Sneak Peeks!

Here's another round up of some sneak peeks inside upcoming Teen fiction books:

Garth Nix's A Confusion of Princes just hit bookshelves this month.  If you are still waiting to get your hands on a copy of Nix's latest book, a pure sci-fi read with space wars and  dangerous aliens, then click here to read the first few chapters of the book!

If you're a fan of James Dashner's Maze Runner trilogy, click here for a preview of the final book  The Kill Order.  The Kill Order won't hit bookshelves until August 14, 2012, so check the preview out now to read the first five chapters of the book!

Click here to download the first five chapters of the new book Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.  Shadow and Bone won't hit bookshelves until June 5, and it sounds like a pretty interesting read: In a Russian fantasy setting a young woman in the army, Alina, discovers that she has a rare magical power and is taken into The Grishna, an order of magic users where she may  be the only one that can save the nation.

If you want a sampler of some really good reads for the summer, then click here to check out Harper Teen's Story Crush Teen Sampler.  In it you will find a sample of six different stories: The Carrie Diaries, Before I Fall, Kiss, Crush, Collide, Slide, Ruthless, and The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers.  This is really a great way to test out a book before you commit to reading the entire thing!

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

 

Book Trailer of the Week-- Changeling by Philippa Gregory

This week's book trailer is for Changeling by Philippa Gregory.  Changeling is the first book in Philipa Gregory's new series for teens and won't hit bookshelves until May 29.  Click here to find Changeling in the Library!  You won't be able to check the book out until May 29, but you can request the item now so it will be held for you when it is released. 

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Dead End in Norvelt

by Jack Gantos

Dead End in Norvelt is a semi-autobiographical novel by the author Jack Gantos.  So, it is not a true autobiography, rather it is a work of fiction based on real events and things from Jack Gantos' life.  At the beginning of the book, we meet Jack who is twelve-years-old in the summer of 1962.  He lives with his parents in the small town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania.  Jack's summer is not off to a good start, though.  He accidentally shot off his father's Japanese rifle in the backyard and has been grounded for the entire summer.  Jack is not allowed to leave his house at all for the whole summer, but there is a stipulation.  He can leave to help out his elderly, arthritic neighbor Miss Volker.  Due to Miss Volker's arthritis, she has a hard time using her hands so she needs Jack to help her out around the house and also with her duties as town coroner.  As the coroner, Miss Volker needs Jack to drive her to wherever there is a dead body in town and he also helps her by typing up the town's obituaries.  Jack expects that his summer is going to be a boring one.  Let's face it, how many people are going to wind up dead in one summer?  But Jack's summer is anything but boring!  First, the old ladies of Norvelt are dropping dead one after another and this leads to a murder mystery investigation.  Jack's father also decides to restore an old plane, Jack has a run in with the Hell's Angels, and there are house fires and nosebleeds galore!  And that's not even half the story!

Dead End in Norvelt is a great read for summer.  It's an easy read that is laugh out loud hilarious.  If you love to laugh and enjoy weird stories, then click here to find Dead End in Norvelt at the Library!

Also, check out this interview with Jack Gantos where he describes more about writing Dead End in Norvelt and how it is based on some real things from Jack's life and why he wanted to write this story.

  

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Book Trailer of the Week-- I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: six-word memoirs by teens famous + obscure

This week's book trailer is for I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: six-word memoirs by teens famous + obscure.  I Can't Keep My Own Secrets comes from the editors of Smith Magazine and collects the short six word memoirs from almost 800 teens, ages 13 to 19.  Some of the teens are famous ones, but the most interesting memoirs are from the teens that are not famous.  This is definitely a fun book to pick up if you want some interesting and light reading.  Click here to find I Can't Keep My Own Secrets at the Library!

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Back to the Future!

If you are a fan of time travel, then you should check out these two books!

Tempest

by Julie Cross

Jackson Meyer can jump through time.  When we meet him at the beginning of Tempest he is nineteen-years-old in 2009  and is just starting to scratch the surface of his time travelling abilities.  He believes that he can only travel to the past for a short amount of time, but that all changes when one morning a couple of strangers burst into his girlfriend's dorm room and fatally shoot her while trying to abduct Jackson.  As Jackson holds the dying Holly in his arms, he suddenly travels back in time to 2007.  However, he is stuck in 2007 and has to pretend to be his seventeen-year-old self to try to figure out why he was in danger in 2009.  He also begins to discover the secrets his father has hidden from him about his time travelling abilities. 

Tempest is an exciting and action-packed book.  The characters are really fun to read about and I found myself laughing out loud at times.  This is definitely not a dramatic read, but there is a lot of drama with Jackson's abilities.  The mystery behind Jackson's time jumping powers is very interesting to read but it is also a bit complicated.  Pick this book up if you are looking for a book that has a lot of mystery, action, and twists and turns.

Ruby Red

by Kerstin Gier

Gwenyth had grown up knowing that her more sophisticated and prettier cousin Charlotte had the genetic ability to travel through time.  Gwenyth is just a normal sixteen-year-old girl who likes to hang out with her friends, gossip and talk on her phone, and who also happens to be able to see and talk to ghosts.  Charlotte, however, has had extensive lessons and training for different skills that will come in handy when she starts travelling back in time--like fencing, learning German, and even self defense.  It all goes wrong, though, when Gwenyth actually turns out to be the next time traveler in the family.  Once The Guardians, the secret order that protects time travellers, confirms that she is "The Ruby" (the last of the time travellers) she is suddenly thrust into a world that she is very unprepared for.  Will Gwenyth be able to survive travelling through time without the proper training?  Will she uncover the secret of why one of her time travelling relatives ran away and took a precious device with her?  And, most importantly, can she learn to tolerate her time travelling partner Gideon--an older, cuter, and very arrogant descendant of another family with the genetic ability to travel through time.

Ruby Red was a good read.  The great mystery surrounding Gwenyth's role as "The Ruby" and the missing time travel device are set up nicely in this first book in a planned trilogy.  Be warned, though!  The ending is quite a cliffhanger.  Gwenyth is a fun character to read about, too.  At first I was so frustrated at how immature she was, but I think the author did this so that she could show how much Gwenyth had to grow up when she learned that she had the time travel gene.  One thing to know about this book is that it was translated into English from German, and it takes place in London, both in the current day and also in the past.  It does use British terms and references, but for me this just added to the story.  I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Book Trailer of the Week-- The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This week's book trailer is for The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen.  The False Prince is the first book in the Ascendance trilogy, a medieval fantasy series where an entire royal family dies under mysterious circumstances and the King's regent collects four orphan boys to compete for the role of the false prince.  The real prince was believed to be lost at sea years ago, and the King's regent believes he can use a fake prince as a way to avoid civil war in the kingdom.  Click here to find The False Prince at the Library!

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

Death Cloud

by Andrew Lane    

I admit my only exposure to Sherlock Holmes has been the action-packed Robert Downey Jr. movies and the super awesome BBC adaptation.  No, I have not read the original novels.  However, I do enjoy the character of Sherlock and his abundance of knowledge that always seems to come in handy at just the right moment.  The mysteries and the way Sherlock uses his superb sleuthing skills are always interesting and surprising.  So, I was excited to find out that Andrew Lane is writing a series that introduces us to the fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes.  As an added bonus, this series is the first teen series endorsed by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literary Estate.

In the first book of the series, Death Cloud, it is 1868 and Sherlock has just been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in their large estate in Hampshire.  This arrangement is only supposed to be for Sherlock's holidays from boarding school, but with his father stationed in India and his mother unwell, Sherlock is not sure what his future holds.  His brother, Mycroft, has arranged for Sherlock to be kept busy with an American tutor named Amyus Crowe.  Crowe is a Texan from America with a mysterious past, but a great knowledge of many different things.  Sherlock is still bored, though, living in the country.  Luckily, he makes friends with a local boy named Matty.  Of course, through their boredom, the two boys stumble upon a mysterious black cloud that leaves its victims dead with plague-like symptoms.  Together, Matty and Sherlock risk their own lives to solve the mystery of the cloud of death.

Death Cloud is filled with tons of action and adventure.  And, of course, there is a great mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire novel.  One of the best parts about this book are the things I learned while reading the book.  Each aspect of the mystery and how Sherlock comes to his conclusions are explained in depth in the novel, and most of the explanations are logical scientific ones!  This is definitely a great read for all teens of all ages who enjoy a good mystery with lots of action and adventure.

Once you're finished with Death Cloud, be sure to check out the next book in the series, Rebel Fire.  In this next book of the series, Sherlock and his friends intercept a plot to resurrect the Southern Cause in America with the supposedly dead John Wilkes Booth!

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Join us for the Parent-Teen Book Discussion this Sunday!

Teens and their parents are invited to read Life as We Knew It, either together or individually, and then join us for a lively group discussion fueled by some stimulating questions and light refreshments. Written by Susan Beth Pfeffer, this novel is told through the journal entries of Miranda, a 16-year-old whose world is turned upside down when a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide natural disasters that have Miranda and her family fighting for survival.

Click here to register for the discussion!

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Book Trailer of the Week-- The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

This week's book trailer is for The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi.  It is a companion novel to Bacigalupi's 2010 novel, Ship Breaker.  If you're a fan of dystopians, be sure to check these books out!  Click here to find The Drowned Cities at the Library!

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Recap of Divergent

If you are anxiously awaiting, or have already started reading Veronica Roth's Insurgent, the second book in the Divergent trilogy that hit bookshelves yesterday, then you may want to head over to Roth's blog by clicking here, or following the link below:

http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/but-i-read-divergent-year-ago-your.html

Last week, Veronica Roth posted that she made an "artistic decision" to not do a lot of recapping in Insurgent.  So if you are like me and you read Divergent a year ago, you'll want to read Roth's post where she recaps all the important things you need to know from Divergent when reading Insurgent.

Also, click on the book covers below to find Divergent and Insurgent at the Library!

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian