A Busy Beginning

It has been a busy beginning in the S9 Library-Media Center!  We have celebrated Banned Books Week and Teen Read Week.  Both weeks were full of sharing, learning, and lots of art work and decorations from our teachers and students.

This new batch of 9th graders was really interested in Banned Books Week and what it really means to have the Freedom to Read.  The library display was definitely a conversation starter.

It Came from the Library! #trw12

Classes celebrated all things creepy by Zombifying their classroom doors.  Doors featured books and movies about Zombies and other things that go bump in the night.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Zombicorns by John Green

Frankenweenie

Students also wrote Twaikus that were posted on the school's twitter page.

A shriek in the night

The smell of rotting dead flesh

The living dead rise

Death walked among us

Killing everyone it sees

Having no mercy

They came in the dark

And ate lots of people's brains

Not a very good day

Three 2012 Books I Cannot Wait to Get My Hands on.

I have read so many wonderful books during 2011, and many of them have sequels coming out in 2012.  Here is a short list of titles that I just cannot wait to get my hands on!


In no particular order...

Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  Release date:  May 1, 2012
Book 2 in the Divergent series.


Summary from BarnesandNoble.com
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you.  But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.


Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors.  War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows.  And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful.  Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins.  Release date:  March 13, 2012
Book 3 in the Hex Hall series
*I absolutely cannot wait to read this book!  Rachel is absolutely fabulous and just happens to be a (former) teacher friend of mine. :)


Summary from Amazon.com
Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away.  Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies--the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium.  Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery.  The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending.  But without her magic, Sophie isn't as confident.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  Release date:  February 28, 2012
Book 2 in the Delirium series


Short "blurb" from BarnesandNoble.com
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium.  This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

On the Road Again...Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road by Moira Young
ISBN:  9781442429987
Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011

Format:  eBook purchased via my Kindle.

Summary from Barnes and Noble.com

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms.  The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from.  That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around.  But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent.  Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba's unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.


What I think...


Another post-apocalyptic extension to the Dystopia genre, Blood Read Road proves to be a solid addition to those already occupying the YA shelves (i.e. The Hunger Games, Divergent, Shatter Me).



This book was highly recommend by several on GoodReads.com, so I thought I would give it a try.  Overall I really enjoyed the book.  It brings a lot to the table.  And I especially liked the physical and mental journey that Saba treks through...her quest to find her brother wraps around all of the characters,  the setting, everything.  Saba is really a fascinating character, and she sets the book up for numerous "girl power" moments that are, well, really powerful!


Blood Red Road is written in a southern-backwoods dialect with no quotation marks around the dialogue.  I had to adjust to this writing style and ended up really liking it.  The dialect compliments the book's setting - a ruined, desert land, stripped of food, nourishment, and technology - a world gone rogue. The setting reminded me a lot of the Mad Max movie circa 1979 with Mel Gibson.  If you are not a fan of the Mad Max movies, well please do not let my comparison turn you away from this book.  Young really makes the whole desert dystopian thing work.


I definitely recommend this book to dystopian fans, or any avid reader.  It has something for everyone: battles, fighting, romance, girls kicking butt and taking names.

Across the Universe: A Mystery in Space

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
ISBN:  9781595144676
Publisher:  Razorbill, 2011

Format:  I borrowed this book from my library.  It was purchased from Barnes and Noble.

Summary from Amazon.com
Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed.  She expects to awaken on a new planet, 300 years in the future.  But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.

Now Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense.  Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.


Amy desperately wants to trust Elder.  But should she?  All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.


What I  think...
A beautiful cover, nicely written storyline, with a little mystery and romance.  What more can you ask for?

One of the first Science Fiction YAs that I have read, Beth Revis's Across the Universe blends, sci-fi, murder-mystery, and romance.   Main characters Amy and Elder both get a chance to tell the story that unfolds on Godspeed.  Written from their alternating perspectives, the reader is able to capture the essence of what it is like to live aboard Godspeed as an outsider from Sol-Earth (the earth we know and live in now) as well as what it is like to live on Godspeed as a future leader.  Overall, I think that both Amy and Elder capture the essence of what it is like to live within in a space, in an enclosed world full of lies and uncertainty.  


Across the Universe is a sci-fi "whodunit" that teen readers will enjoy, especially those looking for something new in the YA sci-fi genre.  The first chapter is engaging, and the plot-line flows easily.  It is both twisted and unpredictable.  I am looking forward to the sequel, A Millions Suns (January, 2012).  I hope to see more character and relationship development with Amy and Elder.

One of My New Favorites: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin  ISBN:  9781442421769.  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Younger Readers, 2011
I purchased this book from Barnes and Noble for my library.  Format:  Hard copy

Summary from Amazon.com
Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.  It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.  There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.  She's wrong.

What I Think...
One of my new favorites, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is hypnotizingly haunting. Once I finished this book, I just couldn't let it go.  I wanted more, and I am definitely holding out for a sequel! Please let there be a sequel! 

Riddled with in-depth touches into the power of the human mind, Mara Dyer grabs the reader by the hand and leads them into dark and hollow places that only Mara herself can navigate.
Hodkin does an excellent job writing Mara as a believable character who is trying to redeem herself through her past and through the realities that she faces at the forefront of her undoing.  
A fabulously written book, Mara Dyer questions the control that one has over one's own mental strengths and weaknesses. Insane or sane? From beginning to end, I was glued to every page.  And oh, my! What an ending. After reading the last page, I sat in my reading chair, gripping this book wide-eyed, silently screaming for more.
 

Hourglass: Making Hermione's Time-Turner Look Like a CrackerJack Toy

Hourglass by Myra McEntire.  ISBN: 97816841440.  Publisher:  EgmontUSA, 2011

Summary from Amazon.com

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there:  swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant.  Plagued by phantoms since her parent's death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal.  She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.  So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure.  But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.  

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barley older than Emerson herself who seems to believe every crazy word she says?  Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around?  And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

What I Think...

Since this book is one of those that can easily be spoiled by sharing too many details, I will do my best to highlight the elements of Hourglass that stand out.  

At first I thought that the heroine, Emerson, was going to be all "I see dead people" like Haley Joel Osment.  Boy was I wrong.

I soon found out that Hourglass is a well-rounded paranormal romance jam-packed with mystery, suspense, action, and time-travel, yes time-travel!  I must also mention that the chemistry between Michael and Emerson is straight-up intoxicating, making this book a real page turner.  

Yes, this is considered a paranormal romance, but it is not your typical paranormal filled with vampires, werewolves, and faeries.  McEntire's ideas of time-travel set her book apart from other paranormal romances, filling the reader's mind with the possibility of changing one's destiny, the possibility of controlling those things that should never be controlled.  Overall, McEntire weaves a plot that is unique and fulfilling.  Hourglass will definitely satisfy your paranormal romance cravings.

Myra & Me at a book signing in Huntsville, AL.

A Legendary Read

Legend by Marie Lu.  ISBN 978039925675. Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 2011
I purchased the book from Amazon.com.  Format: Kindle eBook.  I also have a hard copy of this book in my library.  


Summary from Amazon.com
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.  Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles.  Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal.  But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
What I think...
Legend is a solid addition to the dystopian YA genre.  While it has most of the essential elements for a dystopian novel, i.e. a futuristic world in uproar, a cruel government/leadership, it also has unique qualities as well.  These qualities include the military talent and charisma that characters June and Day possess.  Rooted in determination and strength, both June and Day are believable characters that readers will connect with and "root for."  Despite their differences in social background, June and Day find themselves romantically connected and working together to discover the truth about the Republic and its leaders.


I think both male and female readers will enjoy this book, especially since the chapters alternate between June's perspective and Day's perspective.  Put this book together and you have a little Jason Bourne mixed in with The Hunger Games with a dash of Divergent.