New Books

Nonfiction:
Vampire History and Lore by Stuart Kallen -- Explores vampire beliefs from the blood sucking beasts of ancient times to the immortal teen heartthrobs of the twenty first century.
Vampires: Do They Exist by Gail Stewart -- While many people assume that vampires are merely the topic of popular movies and novels, it is also true that many believe they exist in real life, too. This book examines the legends about the various forms vampires take, how they feed on the living, and the dangers of encountering them.
How Serious a Threat is Climate Change? by Hal Marcovitz -- Experts predict global warming could cause devastating storms and floods, reduce production of food, wipe out forests and species of animals and force millions of people to flee their homelands.
Can Renewable Energy Replace Fossil Fuels? by Hal Marcovitz -- Many experts believe renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power hold the answers to stemming climate change as well as reducing America's reliance on foreign governments to provide oil.
Personality Disorders by Lydia Bjorlund -- Individuals with a personality disorder interpret and respond to people and situations unlike most other people; they may exhibit odd, erratic, dramatic, anxious, and, often, socially unacceptable behavior.
Vaccine Research by Toney Allman -- Presents information on the research into vaccines that scientists do, including the methods that they employ and the results that they achieve.
Unraveling Freedom by Ann Bausum -- Looks at America during the WWI period, when fear and intolerance led to the persecution of German Americans, socialists, and peace activists.
Gene Therapy Research by Hal Marcovitz -- Gene therapy has the potential to wipe out many horrific and debilitating diseases, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. As doctors pursue breakthroughs in gene therapy, they must overcome many ethical questions that surround the research as well as the unknown consequences of replacing faulty genes.

Fiction:
Cloaked by Alex Flinn -- Seventeen-year-old Johnny is approached at his family's struggling shoe repair shop in a Miami, Florida, hotel by Alorian Princess Victoriana, who asks him to find her brother who was turned into a frog.
Cryer's Cross by McMann -- Seventeen-year-old Kendall, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, lives with her parents on a potato farm in a tiny community in Montana, where two teenagers go missing within months of each other, with no explanation.
Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy -- Zulaikha, a thirteen-year-old girl in Afghanistan, faces a series of frightening but exhilirating changes in her life as she defies her father and secretly meets with an old woman who teaches her to read, her older sister gets married, and American troops offer her surgery to fix her disfiguring cleft lip.
Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry -- On her journey to the royal university to become a doctor, fifteen-year-old Evie, wearing potent gypsy charms, learns of her monstrous inheritance.
Water Wars by Cameron Stracher -- In a world where water has become a precious resource, Vera and her brother befriend a boy who seems to have unlimited access to water and who suspiciously disappears, prompting a dangerous search challenged by pirates, a paramilitary group, and corporations.
Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus -- Enrolling in a New England boarding school after her sister's mysterious death, sixteen-year-old Phe Archer uncovers a secret that could answer all her questions, but could also cost her her life.
Firelight by Sophie Jordan -- When sixteen-year-old Jacinda, who can change into a dragon, is forced to move away from her community of shapeshifters and start a more normal life, she falls in love with a boy who proves to be her most dangerous enemy.
Kindred by Tammer Stein -- Spiritual warfare breaks out when the Archangel Raphael and the Devil deliver assignments to eighteen-year-old fraternal twins Miriam and Moses.
Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler -- Seventeen-year-old Lisabeth has anorexia, and even turning into Famine -- one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse -- cannot keep her from feeling fat and worthless.
Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner -- After recovering from typhus, thirteen-year-old Raisa leaves her Polish shtetl for America to join her older sister, and goes to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory.
Pick-up Game edited by Marc Aronsen -- A series of short stories by such authors as Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Joseph Bruchac, interspersed with poems and photographs, provides different perspectives on a game of streetball played one steamy July day at the West 4th Street court in New York City known as The Cage.
Will Work for Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris -- Seventeen-year-old Quigley and her best friend Anne have big plans to prepare for prom, including working to earn money for dresses, but both girls seem to have chosen their prospective dates badly as Anne's family crisis affects them all.
Vesper : a Deviant's Novel by Jeff Sampson -- By the time sixteen-year-old Emily discovers that she and several of her high school classmates in their small Washington town are products of genetic engineering, they display all very dangerous powers by night and are stalked by a murderer.
I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena -- Seventeen-year-old Kidd Ellison runs away to work for the summer at a beach campsite in California where his hard work and good looks lead to friendship and love, but painful past memories surface in menacing ways.
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John -- Eighteen-year-old Piper becomes the manager for her classmates' popular rock band, called Dumb, giving her the chance to prove her capabilities to her parents and others, if only she can get the band members to get along.
Girl Next Door by Selene Castrovilla -- As seventeen-year-old Sam desperately tries to help her best friend and neighbor Jesse through aggressive treatments for a rare and usually fatal form of cancer, they find themselves falling deeply in love.
Invasion : a C.H.A.O.S. novel by J. S. Lewis -- After his parents are killed in an automobile accident, sixteen-year-old Colt McAllister moves to Arizona where he is recruited by a secret organization to join the battle against malevolent, supernatural creatures from another world.
House of the Star by Caitlin Brennan -- Elen, a princess of Ymbria, longs to learn to ride the magical horses known as worldrunners, the only safe way to travel the roads of Faerie, but she must first find a way to forge a peace with her people's worst enemy and end the centuries-old war between them, a task she doubts her ability to accomplish.
Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon -- After her parents die under mysterious circumstances, sixteen-year-old Renee Winters is sent from California to an old-fashioned boarding school in Maine, where she meets a fellow student to whom she seems strangely connected.
Gool by Maurice Gee -- Sixteen years after Hari and Pearl defeated the tyrant Ottmar, their children Xantee and Lo face an even more dangerous foe, which they must find and destroy if they are to save their father and the world they know.
Fledgling Handbook 101 by P.C. Cast -- A handbook for fledglings new to the House of Night that provides information to ease the transition from human to fledgling, and describes the history of vampyres.
Upgrade U by Ni Ni Simone -- Life is poppin', and seventeen-year-old Seven McKnight is rockin' Stiles University's hottest baller, Josiah Whitaker, on her arm when it all falls apart. With groupies threatening her basketball wife status and Josiah's dreams of the NBA blowing up his ego, Seven finds herself in a tailspin. Should she stay or leave?
Painted Boy by Charles de Lint -- High-schooler Jay Li finds himself in the Arizona desert performing dangerous feats as part of his journey to prove himself a worthy member of the part human, part dragon Yellow Dragon Clan.
Kiss Me Deadly : 13 Tales of Paranormal Love edited by Tricia Talep -- A collection of short stories combining dark seduction and modern romance presents a variety of tales featuring the romantic lives of humans and werewolves, ghosts, fallen angels, zombies, and shape-shifters.
Tyger Tyger by K.R. Hamilton -- Soon after the mysterious and alluring Finn arrives at her family's home, sixteen-year-old Teagan Wylltson and her disabled brother are drawn into the battle Finn's family has fought since the thirteenth century, when Fionn MacCumhaill angered the goblin king.
Starcrossed by Elizabeth Bunce -- In a kingdom dominated by religious intolerance, sixteen-year-old Digger, a street thief, has always avoided attention. But when she learns that her friends are plotting against the throne, she must decide whether to join them or turn them in.
Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman -- Natalie, a seventeen-year-old former drama club member who now writes a relationship column for her school newspaper, decides to go undercover as a student at an all-boys boarding school so that she can figure out what guys are really like.
Unnatural by Michael Griffo -- Michael Howard and Ronan Glynn-Rowley meet at Archangel Academy, an all-boys school in Eden, a rural town in north western England. Both are outcasts and decried as unnatural, Michael because he's gay, and Ronan because he's a hybrid vampire.

Anime Club Meeting just a week away!

In just over a week, Tuesday March 22nd at 7:00 at the West Waco Library, we will be holding our First Ever Anime and Manga Teen Club Meeting.

I'm hoping we can create a name for our club, decide what activities we want to have each month, and maybe even talk about having an Anime Day during our Summer Reading Club program events.

Hope to See you There!

I also have a few "recent returns"to mention; these are books and audios that have been checked out recently and returned today. I hope that you'll find something good that you've overlooked, or you'll comment on something you read and enjoyed. Let me know if you like this feature of the blog...

Yuyu Hakusho volume 15 - Kuwubara's been kidnapped! Unbeknownst to him or anyone else, his new sword is so powerful it can cut holes between dimensions; Sensui intends to use the power to unleash demons on the world. But Yusuki isn't giving up easily, and sets out in pursuit -- on a bicycle! 21 circs for this volume of "the world's most popular manga."

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld - audio performed by Carine Montbertrand - Tally has become a Pretty, but she doesn't feel like all the others - what's gone wrong? But when she meets Zane, they begin to realize that not all is right with the world, and Special Circumstances is hot on Tally's trail. Can she and Zane find and reveal the cure for Pretty-mindedness, or will Tally be erased? 16 circs just for the audio - 45 for the book!

Girls Under Pressure by Jacqueline Wilson - Ellie learns to deal with the complications of being a teen with Anorexia as she and her two best friends go shopping, attend school, get teased by the boys, and Ellie falls into the trap of trying to control her eating until she is controlled by it... 47 circs.

Small Persons With Wings by Ellen Booraem - they hate to be called fairies. When Mellie's family moves to an old, ramshackle Inn, she soon discovers, to her dismay, that it is filled with fairies. And only she can see them. Help! Just 1 circ for this brand new book!

Alchemy and Meggy Swan by Karen Cushman - Meggy lived in the country with her loving grandmother and her mother; but after her gran's death, she is sent to live with her unknown father in Londontown. Her crippled legs make life hard, and Meggy knows that nobody wants her. But can she find a place where she can win a life for herself? 3 circs.

Recent Returns, and What I've been Reading

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson - in Queens in 1999, three girls bond over Tupac's music and try to make sense of their lives - 4 circs

The Eagle by Rosemary Sutcliff - in Roman Britain, Marcus sets out on a dangerous mission into the wilderness to discover what happened to his father, and the lost 9th Legion's missing Eagle. A marvelous historical adventure; the basis of the new movie. 1 circ.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - Seventeen year old Mia and her family go for a drive one Sunday. When tragedy strikes, Mia must evaluate her entire life, and make a decision that will affect her future... 43 circs for the books, 4 for the audio

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick - Private Matt Duffy just wants to be a good soldier, but the images that haunt him make him wonder just what happened before he was injured. Did he do something unforgiveable? Does he deserve the Purple Heart he's been given? And can he be a soldier any more? 3 circs for this wonderful book.

What I have read - Pegasus by Robin McKinley - this fantasy novel is a thoughtful, lyrical, introverted story of a lonely young princess, Sylvi, and the handsome, strong, graceful young pegasus with whom she is bonded. In their world, humans and pegasi can barely communicate, but their nations are allies against the invasive wyverns, rocs and other monsters of the wilderness. When, against all custom and expectation, Sylvi and Ebon discover that they can communicate perfectly, it should be a miracle. But instead, they are forced to disguise their bond, hide their deep friendship, and make sacrifices for the good of their nations. Or is it good? What evil lurks in the shadows, and will it lead to their destruction? This book was excellent on many levels, and the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger has me desperate to know when the next novel will be published...

What I'm Reading

Plain Kate by Erin Bow
Kate is the just-orphaned daughter of a woodcarver, and she has her own talent, so strong that the townsfolk have always believed it is witchery. After her father's death, Plain Kate struggles to find her place. Eventually a strange albino man named Linay comes to town, and tricks her with his own mysterious witchery, into selling her shadow to him. Thus begins Kate's quest, with her companions Taggle the cat and gypsy girl Drina, to win back her shadow and find out what Linay's real goal is.

I loved this book. While the plot was not particularly unexpected, it was intricate enough that I never felt bored, and the writing was lovely. Plain Kate, Drina, Daj, even the wicked Linay were enjoyable, believable people. Each had their own personality, their own drives and desires, weaknesses and strengths. And the world was believable, as well. While clearly not a modern world, it was no stereotypical medieval-alike magical world, either. It had a feel and character of its own. And I especially enjoyed Taggle the cat. He stands on his own as a cat of distinction among other fantasy cats.

If you enjoy Shannon Hale or Robin McKinley, Pearl North or Nancy Farmer, you'll like this novel, too.

Non-Fiction:
Badass: a relentless onslaught of the toughest warlords, vikings, samurai, pirates, gunfighters, and military commanders to ever live by Ben Thompson
Fort Mose: and the story of the man who built the first free black settlement in Colonial America by Glennette Tilley Turner
Unspeakable Crime: the Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank by Elaine Marie Alphin -- did Leo Frank murder pencil factory worker Mary Phagan, or was he convicted due to prejudice and community anger?

Fiction:
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond -- Presents a fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood with her best friend, Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending.
Trapped by Michael Northrop -- Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.
Kick by Walter Dean Myers -- Told in their separate voices, thirteen-year-old soccer star Kevin and police sergeant Brown, who knew his father, try to keep Kevin out of juvenile hall after he is arrested on very serious charges.
Dark Divine by Bree Despain -- Grace Divine, almost seventeen, learns a dark secret when her childhood friend -- practically a brother -- returns, upsetting her pastor-father and the rest of her family, around the time strange things are happening in and near their small Minnesota town.
Lost Saint by Bree Despain -- When Grace Divine receives a frightening phone call from her brother Jude, whom she then cannot find, she knows she must turn to her supernatural powers, even though it threatens her relationship with her boyfriend Daniel.
Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves -- Portero, Texas, teens Kit and Fancy Cordelle share their infamous father's fascination with killing, and despite their tendency to shun others, they bring two boys with similar tendencies to a world of endless possibilities they have discovered behind a mysterious door.
Indigo King by James A. Owen -- When, in 1931, there is a breach between this world and the Archipelago of Dreams, John and Jack, two of the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, must race through history using a time travel device left by Jules Verne, and discover the identity of the Cartographer.
Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen -- Nine years after they came together to defeat the Winter King, John, Jack, and Charles return to the Archipelago of Dreams and face a new challenge involving the Lost Boys and giants.
Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen -- Three young men are entrusted with the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of fantastical places to which they travel in hopes of defeating the Winter King whose bid for power is related to the First World War raging in the Real World.
Cyborg: a Clone Codes Novel by Pat McKissack -- Seventeen-year-old Houston, a cyborg since the age of seven, and a fugitive living on the Moon, joins with other cyborgs all over the world in non-violent protest marches to challenge the Cyborg Act 2130 and hopefully secure increased civil liberties.

GN:
Tron. Betrayal by Jai Nitz --
Kevin Flynn wants to create a perfect world inside the computer, but his real-life duties to Encom and to his son Sam require him to be absent for long periods of time. He creates the program CLU to run things in his absence. But eventually, CLU begins to feel abandoned by his maker and decides to take a more aggressive role in building the perfection he believes his creator wants. An original graphic novel prequel to the film Tron : Legacy.

Anime and Manga Club Starting at the Library!

Tuesday, March 22nd at 7:00 - 8:00 pm

West Waco Library
5301 Bosque Blvd
(beside Target)

Ages 11 - 17 or Grades 6-12

We're just getting started, so we need lots of ideas to get started with - come help us decide on what we want to do!

Cosplay? Arts and Crafts? Book and Anime discussion? Show Anime? What else?

What I've been reading

Jane by April Lindner - this is a retelling of the classic Jane Eyre story. Jane Moore is a college student when her parents are killed and she finds herself without a way to continue her educations. Desperate, she hires on as a nanny, taking a job looking after the 5 year old daughter of Nico Rathburn, a famed rockstar.

The story closely adheres to the original storyline; Jane is a cool, self-possessed, shy girl who knows herself unworthy of the man she finds herself falling in love with. Unfortunately, her disbelief is not quite sustainable in this modern setting; no girl as intelligent and sensitive as Jane would or should be as deep in denial as she seems to be. Also, unlike the original, which seethed with an underlying depth of emotion, there's no really believable spark between Jane and Nico. Lastly, Nico's "secret" really doesn't work in a modern world. Just saying that "he couldn't do that to Bibi" is so artificial in today's world that it just broke me right out of the story. I'm sorry, but if a real person in the real world did what he did, they'd end up in prison for kidnapping and abuse, not given a pat on the back as a nice guy!

However, the book was well-written, the author plainly loves and understands the classic Jane Eyre, and the secondary characters were a lot of fun. I enjoyed large parts of this novel, and would probably have enjoyed it more if I were still a teen, myself.