Graphic Novels:
Card Captor Sakura omnibus vol. 2 -- The beautiful new teacher in Sakura's class, Kaho Mizuki, soon reveals that she's a shrine maiden with magic powers of her own. But as always, the struggle to capture the Clow cards is woven together with the mysterious - and complicated - threads of love and affection between Sakura and all the people in her life. Will her heart be strong enough as she faces the one who will judge her worthiness to master the cards at last?
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, adapted by Dragon Leigh and illustrated by Emma Vieceli -- Runaway vampire princess Lissa and her guardian-in-training Rose are found and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy, where one focuses on mastering magic, the other on physical training, while both try to avoid the perils of gossip, cliques, gruesome pranks, and sinister plots.
Hero Tales vols 1-3 by Hiromu Arakawa -- Legend speaks of seven heroes, each one bearing the power of one of the stars of the Big Dipper. Two of these stars are constantly in conflict, destined to battle and throw the world into chaos...these are their tales!
Slam Dunk vol. 17 by Takehiko Inoue -- the much anticipated game between Ryonan High and Kainen High is heating up, but then word reaches Captain Akagi that Coach Anzai has collapsed!
Possessions vols 1-2 by Ray Fawkes -- Gurgazon the Unclean (demon or little girl?) is determined to escape once she becomes part of Mrs. Llewellyn-Vane's collection of captured spirits and ghostly curiosities. Or will her spirit finally be broken by offers of ice cream and friendship?
Flight vol 8, edited by Kazu Kibuishi -- a visual feast of short stories, beautifully illustrated and fascinating to read.
Fiction:
Hidden by Helen Frost -- When fourteen-year-olds Wren and Darra meet at a Michigan summer camp, both are overwhelmed by memories from six years earlier when Darra's father stole a car, unaware that Wren was hiding in the back.
There's No Place Like Home by Jen Calonita -- bk. 6 of Secrets of My Hollywood Life -- Seventeen-year-old Kaitlin Burke is back in Los Angeles after her brilliant run on Broadway, but her new sitcom is such a success that she finds herself again wishing for a normal life when a bad run-in with aggressive paparazzi puts her boyfriend Austin in danger. (The rest of the series is on order)
Brother/Sister by Sean Olin -- Told in alternating perspectives, Will and Asheley relate the events of the summer and explain how their lives became violently out of control.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Recent Reads
I just finished reading "The Girl in the Steel Corset" by Kady Cross. It's a steampunk adventure-mystery, in which Finley Jayne, a young woman with a secret, finds herself in the company of a band of misfits, led by Duke Griffin King. Griffon recognizes in Finley the same sort of magical powers that he and his friends possess, and sets out to discover how she acquired them. At the same time, the Machinist begins to execute a deadly assassination plot against Queen Victoria. Only Griffin, Finley, Emily, Sam and Jasper stand in his way -- if they can remain loyal to each other!
I really enjoyed the Victorian-steampunk setting, which used elements from H.G. Wells and other classic pieces of literature, as well as all the expected accoutrements of steampunk. Finley was an enjoyable heroine, and her romantic quandary was believable. I could never quite decide whether I liked Griffin or Jack Dandy, the handsome ne'er-do-well, better. And the fabulous scenes of conflict were great - battles against robots for life and limb! I'm waiting for the sequel quite eagerly.
And tonight, I'm taking home the third Agatha Heterodyne graphic novel: The Circus of Dreams... it should be a fun read!
I really enjoyed the Victorian-steampunk setting, which used elements from H.G. Wells and other classic pieces of literature, as well as all the expected accoutrements of steampunk. Finley was an enjoyable heroine, and her romantic quandary was believable. I could never quite decide whether I liked Griffin or Jack Dandy, the handsome ne'er-do-well, better. And the fabulous scenes of conflict were great - battles against robots for life and limb! I'm waiting for the sequel quite eagerly.
And tonight, I'm taking home the third Agatha Heterodyne graphic novel: The Circus of Dreams... it should be a fun read!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
New YA Books
Graphic Novels:
Bad Island by Doug TenNapel - Lyle, Karen, Janie, and Reese must find a way off an island while they dodge strange and dangerous things on the island.
Fiction:
Power of Six by Pittacus Lore -- sequel to I Am Number Four -- In a Spanish convent, seventeen-year-old Marina longs to join forces with her fellow Loriens to prepare for battle with the Mogadorians who destroyed their home planet, while in the United States, John, Six, and Sam elude authorities who think John is a terrorist.
Reaching Through Time by Lurlene McDaniel -- Three tales of teenagers experiencing the inexplicable. What's happened to me? -- When the clock chimes -- The mysteries of chance.
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead -- When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.
Dragon's Oath by P.C. Cast -- In early 19th century England, long before he's a professor at the Tulsa House of Night, Bryan Lankford is a troublesome yet talented human teen who thinks he can get away with anything -- until his father, a wealthy nobleman, has finally had enough and banishes him to America. When Bryan is Marked on the docks and given the choice between the London House of Night and the dragon-prowed ship to America, he chooses the Dragon -- and a brand new fate.
Across the Great Barrier by Patricia Wrede -- Frontier Magic bk. 2 -- In an alternate frontier America, Eff must travel beyond the Great Barrier and come to terms with her magic abilities -- and those of her twin brother -- to stop the newest threat encroaching on the settlers.
Rip Tide by Kat Falls -- Dark Life bk. 2 -- Ty discovers an entire township chained to a sunken submarine, its inhabitants condemned to an icy underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more -- lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.
Lost Crown by Sarah Elizabeth Miller -- In alternating chapters, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia tell how their privileged lives as the daughters of the tsar in early twentieth-century Russia are transformed by world war and revolution.
The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer -- sequel to Spellbinder -- Twelve-year-old Belladonna Johnson, who lives with the ghosts of her parents, once again teams up with her classmate Steve, whose mother has suddenly disappeared, when they are given a dangerous assignment by a ghostly monk involving a return to the Dark Times.
Bad Island by Doug TenNapel - Lyle, Karen, Janie, and Reese must find a way off an island while they dodge strange and dangerous things on the island.
Fiction:
Power of Six by Pittacus Lore -- sequel to I Am Number Four -- In a Spanish convent, seventeen-year-old Marina longs to join forces with her fellow Loriens to prepare for battle with the Mogadorians who destroyed their home planet, while in the United States, John, Six, and Sam elude authorities who think John is a terrorist.
Reaching Through Time by Lurlene McDaniel -- Three tales of teenagers experiencing the inexplicable. What's happened to me? -- When the clock chimes -- The mysteries of chance.
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead -- When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California. But at their new school, the drama is only just beginning.
Dragon's Oath by P.C. Cast -- In early 19th century England, long before he's a professor at the Tulsa House of Night, Bryan Lankford is a troublesome yet talented human teen who thinks he can get away with anything -- until his father, a wealthy nobleman, has finally had enough and banishes him to America. When Bryan is Marked on the docks and given the choice between the London House of Night and the dragon-prowed ship to America, he chooses the Dragon -- and a brand new fate.
Across the Great Barrier by Patricia Wrede -- Frontier Magic bk. 2 -- In an alternate frontier America, Eff must travel beyond the Great Barrier and come to terms with her magic abilities -- and those of her twin brother -- to stop the newest threat encroaching on the settlers.
Rip Tide by Kat Falls -- Dark Life bk. 2 -- Ty discovers an entire township chained to a sunken submarine, its inhabitants condemned to an icy underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more -- lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.
Lost Crown by Sarah Elizabeth Miller -- In alternating chapters, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia tell how their privileged lives as the daughters of the tsar in early twentieth-century Russia are transformed by world war and revolution.
The Midnight Gate by Helen Stringer -- sequel to Spellbinder -- Twelve-year-old Belladonna Johnson, who lives with the ghosts of her parents, once again teams up with her classmate Steve, whose mother has suddenly disappeared, when they are given a dangerous assignment by a ghostly monk involving a return to the Dark Times.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Reading Club Drawing Coming Soon
We are happy to announce that the Teen Reading Club for 2011 has concluded, and we will be drawing final winners for the iPod Shuffles in the very near future.
We're still moving and settling into our new temporary location at 1603 Washington Avenue, so please bear with us if it takes a little while...
We're thrilled with the number of reviews that were submitted! If you want to read reviews, remember they're all posted right here in this blog.
You can even comment on your reviews, or those made by others.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
New YA Books
Graphic Novels:
Batman. Bruce Wayne : the Return Home -- Bruce Wayne may have been missing, but Gotham City's criminals and crime-fighters kept the action alive in his absense! Now that he's made a long return trip to the land of the living, Batman finally gets a chance to reunite with those characters closest to him. Featuring Batman's greatest allies and enemies, friends, foes and loved ones, these eight interconnected tales connect Bruce Wayne's past to Batman's exciting future!
Nonfiction:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: a friendship that saved the world by Penny Coleman-- A dual biography of the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and the friendship that they formed. Together they challenged entrenched beliefs, customs, and laws that oppressed women and spearheaded the fight to gain legal rights, including the right to vote, despite fierce opposition, daunting conditions, scandalous entanglements, and betrayal by their friends and allies.
Fiction:
Boyfriend Season by Kelli London -- Three girls in Atlanta fall in and out of love. Now, each has an invitation to the tottest teen society party of the year. Can they handle the pressure of getting everything they think they want?
Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci Jones -- After the death of her mother in an automobile accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother when their father cannot pull himself out of his depression.
Escape Velocity by Mark Walden -- The Higher Institute of Villainous Education is in grave danger. It's learder, Dr. Nero, has been captured by the world's most ruthless security force. It's up to Otto to save Dr. Nero, but first Otto must escape Nero's sinister replacement and H.I.V.E. itself. Will Otto be able to break into MI6 as no other villain has ever done?
Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson -- After a fire damages his boarding school in Switzerland, fourteen-year-old Alex and his friends move to the girls' school across the lake, where supernatural happenings are disturbing the peace, and in the meantime, more Van Helsing family secrets are revealed.
Batman. Bruce Wayne : the Return Home -- Bruce Wayne may have been missing, but Gotham City's criminals and crime-fighters kept the action alive in his absense! Now that he's made a long return trip to the land of the living, Batman finally gets a chance to reunite with those characters closest to him. Featuring Batman's greatest allies and enemies, friends, foes and loved ones, these eight interconnected tales connect Bruce Wayne's past to Batman's exciting future!
Nonfiction:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: a friendship that saved the world by Penny Coleman-- A dual biography of the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and the friendship that they formed. Together they challenged entrenched beliefs, customs, and laws that oppressed women and spearheaded the fight to gain legal rights, including the right to vote, despite fierce opposition, daunting conditions, scandalous entanglements, and betrayal by their friends and allies.
Fiction:
Boyfriend Season by Kelli London -- Three girls in Atlanta fall in and out of love. Now, each has an invitation to the tottest teen society party of the year. Can they handle the pressure of getting everything they think they want?
Silhouetted by the Blue by Traci Jones -- After the death of her mother in an automobile accident, seventh-grader Serena, who has gotten the lead in her middle school play, is left to handle the day-to-day challenges of caring for herself and her younger brother when their father cannot pull himself out of his depression.
Escape Velocity by Mark Walden -- The Higher Institute of Villainous Education is in grave danger. It's learder, Dr. Nero, has been captured by the world's most ruthless security force. It's up to Otto to save Dr. Nero, but first Otto must escape Nero's sinister replacement and H.I.V.E. itself. Will Otto be able to break into MI6 as no other villain has ever done?
Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson -- After a fire damages his boarding school in Switzerland, fourteen-year-old Alex and his friends move to the girls' school across the lake, where supernatural happenings are disturbing the peace, and in the meantime, more Van Helsing family secrets are revealed.
Summer Review
Title: Rapunzel
Author: Bernadette Watts
Rating: 4.5 stars
Where did this book take you? Germany
Review: a tale of a fair but imprisoned maiden kept prisoner by an evil, but maybe envious as well, witch. Originally told by the Brothers Grimm. So the story we all know bears an interesting twist that Disney never mentioned!
Reviewer: K. D.
Author: Bernadette Watts
Rating: 4.5 stars
Where did this book take you? Germany
Review: a tale of a fair but imprisoned maiden kept prisoner by an evil, but maybe envious as well, witch. Originally told by the Brothers Grimm. So the story we all know bears an interesting twist that Disney never mentioned!
Reviewer: K. D.
Summer Review
Title: Twenty-thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Author: Jules Verne
Rating: 4.5 stars
Where did this book take you? England and on all the seas
Review: A crazy sea captain takes three men prisoners of his underwater submarine. Exploring underwater coral reefs, taking treasures and sinking ships, til the captain goes mad and tries to drown his crew...
Reviewer: K. D.
Author: Jules Verne
Rating: 4.5 stars
Where did this book take you? England and on all the seas
Review: A crazy sea captain takes three men prisoners of his underwater submarine. Exploring underwater coral reefs, taking treasures and sinking ships, til the captain goes mad and tries to drown his crew...
Reviewer: K. D.
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