New Teen Room Policy

Starting April 29, no bags, backpacks, or large purses will be allowed in the teen section at Sellers.  I am sorry to have to make this rule, but too many of our materials are being stolen.  We have lost all kinds of things, from manga to vampire books to series fiction, so it's a big problem.  If your bag contains valuables, you may leave it at the desk while you browse for books. 

I apologize to everyone in advance for having to make this change, because I know the large majority of you would never even think about taking a book from our shelves without checking it out.  Thanks for your cooperation!  Hopefully, this will mean that good materials stay on the shelves for everyone to enjoy.

Book Review: Exodus

First of all, may I say that this book is flat out weird. It was chosen as the Read and Rant Book Group's book of the month for March. Sadly, I was unable to make it. (Sorry again Gretchen!) Anyway, this book is about a future where all the polar ice caps are melting and there is no where left to go. It's sort of like the movie The Day After Tomorrow with Jake Gylennhal and Dennis Quaid. Only in this movie, the only place to go is these New World Cities in the sky. And if you ask me, those residents are kind of like the people who live in the Capitol in The Hunger Games. The whole premise is just abnormal. And on top of that, this book is written in present tense, which I absolutely DETEST! If you like funky futuristic books, be my guest and read this book! For me though, it was not one of my favorites.

Join the TAB!

The Teen Advisory Board (TAB) is a creative group of 15 students in grades 8 to 12 who plan programs, raise money for teen projects, make displays, and review books.  The TAB meets one Sunday afternoon a month from 2:00 to 4:00, and other days as needed for specific projects. 

The group is now accepting a limited number of new members.  Pick up an application at the children's circulation desk from now until May 13.  Fill it out thoughtfully; selection is based on the quality of your answers.  You can be an active part of what happens at the library if you join the TAB!  (And, it looks good on your college applications.)

New on the Shelves

Look for these next time you're at Sellers:

• Stay by Deb Caletti
• Warped by Marurissa Guibord
• Prisoners in the Palace:  A Novel of Intrigue and Romance by Michaela MacColl
• Another Pan by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
• Recovery Road by Blake Nelson

Upcoming Releases for May and June 2011

Look for these:

5/3/11--The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques (Redwall series)
5/3/11--Everfound by Neal Shusterman (Skinjacker trilogy)
5/10/11--What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
5/17/11--Cryptic Cravings by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses series)
5/24/11--Warlock by Michael Scott (Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series)
5/31/11--So, So Hood by L. Divine (Drama High series)
6/7/11--Cruel Love by Kate Brian (Privilege series)
6/9/11--The Bones of the Holy by Jennifer Allison (Gilda Joyce series)
6/21/11--Homecoming by Felicia Pride (Kimani Tru)
6/21/11--Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter (sequel to Heist Society)
6/28/11--The Secret Prince by Violet Haberdasher (Knightly Academy series)

Book Swap and Inception

Apparently, I planted the idea of book swap deep enough into the minds of 27 teens that they all showed up last Wednesday, thinking it was their own idea.  OK, that's really just the plot of Inception, which is what we were watching while swapping.  Everyone was riveted, whether they had seen it before or not.  People even clapped at the end!  And, they managed to eat an entire six-pound bag of gummy bears, plus tons of pretzels and cheeseballs.  During the event, 39 books got swapped.  Deisy and Jhoanna brought in 12 books together, so they really benefited.  We'll do another book swap and movie this summer, so look for it on the schedule!

Exciting and New

Here are the latest purchases for the teen section at Sellers! A few of these are things I ordered, but most of them were chosen by teens who designated their Random-A-Thon fundraising money to purchase new books.  Special thanks to Teferi, Christelle, and Nikki for their suggestions!

FICTION

• Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series)
• Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series)
• Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series)
• Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series)
• Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
• How to Deal by Sarah Dessen
• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
• That Summer by Sarah Dessen
• This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
• The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
• Cloaked by Alex Flinn
• Shine by Lauren Myracle
• Evermore by Alyson Noel (The Immortals series)
• Night Star by Alyson Noel (The Immortals series)
• Shadowland by Alyson Noel (The Immortals series)
• Vampire Kisses:  The Beginning by Ellen Schreiber 
• The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

NONFICTION

• Kawaii Bento Boxes:  Cute and Convenient Japanese Meals on the Go
• The Twilight Saga:  The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer

Three Fantasy Suggestions

Here are some fantasy suggestions for your reading enjoyment!  They are all very different, but will probably appeal more to female readers.  Already read these?  All of them have sequels available now or later this year.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
(Click here to find a library copy.)

This moving story takes place in the space of one day, as Mia is laying in a coma after a tragic accident.  What does Mia have to live for?  Is it worth the struggle of recovery?  It sounds like the set-up for a melodrama, but you'll be surprised at how realistically Forman portrays the situation.  Mia is a full-realized character, even though the reader is not experiencing her life directly, but rather through her memories.  One thing I enjoyed about this book was the centrality of very different kinds of music in the lives of Mia and her boyfriend.  And of course, this book made me cry.  A new sequel to this book, called Where She Went, was just released earlier this month.  Find out more at Gayle Forman's website.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
(Click here to find a library copy.)

If you are a fan of big, fat fantasy novels, this one's for you!  Beautiful Creatures takes its cue from the supernatural romance genre that has been popular recently, but definitely has its own personality.  There are no vampires, werewolves, or zombies here!  Instead, this gothic-inspired fantasy creates its own mythology, with some characters using Southern folk magic and other belonging to a whole new supernatural category, the Casters.  There is also some interesting integration of Southern Civil War history and events that sets Beautiful Creatures apart from the crowd.  This book already has one sequel, Beautiful Darkness.  There is also a third book, Beautiful Chaos, coming out in October, and a fourth scheduled for 2012.  Want to know more?  Check out the website for the Caster Chronicles series.

Matched by Ally Condie
(Click here to find a library copy.) 

Lots of dystopian teen novels have been cominng out recently, but this one has a romantic twist that makes it more of a fun read than some.  In a future society in which everything is managed by probability and statistics, older teens are matched for marriage because of their genes and compatibility.  Cassia is excited to find that she has been matched with someone from her own town, until she finds out that there has been an unusual mistake.  Cassia's carefully-controlled life seems to be unravelling in many places, even as the government is interfering more than usual in her family and community.  It is not the most original dystopian novel I have ever read, but I found it convincing enough that I cared about the characters.  I read it in one sitting, and definitely plan to read the sequel.  The next book in the trilogy, Crossed, will be released November 1, 2011.  Take a look at Ally Condie's website for details.

Geek Squad

Get in touch with your inner nerd, or celebrate the one that you are!  Check out my new Geek Squad display in the teen section.  (And, yes, I know there's a distinction between geeks and nerds, but I am combining them for the purposes of this display.  Forgive me.)

FICTION

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
• Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
• The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga
• King Dork by Frank Portman
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

SHORT STORIES

• Geektastic:  Stories from the Nerd Herd edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci
• Confessions of a High School Word Nerd edited by Arianne Choen and Colleen Kinder
• Zombies Vs. Unicorns edited by Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black

NONFICTION

• When Ninjas Attack:  A Survival Guide for Defending Yourself Against the Silent Assassins by Sam Kaplan, Phoebe Bronstein, and Keith Riegert
• Ask a Ninja Presents the Ninja Handbook:  From Nothing to Ninja in 5,127 Deathly Steps by Douglas Sabine
• How to Build a Robot Army:  Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies by Daniel H. Wilson
• How to Survive a Robot Uprising:  Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion by Daniel H. Wilson

Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament

Last Friday, 14 teens came out for a Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament at the library.  Most of them were from our Monday gaming club.  They were looking forward to it because they have been asking me to do a tournament all winter!  We did single elimination, with the earliest two losers making up a pair to give us an even 16 in the tournament.  Three older members of the gaming club (David, Tim, and Alex) acted as judges, which was really helpful to me since I don't play the game.  I kept track of the brackets while they solved disputes and monitored the times on the various matches.  Amazingly, we managed to get done by 8:30 (this is not always the case at our Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments).

This program was funded with money from our teen Random-A-Thon, so we had a $25 gift card to Target for the winner.  Plus, Le (a generous gaming club member) donated two rare cards, and each of the two top finishers got one.  The top four were Joseph, Mark, Nicholas, and Dave M., and they each got candy.  Joseph and Dave made it to the finals, and Dave was the overall winner.

Get These!

Lots of new materials are available in the teen section, so come and check them out!  All of these, plus all of the books I just bought at Barnes & Noble are coming through this week.

FICTION

• Vanished by Meg Cabot
• Awakened by P. C. and Kristin Cast (House of Night series)
• City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments series)
• Plague by Michael Grant (Gone series)
• The Game by Monica Hughes
• Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
• Picture Perfect by D. Anne Love
• Dark Reflections by Kai Meyer
• Getting Played by Celeste O. Norfleet (Kimani Tru)
• Freefall by Mindi Scott

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Bleach, volumes 1-21, by Tite Kubo (donation)

PLAYAWAY AUDIOBOOKS

• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Compound by S. A. Bodeen
• I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Big Spenders

I was looking over the children's books that sold the most copies in 2010, and the top ten were entirely teen and middle grade books.  Here's what people were buying:

1. The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5) by Jeff Kinney--3,316,509 copies
2. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer--2,284,066 copies
3. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney--1,656,631 copies
4. Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins--1,493,654 copies
5. The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan--1,315,637 copies
6. The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles #1) by Rick Riordan--1,075,749 copies
7. Burned (House of Night #7) by PC and Kristin Cast--1,020,279 copies
8. The Gift (Witch & Wizard #2) by James Patterson and Ned Rust--579,001 copies
9. Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever by Justin Bieber--503,447 copies
10. Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6) by Richelle Mead--484,849 copies

Did you read any of these? Apparently people love to buy the new books in a series!  I personally purchased and read The Ugly Truth and Mockingjay, and the library bought eight of the ten books listed.