Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tayshas and Lonestar Lists are out!

The 2011 Lonestar List (with PDF) - recommended Middle School reading for the year
AuthorTitle
Paolo BacigalupiShip Breaker
Cathleen Davitt BellLittle Blog on the Prairie
Robin BrandeFat Cat
Ally CarterHeist Society
Tera Lynn ChildsForgive My Fins
Ally CondieMatched
Carl DeukerPayback Time
Erin DionneThe Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet
Brian FalknerBrain Jack
Catherine FisherIncarceron
Donna GephartHow to Survive Middle School
Julia GoldingDragonfly
Jason HendersonVampire Rising
David KlassStuck on Earth
Polly ShulmanThe Grimm Legacy
Neal ShustermanBruiser
Jordan SonnenblickAfter  Ever After
Francisco X StorkThe Last Summer of the Death Warriors
Deborah WilesCountdown
Richard YanceyThe Monstrumologist

The 2011 Tayshas list: (with PDF) - recommended High School Reading for the year
AuthorTitle
Elaine Marie AlphinAn Unspeakable Crime: the Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank
Ariela AnhaltFreefall
Pam BachorzCandor
Paolo BacigalupiShip Breaker
Susan Campbell BartolettiThey Called Themselves the K.K.K.: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group
Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier, ed.Zombies vs. Unicorns
Jennifer BrownThe Hate List
Deb CalettiSix Rules of Maybe
Kristin CashoreFire
Elisabeth CombresBroken Memory: a Novel of Rwanda
Eireann CorriganAccomplice
Matt De La PenaWe Were Here
Susanne DunlapThe Musician's Daughter
Stephen EmondHappyface
Margarita EngleThe Firefly Letters: a Suffragette's Journey to Cuba
Catherine FisherIncarceron
Sharon G. FlakeYou Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems About Boys
John C. FordThe Morgue and Me
John Green & David LevithanWill Grayson, Will Grayson
Ellen HopkinsFallout
Silas HouseEli the Good
Jennifer HubbardThe Secret Year
Brian KatcherAlmost Perfect
Jo KnowlesJumping Off Swings
Jacqueline KolosovA Sweet Disorder
Nina LaCourHold Still
Carolyn MacklerTangled
L. K. MadiganFlash Burnout
Kekla MagoonThe Rock and the River
Carmelina Marchetta Finnikin of the Rock
Albert MarrinYears of Dust: the Story Behind the Dust Bowl
Patricia McCormickPurple Heart
Frederick McKissack Jr.Shooting Star
Lyn Miller-LachmannGringolandia: a Novel
Todd MitchellThe Secret to Lying
Jandy NelsonThe Sky is Everywhere
Caragh M. O'BrienBirthmarked
Lauren OliverBefore I Fall
C. J. OmololuDirty Little Secrets
Elizabeth PartridgeMarching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary
Charlie PriceThe Interrogation of Gabriel James
Matthew QuickSorta Like a Rockstar
Catherine Ryan HydeDiary of a Witness
Lisa SchroederChasing Brooklyn
Marcus SedgwickRevolver
Maggie StiefvaterShiver
Francisco X StorkLast Summer of the Death Warriors
Todd StrasserWish You Were Dead
Allan StrattonBorderline
Laini TaylorLips Touch Three Times
Rachel WardNum8ers
Scott WesterfeldLeviathan
Carol Lynch WilliamsGlimpse
Rita Williams-GarciaJumped
Jill WolfsonCold Hands, Warm Heart
Rick YanceyThe Monstrumologist
Sara ZarrOnce Was Lost

And the Maverick List for 2011 will be out shortly after November 12, when I go to Austin to help select the titles that will be on the list... there are some really great nominees, and I can't wait to vote in their favor!

Recent Returns

the dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer - sequel to Life as We Knew It -- Alex Morales is an ordinary teenager living in NYC with his Mom, Dad and two younger sisters. His biggest worry is getting elected Senior Class President, when a comet strikes the moon and causes terrible effects on the earth. Soon Alex finds himself alone, responsible for his younger sisters, trying to avoid flooding, starvation, and bitter cold. Can he survive? Can he save his sisters? Will he ever find his mother? 30 circs for the book, and 17 for the audio. We also have it as a downloadable audio.

Royal Blood: a Vampire Kisses Novel by Ellen Schreiber - the continuing romance of Alexander and Raven is strained when his parents announce they're coming home for a visit - but Raven is the last one to meet them... what secret could Alexander be hiding? And what does it mean for their future? 9 circs for this romantic vampire saga.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - Bree Tanner can barely remember her first life - but she loves this one; the mystery, the hunt, her new friends. But when she begins to realize that everything she knows is based on lies, she must decide what course to pursue. 106 circs for this very popular title.

Hero by Mike Lupica - Zach's dad was an advisor to the president - which really meant he was a hero, out completing missions in odd corners of the world. But when Tom's plane crashes, Zach finds himself trying to fill his dad's shoes, to become a superhero himself. Can he succeed? Will he be able to stop "the Bads"? Or will this 14 year old lose his own war? 14 circs for this high adrenaline adventure.

Candy by Kevin Brooks - When Joe meets Candy, all he cares about is his music, but he's soon drawn into her seedy, unhappy world. When he discovers how grim her world really is, he has to decide; is it worth risking everything he has for the hope he and Candy share? 38 circs for this realistic adventure story.

Friday, October 21, 2011

New YA Books

Beautiful Friendship by David Weber -- Stephanie Harrington, aged 12, wants to be a ranger. When she's dragged to a new planet, Sphinx, she makes a marvelous discovery while out exploring. She discovers the telepathic Tree-Cats! But not everyone is happy with her discovery...
Bluefish by Pat Schmatz -- 13 year old Travis enters a new school with a hurtful secret, but when he makes friends with a sassy girl and gets a fabulous teacher, life starts looking up for him.
Apothecary by Maile Meloy -- When Janie and her family move to London in 1952, she meets Benjamin, a fascinating boy who wants to be a spy. When Ben's father disappears, they must put all their skills to the test to find and rescue him; their experiences include uncovering alchemical secrets, avoiding Russian spies, and a race to rescue nuclear secrets.
The Surge by Roland Smith -- After barely surviving a terrifying hurricane, Chase and his friends Nicole and Rashawn have made it to the safety of Nicole's family farm, which is also the winter home of the Rossi Brothers Circus, where flood waters are rising and dangerous circus animals are on the loose.

Recent returns

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough -- Tamsin is from a powerful magical family, but she has no Talent of her own, despite her grandmother's prophecy to the contrary. She's always longed to be respected for herself, but when she finally meets a stranger who mistakes her for her powerful sister, Tamsin can't resist the situation. But will she survive the adventure that follows? 15 circs for this marvelous paranormal (and a sequel!)

Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes -- 5 very different kids end up in detention, and form a band to compete in the school talent show. But when they end up becoming popular, things go from crazy to worse! 12 hilarious checkouts - and 16 for the movie!!

Searching for Dragons by Patricia Wrede -- second in the "Enchanted Forest Chronicles". Those evil magicians are back at work, draining power from the enchanted forest - so King Mendanbar and Princess Cimorene are forced to ally with each other to solve the problem, hopefully once and for all! 165 checkouts for this perennial favorite.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and Richard Appignanesi (adapted) - a steampunky, graphic novelization of a romantic comedy - in which Viola, her twin brother Sebastian, Countess Olivia and Duke Orsino fall in and out of love, mistake each other's identities, and create much confusion. A wonderful play, and a wonderful adaptation. 1 circ for this new GN.

Batman, the Return of Bruce Wayne by Grant Morrison -- after being blasted back in time, Batman has no memory, but finds himself leaping forward from era to era, all the while his friends of the future hunt for him to stop a terrible accident. 13 circs.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Teen Top Ten 2011 Winners!

Every year, teens have the opportunity to vote for their 10 favorite novels in October. This year's winners have just been announced! You can watch a video of the announcement, see authors accepting their wins, and see the list.

And the winners are:
  1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster)
  2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
  3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster)
  4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (HarperCollins)
  5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Harlequin)
  6. Matched by Ally Condie (Penguin)
  7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Company)
  8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (HarperCollins)
  9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins)
  10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Penguin)

New Books

Wonderstruck: a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick -- Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.

Game Over by James Patterson -- Daniel X, book 4 - In Tokyo, fifteen-year-old Daniel X faces two of the most dangerous aliens on the planet, who are plotting to use video games to control children and turn them into an army of doom.

Vanish by Sophie Jordan -- sequel to Firelight - To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: she betrayed the most closely guarded secret of her kind. Now, she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again -- and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will's memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater -- When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives. That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt. Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world?  

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles -- When he returns to Illinois and the gang culture on the south side of Fairfield after six years in Colorado, high school senior Luis Fuentes, who dreams of becoming an astronaut, falls for a girl and enters a dark world after learning some disturbing news about his family.

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick -- Hush, Vol 3 - Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for -- and their love -- forever.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Recent Returns

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott: first of the Secrets of the  Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Fifteen year old twins Sophie and Josh are swept up in a quest to keep a book containing the secrets of immortality from the hands of the evil alchemist John Dee. 111 checkouts on 4 copies, plus 5 more checkouts of the audiobook!

Divine Confidential: a Novel by Jacquelin Thomas - Divine was a Hollywood high-life teen until she moved to Georgia to live with her aunt and uncle; can she deal with small town life and have a romance as well? Or will trouble arrive in ways she never expects? 21 circs for this series paperback.

Origins: Stefan's Diary Vol 1 (Vampire Diaries) by L.J. Smith - in 1864, during the Civil War, Stefan falls for Katherine, a dark eyed, sultry beauty, who is also a vampire... 5 circs.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard - what if you had a long-lost twin? What if she vanished the day you were supposed to meet? How far would you go to find out what happened? 16 circs on 2 copies.

Astro City: Shining Stars by Kurt Busiek - a collection of superheroic short stories in Graphic format. A beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable book even if you don't like Superhero stories or Graphic novels. 4 circs for this fairly new title.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

November Teen Anime Club

November's Pikapals of Waco Meeting has been set! Because of Booksale the first week in November, we'll be meeting Tuesday, Nov 8th from 7:00 - 8:30. We'll be showing an anime movie - possibly Howl's Moving Castle.

I hope to see you all there! We'll be munching popcorn!

New Books

Graphic Novels:
Avengers vol. 1 Next Avengers -- After hearing a warning about the children of the Avengers from Kang, who has returned from the future, Captain Steve Rogers assembles a team of the Avengers to deal with the threat, including Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, and Spider-Woman.
Chaos War -- Hercules, thought dead by his friends and collegues, has returned from exile with more power and a warning: The Chaos King is coming! The Choas King has amassed his army of alien slave gods -- and the time to strike Earth is now! Only the greatest Marvel heroes can oppose him , led by the god of heroes Hercules!
Chaos War. Avengers -- The Vision, Captain Mar-Vell, Yellowjacket, Deathcry, Swordsman, and Dr. Druid all lost their lives in the line of duty -- or in disgrace. When Earth's Mightiest Heroes are themselves laid low in the carnage of the Chaos War and the graves give up their dead, these six find themselves mysteriously returned, to re-assemble against the Chaos King's most fearsome ally -- one of the Avengers' greatest foes!
Spider-Man. Origin of the Species -- Doctor Octopus gathers Spider-Man's deadliest foes as he plots to obtain the newborn child of the Green Goblin and Menace.
Essential. The Amazing Spider-Man. vol. 10 --  The adventures of Spider-Man continue as Peter Parker tries balancing his work problems and his love life with Deb Whitman, while Spider-Man faces enemies right and left! Guest-starring the Fantastic Four, Moon Knight, Black Cat, and the Punisher.
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four -- Spider-Man teams up with the Fantastic Four to battle a variety of threats and foes.
Amazing Spider-Man. Big Time -- Just as Peter Parker appears to get his life in order, with a new job and a new girlfriend, he and his friends, the Avengers, must reunite to defeat the Hobgoblin who has been hired by the Kingpin of Crime to spread crime and destruction throughout the city.
Spider-Man. Am I an Avenger -- After years of fighting crime on his own, the web-spinner has become one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! But, this isn't the first time he's joined the team! Collected here is Spider-Man's tenuous history with the Avengers as they face the end of the universe, prison breakouts, and a massive battle with the Hulk!
Amazing Spider-Man. The Complete Ben Reilly Epic -- Meet Ben Reilly, clone of Spider-Man! When Peter Parker decides to retire, Ben takes up the job as the new web-slinger in town, the Scarlet Spider!
Amazing Spider-Man. The Original Clone Saga -- Remember the good old days when Spidey's life wasn't very complicated? When evil scientists like the Jackal sought to destroy him? When Gwen Stacy showed up on his doorstep, suddenly alive? See the original clone saga unravel as Spider-Man tries to keep up!
Essential. Peter Parker the Senstional Spider-Man. vol. 5 -- Spidey's got friends: Black Cat, Wasp, Paladin, Starfox, and Daredevil. Spidey's go enemies: Spot, Blacklash, Kingpin, Killer Shrike, Blaze, Rocket Racer, Sin-Eater
Hulk Visionaries. Peter David. vol. 8 -- The situation in Trans-Sabal may lead to nuclear disaster, and the Hulk, the Pantheon, and X-Factor are at war among themselves to stop it!
Marvel Masterworks. X-Men vol. 3 -- See the X-Men confronted by a host of villains weird and varied, from Count Nefaria and his horde of henchmen to the Locust and the Aztec-inspired Kukulcán. Witness the first appearance of X-Men mainstay Banshee and read the rare stories when a sixth mutant member, the Mimic, joined Professor X's squad.
X-Men. Second Coming Revelations -- As the mutant population dwindles to a mere 181, the messianic girl named Hope returns from the future, carrying with her the hope of repopulating the mutant race. But, Bastion, a highly evolved mutant-hunting Sentinel robot, lies in wait. He's acquired an alien virus that allows him to reanimate and control some of the X-Men's deadliest enemies, including Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels himself!
Uncanny X-Men. Quarantine --  Is there anything worse than that slow, sinking feeling like you're getting sick? So what if it happened to all the X-Men, all at once? The Sublime are back, and they've unleashed a contagion on Utopia. To what end? Why now? And what's next?
X-Men. Curse of the Mutants -- When a suicide bomber strikes in downtown San Francisco, it gets the X-Men's immediate attention. But, this is not your garden variety terrorist, and he's not acting alone. Vampires from around the globe are descending en masse on the City by the Bay, staking a brutal claim for the patch of land the X-Men call their home.
Brightest Day vol. 3 -- Hawkman and Hawkgirl pay a visit to the Star Sapphires, but with the Hawks' connection to the cosmic corps, it looks like this meeting may end in bloodshed. And more even more blood may be drawn as Captain Boomerang hunts down Deadman and Dove!
Blackest Night. Tales of the Corps. -- Witness Saint Walker's pilgrimage of hope, Carol Ferris' sacrifice for love, the first appearance of the Indigo Tribe, and much more!
Green Lantern Corps. Vol. 6, Blackest Night -- As the Green Lantern Corps and their uneasy allies battle the Black Lanterns, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart struggle to save the power source on the planet Oa from the Black Lanterns, a fight which threatens the entire universe.
Green Lantern. Vol. 7, Blackest Night -- Expands on the War of the Light as the evil Black Lanterns descend on all of the Corps throughout the universe, and explains villain Black Hand's connection to death and the Black Lantern corps.
Blackest Night -- Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps must join forces with their rivals of the other colors to battle the Black Lanterns, an army of undead superheroes and villains--all their deceased friends and foes--who are out to destroy all life.
Batman. Imposters
-- when Gotham goes insane and a false Batman goes up against a faux Joker, what can the real Dark Knight do?
Superman Chronicles vol. 9 -- The ninth collection of early Superman adventures in which Superman defends Metropolis from the Merchant of Murder, the Human Bomb, and the World's Meanest Man.
Justice Leage. Cry for Justice -- When Batman and Martian Manhunter are slaughtered by Prometheus, their allies Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Shazam, Supergirl, and Starman team together to defeat him before he can attack again.
DC Universe Legacies --  Meet Paul Lincoln: dedicated Metropolis police officer, loving husband and father, and witness to the major events of DC Universe history, from the rise of the Justice Society of America to the fall of Batman and Superman. Even as the world seems to turn darker, Paul never stops believing in the superheroes.
Do Anodroids Dream of Electric Sheep vol. 5 -- the 5th of six volumes narrates the original novel version of the movie Bladerunner.
Gotham City Sirens. vol. 3, Strange Fruit -- Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are tired of playing by other people's rules. As Catwoman deals with the aftermath of battling her sister, Poison Ivy's career at Gotham City's S.T.A.R. Labs takes an unexpected turn. Secrets involving the "Return of Bruce Wayne" storyline affect all three Sirens, setting them against each other in a brutal display of their villainous roots.

Fiction:
Glow by Amy Ryan -- Part of the first generation to be conceived in deep space, fifteen-year-old Waverly is expected to marry young and have children to populate a new planet, but a violent betrayal by the dogmatic leader of their sister ship could have devastating consequences.
Damned by Nancy Holder -- As the newly appointed Hunter, teenager Jenn leads the fighting teams who defend against the Cursed Ones -- the vampires who are taking over Earth -- but an even more sinister force now threatens the teams of hunters, with the fate of humanity at stake.
Hades by Alexandra Adornetto -- Even the love of her boyfriend, Xavier Woods, and her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can't keep the angel Bethany Church from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, Jake Thorn bargains for Beth's release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly her loved ones as well.
Fox Inheritance by Mary Pearson -- Two-hundred-sixty years after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, sixteen-year-old Locke and seventeen-year-old Kara have been brought back to life in newly bioengineered bodies, with many questions about the world they find themselves in and more than two centuries of horrible memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld wondering what would become of them.
Twisted by Gena Showalter -- After being saved from death by his vampire girlfriend Victoria, Aden finds himself becoming more like a vampire as his girlfriend becomes more human.
Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane -- Young wizards Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan manage to wangle their way onto an elite team sent to investigate the mysterious, long-sought "message in a bottle" that holds the first clues to the secrets of the ancient Martian race.
This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel -- When his twin brother falls ill in the family's chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family's secret Biblioteka Obscura.