New Books and Recent Reads

Graphic Novel Magazines:
Shonen Jump vol. 7- Issue 6
Shojo Beat vol. 5- Issue 5

Stargazer by Claudia Gray (RBH) --- bk.2 of the Evernight quadrilogy - teenaged almost-vampire Bianca investigates more of the mysteries that surround her school, Evernight, with clandestine boyfriend Lucas and handsome fellow student Balthazar. Why, for example, DOES her school admit Humans?
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce -- bk. 2 of the Beka Cooper trilogy - Beka is a young, tough, but no longer quite rookie cop in a magical, medieval world. Sent to investigate the flooding of the city with counterfeit coin, Beka soon finds herself deep in the world of gambling, and possibly falling for one tricky young potential villain.

Partly Cloudy: poems of love and longing by Gary Soto - remember, nonfiction is shelved with the adult books (811.6 Soto)

Recently Read by Me:
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville - urban fantasy with a twist. If you love Holly Black, Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman, you should give China Mieville a try. Deeba is the best friend of "the Shwazzy" - or "the chosen one" - who will supposedly rescue UnLondon from the evil disaster that is about to overtake it. But when the Shwazzy is incapacitated, Deeba finds herself with unexpected responsibilities. With Curdle the milk-carton, Hemi the half-ghost, and other friends (or are they?), she sets out to defeat the Smog. Zany, cute, highly literate and almost poetic, this fantasy is just enough unlike anything you've ever read to be amazingly enjoyable.

Classic Book Review

Watership Down by Richard Adams - Hazel and Fiver are rabbits who lead their people on an epic journey from their once-peaceful warrens to a legendary place of safety and security. Humans have begun to intrude too closely on their homes, and Fiver, with his strange ability to see visions, fears that worse is to come. Hazel becomes leader of the expedition, seeking the wonderful and legendary "Watership Down", where all rabbits live in peace. But their journey is filled with risks both expected and unexpected; man, roads, rivers, foxes and more, but also other less easy to recognize challenges. This story originally came out in 1972, and there is a pretty good animated movie that came out in 1978. If you haven't read the story of Hazel's adventures, you have missed something really special!

Recent Returns

Gon - volumes 1 and 2 - the wordless adventures of the littlest, and last, dinosaur, Gon. Very cute, very attractively illustrated and easy to follow story - each volume has circulated a dozen times.

Dragonball Z - volumes 19 and 20 - Do I need to describe them? Everyone knows DBZ! 48 and 27 circs, respectively. Hmmm... 20 doesn't seem as popular...

Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Katsa has a terrible burden - her "Grace" is the Grace of killing, made use of by her evil uncle, the King of the Middluns. In her quest for redemption, she meets a young warrior, Prince Po. And together they discover a secret that will change their world... 15 circs total here and at Hoover. I need to read this one!

"Eyes on the Skies" Science Program

Eyes on the Skies

Saturday, May 2 at 2:00 Central Library
DVD Viewing of "Eyes on the Skies", a history of the telescope
Booktalk led by librarian Gillian Wiseman - discussing great science books for adults, teens and kids
Guided Tour of the "Visions of the Universe" exhibit

Come participate in this great, fun program with me!

New YA Books

Novels:

Infidel by Ted Dekker -- bk 2 of the Lost Books - As Johnis and the other "chosen" recruits of the Forest Guard are pulled into deeper danger to secure the seven lost Books of History, Johnis tries to rescue his mother from enslavement by the Horde, but risks betraying the Forest Dwellers.
Renegade by Ted Dekker -- bk 3 of the Lost Books - As Johnis, Silvie, Billos, and Darsal continue their quest for the four still missing Books of History, Billos makes a decision that has devastating consequences for himself and his companions, especially the devoted Darsal.
Chaos by Ted Dekker -- bk 4 of the Lost Books - The four heroic young Forest Guard recruits embark on their last mission to recover the lost Books of History before the Dark One enleashes their power to enslave humanity.
Reaching Out by Francisco Jiminez - When he leaves home to get a college education, Francisco finds it is not easy to leave years of prejudice and poverty behind him.
Jerk California by Jonathan Friesen - plagued by Tourette's syndrome, which makes him twitch and swear compulsively, and with a stepfather who despises him, Sam meets an old man in his small Minnesota town who sends him on a road trip designed to help him discover the truth about his life.
Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine - when circumstances leave him with an urn full of the ashes of a dead woman, Lucas becomes convinced Violet is communicating with him, helping him solve the mystery of his father's disappearance.
Return to Sender by Julie Alvarez - After his family hires immigrant Mexican laborers to save his Vermont family farm, eleven year old Tyler befriends the eldest girl. And when he realizes they may be in the country illegally, he discovers that friendships have no boundaries.
Persistence of Memory by Ameilia Atwater-Rhodes - battling her years-old diagnosis of schizophrenia, teenager Erin must now confront the idea that shapechangers exist, and that she has an "alter" - a centuries old vampire...
Guardian of the Spirit by Ueashi -- bk 1 of Moribito - wandering warrior Balsa is hired to guard Prince Chagum from a mysterious assailant and from his own father, the Mikado.
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (book and audiobook) - Marcelo, a high-functioning autistic teen, faces new challenges when he takes (at his father's insistence) a job in the mailroom of his company's law firm.
Hunted by P.C. Cast -- House of Night - When trouble comes from a being who appears to be beauty personified, will the world believe it? Especially when only a teenager and a group of misfits are the only ones who really understand the danger he brings? Will Zoey have the strength and wisdom to reveal the truth? Especially when, in the House of Night, the truth is often hard to come by.
Alis by Naomi Rich - Raised within the strict religious confines of the Community of the Book, Alis flees from an arranged marriage to the much older Minister of her town, and her life takes a series of unexpected twists before she returns to accept her fate.
If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser - Forced into the gang world of his inner city home, DeShawn is beset by temptations, and tragedy is just a gunshot away.



Graphic Novels:

Gankutsuou: the count of Monte Cristo by Mahiro Maeda - the first volume of the classic Dumas epic - in space, manga style.
Showcase Presents Superman Family vol. 2
Harley Quinn. Preludes and Knock Knock Jokes - it's a love story gone horribly wrong, as teh Joker's partner in crime, Harley, takes the spotlight.
X-Man. Counter X - Nate Grey and a mysterious redhead go cruising the multiverse.
Justice League of America. Tangent. Superman's Reign - an alternate universe Superman declares himself dictator of the world! Can all the heroes of every reality stop the most powerful being in the multiverse? And what caused Tangent Superman to declare himself ruler to begin with?

Recent returns

Elfquest: the Grand Quest - Volume 4 - by Wendy and Richard Pini. This is a GREAT series of novels about a brave band of tiny elves and their wolf companions, struggling to survive and discover the fate of their people. Join Cutter and his tribe as they battle the angry, powerful Winnowill. This is the small-format black and white edition; we do have the color edition for some volumes. This volume has checked out 25 times.

666 - The Number of the Beast (short story collection) - Tales of Terror, Loathing, Vampires, Sacrifice, Werewolves, Hauntings, Zombies, Cruelty, Darkness, Demons, Foreboding and Horror. I haven't read this, but it looks pretty chilling to me... 22 circs - somebody likes it!

Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin Van Draanen - Evangeline discovers her mother's romance novel collection, and her life makes a sudden dramatic turn - into kissing territory! This sounds like a great piece of fluffy reading to fill a rainy Saturday morning. 2 copies have checked out 11 times each.

Grief Girl: my true story by Erin Vincent - Fourteen year old Erin's life turns upside down when tragedy strikes her family. Is it her fault? Did she wish her parents dead? Can she and her sister, and young brother, survive the blow? This new book has only checked out twice, but it sure sounds worth reading...

Battle of the Books

Wow! Here's something that looks fun! School Library Journal (one of the greatest librarian magazines) is having a Battle of the (Kids) books.

Read all about it as 16 great books are allowed to challenge each other one-on-one to see which is the greatest. The challenge started today, and runs until only one book stands as the very best!

Judges are favored book authors such as Lois Lowry. There's also a reader poll, and comments are allowed.

Take a look!

Readergirlz event

Hey, did you check out Readergirlz?

They're undertaking a really cool activity right now. It's called "Operation TBD: Rock the Drop" and they're trying to give thousands of books to Teens in hospitals. You can join in by giving away a book anywhere you want! And you can take a pic of yourself "setting your book free" and upload it to their site on April 16, at the "Post-op" party!

I'll be "dropping a book", will you?

Book Review

Oh, Those Harper Girls by Kathleen Karr
This funny, fun, crazy book is set in West Texas in 1869 - when the Harper girls discover that their ranch is about to be foreclosed on by the bank - and they become caught up in one scheme after another to try to save it.

Lily and her five older sisters find themselves almost accidentally undertaking a bit of highway robbery - unsuccessful, but it leads to a remarkable outcome for the girls...

This book is both funny and historically accurate. Lily behaves like a spunky girl from her time would behave; she's likeable and you will really find yourself rooting for her and her sisters, March, April, May, June and Julie.

Fantastic New Site

Have you heard of Readergirlz?

This great author/writers site promotes books for girls. Fun activities, author chats, profiles, great book reviews, tons of interaction between all sorts of girls (and boys) who love books and reading.

There's so much cool stuff here, I can't begin to describe it all. And don't miss their weblog as well!

This is the real deal! Great fun, great reading, great ways to make yourself heard. Go for it!