school libraries, not public libraries, but it is still a valuable source for teen librarians like myself!

Without further ado, here are the teen books they felt were the BEST!

Flip by Martyn Bedford

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol

Outlaw by Stephen Davies

My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson

Stay with Me by Paul Griffin

Why We Broke up by Daniel Handler

Paper Covers Rock by Jennifer Hubbard

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Queen of Water by Laura Resau

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

Between the Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

There's only a couple more lists to go until the big booklists that are released from YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) in mid-January. FYI: the YALSA ones are my favorite lists of all.

Are you making your reading list for winter break? Try one of the above books and let us know what you think! Also, stop in one of the library branches and pick up your "What's on Your Reading Playlist" teen reading program log to win some great prizes just for reading!

Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2011

2011-12-06T12:30:00.008-07:00

In case you don't know how libraries order their books, we read reviews. A lot of them. If a book gets good reviews then we try to purchase it for the library. Kirkus Reviews is one of the journals that publishes reviews. Personally, I really like to read Kirkus because their reviewers can write great commentary on a book-- if they love a book and if they hate a book. Now for my collection if one journal gives an absolutely glowing review, I look for another one to see if someone else had a different opinion. It always amazes me when one journal gives a book a starred review and another one gives it a negative review.

Okay enough with my rambling on collection ordering! On to the top teen books of 2011 according to the Vicky Smith, an editor at Kirkus Reviews--and it's a long list!

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Between Shades of Gray by Sepetys Ruta

Black and White by Larry Dane Brimner

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones

Bootleg by Karen Blumenthal

Brooklyn Burning by Steve Brezenoff

Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando

Finding Somewhere by Joseph Monninger

The Fitzosbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper

The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

I am J by Cris Beam

If I Could Fly by Judith Ortiz Colfer

I.M. Pei: Architect of Time, Place, and Purpose by Jill Rubalcaba

Island's End by Padma Venkatraman

The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey

Life: an Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet

MangaMan by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran

Misfit by Jon Skovron

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace

Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

Stay with Me by Paul Griffin

Strings Attached by Judy Blundell

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

This Thing Called the Future by J.L. Powers

Tighter by Adele Griffin

Tilt by Alan Cumyn

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

Why We Broke up by Daniel Handler

Winter Town by Stephen Emond

Have you noticed the duplication of the past three lists? I'll give you a hint--there are 4 books that have made it onto two of the lists. It'll be interesting to see which titles end up on the most best of lists! Until the next list which should be up tomorrow!

Burnout

2011-12-06T11:33:00.002-07:00

Author Adrienne Vrettos hasn't disappointed me yet. I think my favorite of her titles will always be Skin, a novel about a young man whose older sister dies of anorexia, but Burnout, her newest, definitely delivers. I flew through this book in an afternoon. The author just has a way of hooking the reader. In this one, the main character, Nan, has such a strong voice and her predicament is so worrisome that you just have to know what is happening. Or, more precisely, what has happened. Nan wakes up on the subway not knowing how she has gotten there. The entire previous night is a blackout. She has scratches on her arms and someone has written the words "help me" across her chest. She's wearing a tight pink dress, doesn't have shoes, and her face is a mess of Halloween makeup. Nan can't have blacked out though. She went to rehab and she doesn't abuse alcohol and drugs anymore. She doesn't even hang out with her best friend because the time they spend together is invariably poisonous for a girl trying to kick bad habits. But clearly something bad happened last night, and as Nan slowly puts the pieces of the puzzle together, she realizes that the stakes are higher than she could have dreamed.

The slow unraveling of the mystery pulls the reader along, a sense of dread developing with each page.
At the very, very end it felt like the author got a little vague where I would have liked her to be specific, but the reader has the solution to the mystery, and our main character gets to test her courage and her strength. Note on that: I loved that Nan was a larger-sized girl. It's a theme that runs throughout the book. Nan's former best friend is petitie, cute and enticing while she refers to Nan as a "woolly mammoth." Body type becomes more than a psychological hurdle for Nan as the story unfolds.

If you haven't discovered Adrienne Vrettos yet, give her a try. With the exception of Sight, her books are gritty realistic fiction with characters you can identify with, even if you've never had their specific problems. Sight has a paranormal twist, a main character who has psychic abilities and a killer stalking a small town.

2011 Barnes and Noble's best of teen list

2011-12-05T10:51:00.003-07:00

Like Amazon's list, Barnes and Noble has created their own top 10. Based on the information, I can't tell if this based on sells or on editorial thoughts. Oh well! It's a little different than Amazon's, so which do you like better?

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Crossed by Ally Condie
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Divergent by Veronica Roth
First Kill by Heather Brewer
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
The Death Cure by James Dashner
The Dead by Charles Higson

Best of the year

2011-12-02T13:35:00.003-07:00

It's December! And like the holiday songs filling the airwaves, this month marks the tradition of book journals and book sellers making their annual best books of the year list. Today, I'm highlighting Amazon.com's Top 10 Teen Books. This list is made from the editorial staff at Amazon--not based on sales, which is why I'm including into my lists of best books list. Without further ado--here is the list!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
You Against Me by Jenny Downham
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

Of these ten titles--three of them have been optioned for movie rights in the past month. What do you think of the list? Do you agree with the staff of Amazon?

Until next time!

Deadly Cool

2011-11-26T15:49:00.004-07:00

I don't usually read mysteries, but I'm glad I stepped outside my normal reading type this month because I very much enjoyed

Deadly Cool, the first book in a new series. I'm actually looking forward to the second book, which is really unusual for me because I don't normally like series either. So, the author, Gemma Halliday*, must be doing something right. If I had to pick one thing about the book I liked the most it would have to be the main character's humorous voice. Even if the plot can be a bit predictable in spots (not in all spots, just in some; well, several--but really, it doesn't ruin the enjoyment of the book), the narrator keeps things fresh and fun, and I truly liked her. The second thing that got me hooked--the romance part of the plot. Obvious? Yes. But not neatly sewn up at the end, leaving the reader anxious to read the next title in the series to see how things progress. If things progress. Which they totally will.

So, what's it about? It's about how sixteen-year-old Hartley gets dragged into solving a murder mystery when really she just wants to find out if the rumor about her boyfriend, Josh, cheating on her (with the president of the Chastity Club, no less) is true. The book opens with Hartley finding a condom wrapper in her boyfriend's locker--not a good sign. When she goes over to his house to confront him, sure enough she finds the Chastity Club president in Josh's bedroom. Unfortunately, the CC president has been strangled to death. Josh is the obvious culprit, but even through her hurt and anger, Hartley knows he's being framed. While philandering Josh stays on the run from the cops, Hartley joins forces with the bad boy editor of the school paper to track down the real killer. Danger ensues. As does humor. Suspects abound. Can Hartley find the killer? I'm happy to report that yes, she does find the killer. This isn't one of those mystery series where you have to wait for the third volume to find out the solution to the mystery. (That drives me insane.) Harlety has heart, humor, and a tendency to react like a normal person would to finding dead bodies--by freaking out. She gets nervous, doesn't like heights, tries to be cool when everyone's staring at her, can't tell a lie to save her life, and takes chances, even when she's afraid.

The next book in the series is Social Suicide, due out in April. I hope I enjoy it as much as this first one.

* According to Gemma Halliday's author bio, she has worked "as a film extra, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900-number pyschic." Amusing.

The Goddess Test

2011-11-22T14:34:00.004-07:00

An interesting, entertaining twist of the Hades/Persephone myth. The Goddess Test is part of the Harlequin Teen series. I generally DO NOT care for romance novels, but I actually like this book, to the extent that I am looking forward to the next installment.

I have always been a big fan of Greek mythology and I think that is the reason I picked up this book and gave it a try. Obviously the story is loosely based on the myth with lots of confusing relationships between the gods and goddess. But that was kind of what it was like anyway.

Kate has been chosen (as a last ditch effort for Henry/Hades to retain his rule over the Underworld) to take Persephone's place. She has no idea what is going on until she is told that she has failed her test to become immortal.

It is very interesting how she becomes very invested in Henry and his quest to retain his rule. She is trying to live with the fact that her mother is dying of cancer and how she will cope with the real possibility of becoming immortal and Henry's wife. Kate manages to start coming to terms with life without her mother and finds she is falling in love with Henry.

Most of the characters are pretty much one dimensional. Kate is fleshed a bit more, especially as she changes as the story moves along. Still I found them interesting and rooting for Henry and Kate. If you like Greek myths and you like a light romantic novel, then this is the book for you.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

2011-11-10T15:36:00.003-07:00

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

Laini Taylor is rapidly becoming my favorite teen fantasy author. She's neck and neck with FLB and that's saying a lot. I first fell in love with Laini Taylor's writing when I read Lips Touch Three Times. That was a trio of three (longish) short stories. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the first full-length novel I've read of hers. It was 418 pages--and that wasn't long enough for me. I just didn't want it to end.

Seventeen-year-old Karou lives in Prague in her own apartment. She seems normal enough. Sure, she has a head of bright blue hair and arms covered in tattoos, but that's not uncommon for the students of her art school. What isn't normal is Karou's secret childhood upbringing. Raised in the workshop of a "monster" named Brimstone, Karou grew up in a world of magic. She travels between worlds though she doesn't have the key. If her foster family didn't let her in she wouldn't be able to return to the place she considers home. Home means Brimstone, who is huge, imposing, taciturn, and obviously a master of magic (he spends most of his time collecting teeth and stringing them on necklaces--their purpose is unknown to Karou) as well as Issa, a half snake, half human woman. Karou knows magic is real. She knows that Brimstone grants wishes, and she knows that he controls many portals all around the world. Karou can start her day in Prague and in moments walk into an alley in Turkey, sent to collect more teeth for Brimstone. But the limits of her knowledge are frustrating. There are doors she is never allowed to pass through, strange visitors she is never allowed to see. As she grows, the more she wants to know about the world of magic, and even more so, where she came from. Who is she? What is her purpose? Brimstone never answers her questions.

And then the burning black handprints start appearing on the portals between worlds. Amazed humans claim to see angels all around the world. Something both beautiful and deadly is winging its way toward Karou's childhood home, and threatens to destroy her world even as the truth of her background is revealed.

So gorgeously written. So well-told and well-plotted. And the end! The end leaves you gasping. I can't say more than that for fear of revealing too much. What I will say is this is a five-star book and worthy of its nomination in our annual Mock Printz discussion this year. If you enjoy fantasy, fabulous writing, and incredible characters, this one is for you. If you don't like those things, then I don't know what to do with you!

Anna Dressed in Blood

2011-10-25T17:44:00.005-07:00

In the mood for a spooky read? Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake tells a story in the spirit of legends and ghost stories like Bloody Mary and the ghostly hitchhiker.

The ghost of sixteen-year-old Anna Korlov, who was violently murdered in 1958, is said to haunt the now abandoned house where she once lived in the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Local legend claims that anyone who dares venture into the house risks being torn limb from limb by Anna’s vengeful spirit.

Cas Lowood kills dead people, a skill and curse that he inherited, along with a ghost-killing sword or athame, from his father who was violently murdered by a powerful spirit. As the story opens, the reader witnesses Cas in action as he uses his athame to slay a ghostly hitchhiker that lures unsuspecting drivers to their deaths. Soon after, Cas and his mother, a practitioner of witchcraft, move to Thunder Bay to track down the ghost of Anna Dressed in Blood. Cas enrolls in the local high school and soon becomes friends with Carmel, the school socialite, in hopes of finding out more about the legend of Anna. As part of a mean-spirited prank, Cas is taken to Anna’s house after a party one night by Carmel’s ex-boyfriend Mike and his cronies. The evening takes a bloody turn for the worst when Anna appears, all decked out in a dress stained red by her eternally dripping blood, and kills Mike by ripping him in half…Yikes!

Together with help from friends Carmel and Thomas, a nerdy and likable teen intuitive, Cas attempts to discover why Anna has become such a powerful entity and how she can be stopped. However, as the secrets surrounding her tragic story begin to unfold, Cas finds that he is unprepared for the feelings that he has for Anna, and equally unprepared for the dark entity that may be stalking him.

Anna Dressed in Blood is a definite stand-out among the multitude of teen paranormal love titles available these days. It features some truly creepy moments, interesting and well-developed characters, a healthy dose of gore, and just enough romance to not repel those non-romance readers like myself.

Fateful

2011-10-21T08:50:00.004-07:00

A plucky servant girl.

The Titanic's maiden voyage.

Werewolves.

Awesome.

Is it ridiculous? Of course, it's ridiculous. All paranormal romance is ridiculous, but let's face it, readers don't choose this genre for its stunning realism. Kristin, my librarian cohort, you can roll your eyes all you want, but readers like moi who like the supernatural and have a fascination with the disaster of the Titanic will enjoy this novel. I was especially excited when I learned the author was Claudia Gray. She wrote Evernight, which I always recommend to readers looking for something Twilight-y. The romance angle of this book is the least compelling for me, but many readers will enjoy the budding romance between a third-class servant girl and a handsome, psychologically tortured upper-class gentleman, who happens to be cursed by the bite of a werewolf. Telling you that is really not giving anything away. If readers can't figure out from the first few pages that there are werewolves in this book then there is no helping them.

Some things feel a little derivative of the movie Titanic--a romance between classes, a "rich" family that's actually in dire financial straits, pinning their hopes on a good match for the daughter--but I think it's forgivable. If we can accept werewolves on the Titanic then surely we can give the author a pass on some other issues.

As I finish this book I find myself guessing who is going to survive and who is going to drown. Can a werewolf drown? Can a werewolf drown only if wrapped in silver? Are these werewolves like Twilight ones with super body heat so that if our plucky servant girl goes into the icy Atlantic she can grab onto one and avoid freezing to death? Are her friends going to survive or will the bad werewolves get them first? So many questions! I will soon find the answers.

Teens' Top Ten

2011-10-20T10:38:00.003-07:00

Every year in the libraryland we celebrate Teen Read Week, an annual encouragement to teens to read for fun. This year the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) announced the winners of Teens' Top Ten to kick off the week. What is Teens' Top Ten you ask? A select group of teens nominate their favorite books from the last year. Then in April YALSA releases the nominees so teens can read them over the summer. Then in August and September teens vote online for their overall favorites.

This year's winner is Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel.
The first book in her Infernal Devices series is set in Victorian London. Tessa follows her brother to London after he mysteriously stops communicating to her and her search leads her into London's supernatural underworld. This series is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series.

To be perfectly honest, I tried to read this book. I really wanted to like it. I really really did. I love the whole steampunk/supernatural elements. I just could not finish it. I kept putting it aside for another book and then another book and then... You get the picture. Maybe it's time for me to try it again--especially because the sequel is coming out soon (Clockwork Prince 12/2011)!

So the rest of the Top ten titles are below. Which ones were your favorites? What book missed the mark for you or is missing from this list?

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Matched by Ally Condie

Angel: A Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Congratulations to Cassandra Clare and the other honorees!

A Monster Calls

2011-10-16T11:46:00.003-07:00

"The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do."

What better October read than a monster book. And what an unusual and satisfying monster book this one is--A Monster Calls, written by Patrick Ness based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd. Both Ness and Dowd have written highly acclaimed teen fiction. Dowd died of breast cancer before she could finish this book. Ness wrote it using Dowd's notes as a starting point, and the result is a blend of two great authors illustrated with intriuging black and white drawings by Jim Kay.

Every night, thirteen-year-old Conor has the same terrifying nightmare, a nightmare featuring a monster so horrifying that Conor can't even speak of it. So when another monster shows up in his yard, Conor isn't frightened. As long as it's not the thing from his nightmare, it can't hurt him, not really. The monster claims that Conor called him and that it's been a long time since he came "walking." Normally the monster is nothing more than a giant yew tree in the cemetery behind Conor's house. But it has taken the shape of a behemoth tree-man, complete with sharp teeth and rumbling voice that demands Conor's respect and his attention. The monster says he will tell Conor three stories and that after that Conor will tell his own story--the truth Conor refuses to face. The tree-man's stories seem straightforward but each takes a twist Conor can't understand. The monster's sense of justice doesn't follow Conor's and his frustration grows. In the meantime, Conor's daylight hours are filled with tension. His beloved mother is undergoing treatment--again--for the cancer she swears to her son she will beat. His austere grandmother has arrived, poking her nose into their business. And at school every day, Conor is tormented by bullies. He never fights back. Despite this, Conor is a boy filled with anger, and the tree-man draws it out of him as the stories are told, one by one.

Not your usual monster tale. A wonderful read, and perfect for this time of year. I wonder what Siobhan Dowd would have thought about the story, how it changed in Patrick Ness's hands. No one can say for sure, but I like to think she would have approved. I know I really liked this tale, and I recommend it, without reservation, to you.

The Sky Is Everywhere

2011-10-10T08:38:00.003-07:00

"I don't believe time heals. I don't want it to. If I heal, doesn't that mean I've accepted the world without her?"

In this beautifully written novel about grief, family, and love, seventeen-year-old Lennie does not know how life can go on after her older sister, Bailey, dies. Len is consumed with sadness and anger and loss. Months pass and food still tastes like ash; the world has lost its color. Her quirky family--Gram and Uncle Big--try to fill the void left behind but only Bailey's boyfriend, Toby, really seems to understand. United in grief, Lennie and Toby find themselves drawn together and suddenly their relationship has become romantic--a guilty secret they try to resist but can't. The more Lennie tries to stay away from Toby, the stronger the attraction becomes. In the meantime, she's pulled away from all the other people in her life who want to help her, not only her family but her best friend too.

Then a new boy moves to town and into Lennie's music class. Joe Fontaine is the most alive person Lennie has ever met and his charming persistence finally begins to wear down Lennie's staunch refusal to play her music seriously since her sister's death and also her refusal to take part in a world that continues to go on even when the most important person in her life has disappeared. Joe becomes more and more dear to Lennie as each day passes. . . so why can't she stop meeting up with Toby?

A friend recommended this novel to me as the best book she's read all year. I can see why she enthused about it so much. You can tell the author is a poet--her way with words is magical. One of the most compelling parts of this book are the poems scattered throughout it, all written by Lennie on scraps of paper, the undersides of benches, discarded cups and the like, poems Lennie abandons to the world in a effort to reach her sister or simply trying to deal with loss. Strong characters populate this book, each of them fully developed, with a story of their own to tell. You'll want to take your time with this novel and drink it in. This is a spot-on portrait of grief, in all its confusing emotions, and a reader is unlikely to find another that tells the tale of loss and love so well.

It's all about Style

2011-09-20T16:37:00.003-07:00

I love looking at the new books. I think everyone has figured that one out based on my reviews. One of my favorite things to browse is the new nonfiction titles--which is odd since I don't typically read nonfiction at all. Today we got in Seventeen Ultimate Guide to Style: How to Find your Perfect Look. Style guides intrigue me. Most of the time, I only like a handful of the pages and feel that the author misses out on most of the teen audience and only works with the "model-like" teens. Not this time! This guide breaks down into six different styles: which one are you? Girly, Edgy, Boho, Classic, Glam, and Indie. Within each group, there are photos of must-have pieces; what to wear with the essential pieces; a young adult who fits this style and how they live the style; then it highlights a celebrity with that look; and the section ends with stores that fit your look. The book ends with an accessories guide and a guide to finding your best fit based on your body type for jeans, swimsuits, and more.

My look? classic --which I always called boring, but looking at these photos it's anything but! I'll have to update my wardrobe--thanks Seventeeen!

Damage

2011-09-18T16:50:00.005-07:00

What if your childhood imaginary friend was real--and trying to kill you? That's the premise of Anya Parrish's debut novel, Damage. In a very creepy opening, the reader meets the main character, Dani, and her "friend," Rachel. Dani's in the hospital with severe diabetes, and Rachel is her favorite playmate. Until the night Rachel lures Dani up to the hospital roof and pushes her over. Dani survives but spends the rest of her stay in the hospital and much of her childhood fighting for her life against something only she can see.

Fastforward several years and we see Dani again, a withdrawn teenage dancer, a girl trying and succeeding at fading into the background. Somewhere through the years Rachel disappeared, but after a horrific accident, Rachel returns stronger and more deadly than ever. Enter the picture, the handsome, troubled Jesse, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who has his own imaginary monster to fight. Literally. "The Thing" never even pretended to be Jesse's friend. The Thing, a frightening dragon-like creature is the monster under the bed, or more accurately, the monster on top of the bed, trying to kill Jesse. Like Rachel, The Thing first started visiting Jesse when he was a kid, and after all these years it's back. Somehow Dani and Rachel, and Jesse and The Thing are connected. Jesse and Dani meet on the bus, right before the terrible accident that brings both their imaginary nightmares back to life. Only by banding together will the two teenagers have a shot at survival.

I loved the premise of this one. I was expecting the author to take the story in a certain way, and she went off into a completely different direction and into plot lines I wasn't at all expecting. I especially like what the author does with Rachel. In spots the plot gets a bit convoluted, but the author keeps it together. Though at times the story felt precarious, and I could tell the book was a first novel, the story pays off and even leaves room for a possible continuation. A good creepy read if you're in the mood for that as fall and Halloween approach.

Department Nineteen

2011-08-31T11:46:00.004-07:00

This is the beginning of another vampire series. The author, Will Hill, worked in the publishing field for several years before he started writing. This is his debut novel.

While I am not usually a fan of vampire novels, once I started reading Department Nineteen, I found it "interesting". An actual department (well I know there is not actually a real department like this, just in case you thought I believed there was) within the governmental structure of the United States (hmmmm) and a teen becoming an unwilling part of the department. Jamie Carpenter finds out that his father, Julian, was a member and wound up betraying the organization. Jamie not only has to deal with this shame but also must rescue his mother, who has been kidnapped by Alexandru, a very old vampire and the prime enemy of Department Nineteen.

What makes this entertaining is how Hill has put in just about every gothic character and their authors in his novel! Frankenstein (the Monster, who has taken on the name), Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Quincey Morris, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and authors Bram Stoker (who is a drunk) and Mary Shelley, who Frankenstein refers to as "that miserable little girl".

There is lots of bloody action. The vampires are nasty brutes who love to torture and kill in a most gruesome manner. The weapons the vampire fighter use are very interesting kill very effectively and brutally. Just the kind of novel that readers want, lots of blood and guts.

It was interesting, watching Jamie make the transition from angry teen who wouldn't listen to anyone to a young man who took on responsibility and leadership. His relationship with Frankenstein (who in fact had committed himself to family protector) was complicated. It was not until much later that he came to appreciate what Frankenstein had done for him and his family. Oh, and Jamie falls in love with the beautiful vampire that plays a fairly significant role in the novel.

The characters were interesting and I found it somewhat appealing that we found out a little bit more about those characters in the Dracula novel. There was enough action to hold the reader's interest and you get into the characters and want to know what happens to them. There will be more from Department Nineteen and I think I will keep them on my radar.

On the lighter side of things...

2011-08-30T15:23:00.005-07:00

We had zombies yesterday, how about something a little lighter today? We have another new nonfiction book that is great for browsing. This one is called Disneystrology.

Let's find out what the birthday characters say about some of the teen librarians who post on Book Obsession, shall we? Don't worry, I'm leaving out the years.

Kristin May 2

Character: Colonel Hathi (Jungle Book)

Disciplined, Sentimental, and Dedicated

Karen June 12

Character: Marahute (Rescuers Down Under)

Brave, Intelligent, Perceptive

Emily August 24

Character: Agent Wendy Pleakley (Lilo & Stitch)

Certain, Investigative, Principled

Each day of the year has a character paired with it. The page will give you a paragraph about the personality, magical gifts, and keys to your success. This is a fun browsable book perfect for fans of Disney movies. Check it out!

Zombies, zombies, zombies

2011-08-29T11:27:00.004-07:00

They are a big deal in teen literature this year. It's crazy how many zombie books there are right now! I wanted to share the one that grabbed me as soon as it came in the new book cart this past week: Zombie High Yearbook '64.

How can you not want to flip through this "yearbook" just based on its front cover? A traditional yearbook--sort of. Everyone just happens to be zombies! These black and white photos are filled with detail and a few blood splatters thrown in for good measure. Add in the student's comments like:

"Roses are Red
Violet are blue,
Your brains are pink,
and your sweet guts stink." You get the picture.

Obviously, this is not for everybody. It's a great book to flip through and catch how many zombie in-jokes you can find. If you're a zombie fan, you've got to see this book!