Teens Only | I Don't Know About You....

...but I'm ready for this school year to be over so I can enjoy reading books for FUN!

So I thought I'd check out some recommended great books for teens, and found a pretty decent list on the YALSA page. 

Here's what's on my TO READ list for Summer 2014:

1) Just One Day by Gayle Forman 

And here's the blurb: Sparks fly when American good girl Allyson encounters laid-back Dutch actor Willem, so she follows him on a whirlwind trip to Paris, upending her life in just one day and prompting a year of self-discovery and the search for true love.

2) When We Wake by Karen Healey

Here's the blurb for this one: In 2027, sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl--playing the guitar, falling in love, and protesting the wrongs of the world with her friends. But then Tegan dies, waking up 100 years in the future as the unknowing first government guinea pig to be cryogenically frozen and successfully revived. Appalling secrets about her new world come to light, and Tegan must choose to either keep her head down or fight for a better future.

3) Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

This is the 2nd in the "His Fair Assassin" series. The first book was Grave Mercy. Here's the 4-1-1 on the 2nd book: Sybella's duty as Death's assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this sequel to Grave Mercy.

And don't forget your chance to do something very rewarding this Summer: Sign up to be a Book Buddies Tutor at the Chavez Library. For info, call (209) 937-7012. It will change your life!

Happy Reading!

4 Kids | Interview With a Reader

So I'm trying something a little different today. I'm interviewing a reader. And full disclosure: it's a reader I've known since the day she was born. It's my 12 year old niece, Madeline. I thought I would get Madeline's take on some great books. So here goes!

Me: What are you reading right now?

Madeline: Starlight by Erin Hunter. (That's Book 4 in Warriors: The New Prophecy series. It's the story of when the warrior cat Clans arrive at their new home and set about exploring and fighting over the unfamiliar territory.)

Me: Are you loving it, liking it, or not sure yet?

Madeline: Liking it.

Me: Do you read for fun everyday?

Madeline: Um, no.

(At this point I fainted (almost) and had to get a grip before continuing. The niece of a librarian not reading every day? What would people say? So I took a few deep breaths, and continued with the interview.)

Me: (hopefully) Every other day?

Madeline: Well, every once in a while.

(She must have heard the pain and despair in my voice. She quickly added.)

Madeline: I've been really busy raising my dog.

(Ok, truth be told, Madeline is a huge animal lover, and takes really great care of her animals. I'm going to let her slide on the not reading every day thing.)

Me: What is your favorite book ever?

Madeline: The Lost Heir by Tui Sutherland. (That's Book 2 in The Wings of Fire series. Here's the blurb from our library catalog: Overjoyed to be reunited with her fellow ocean-dwelling dragons, Tsunami the SeaWing continues efforts to end the war for Pyrrhia in spite of a dangerous assassin who is threatening all their lives.)

Me: Why is that your favorite book?

Madeline: "Number one, it has dragons. Number two, it has battles. And number three, it's about family."

Me: What's your favorite subject in school?

Madeline: History.

Me: Not English or Language Arts?

Madeline: History.

Me: Are you sure?

Madeline: History.

(I figured I needed to move on before angering my interview subject.)

Me: Off the top of your head, recommend a book to me that you think I will love. (I think I already know what the answer will be.)

Madeline: "Warriors, 1st series, book 6. I can't remember the title." (That's The Darkest Hour, by the way. And here is the blurb about this book, also from our library catalog: ThunderClan's darkest hour is upon them and Fireheart, the warrior cat, must protect his clan from a threat unlike any the forest has ever seen, as the time comes for prophecies to unfold and heroes to rise. )

(By the way, most of these books are in the teen section of the library. However, my niece isn't the first "pre-teen" who has read and loved these books. And funny thing, "Erin Hunter" is actually a pseudonym for several authors, one of whom is Tui Sutherland!)

Me: Why is reading important to you?

(I was rather thrilled that she didn't hesitate at all when answering this question.)

Madeline: It's helps me get lost, takes me out of my mind and whatever I'm thinking about. (I LOVE this answer!!)

(Worrying that she probably had animal duties to attend to, I thought I should bring this interview to a close. I already had quite a few books added to my "to read" list. I hope you do too! And I am totally looking forward to talking to her about them when I finish. But one more question.)

Me: Who's your favorite aunt?

Madeline: (giggling) That's hard to say. I can't decide.

I could have changed that last answer. I thought about it. But that's Madeline. She's so kind and so fair. And I'm so very, very proud of her.

So there you have it: recommendations from a (wonderful) 12 year old reader.

Happy Reading!

Teens Only | The Best of the Best

Looking for something great to read? I thought I'd check out Goodreads to find out the most popular teen books out there right now. Not surprising, the top of the list featured Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, followed by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books, and then the old favorite Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

Following those all-stars -- and in order -- were:

Divergent by Veronica Roth, which I mentioned in an earlier blog after hearing rave reviews from some of my reader friends. This is the one about the dystopian society in which 16 year olds are forced to pick the faction to which they will devote their lives. In case you haven't read it yet, it's also available as an ebook on SSJCPL's Overdrive site.

The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This is the story of 15-year-old Clary who gets drawn into the world of the Shadowhunters when she witnesses a murder...and the body disappears into thin air. Ok, I've got to read this one. Who doesn't love a weird murder mystery?

The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is an oldie, but a goodie. It's about a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. And then there's Jonas -- 12 years old -- whose comfortable, normal existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory, teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is without color, pain, or past.

So now you've got several great reading recommendations. And by the way, Goodreads is a cool website where you create an account and then can not only get recommendations based on books you already like, but you can also see what your friends are reading!

Happy Reading....and see you next Saturday!

Teens Only | Divergent

So I just looked up the definition of divergent: (1) Drawing apart from a common point; diverging.(2) Departing from convention. (3) Differing from another; a divergent opinion. (Source: www.thefreedictionary.com)

Aha. Now I get it.

Oh, you might be wondering why I would look up the definition of this word. Last week I ran into three of my favorite young readers -- Q, Z, and J. Each of them were terribly excited to get their hands on the next book in the new series by Veronica Roth.

The first book, as you have probably guessed by now, is Divergent. It's the story of a dystopian society divided into 5 factions, each devoted to the cultivation of a particular virtue: honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, and intelligence. There comes a day each year when every 16-year-old must choose which faction to dedicate the rest of his/her life. There is a simulation which helps these teens select the faction which best suits them, but sometimes the simulation results in multiple choices. These "multiple choice-ers" are called divergents. And you can bet the leaders of each faction are not too happy with the divergents, since the leaders want people to act and think their way.

Ok, ok. I'm convinced. I'm going to read this first book and then put a hold on the next in the series: Insurgent. I do love books about dystopian societies. (There it is for the second time in this blog -- dystopian. I went back to that ever useful website freedictionary.com and looked up dystopia: An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.) Oh I'm definitely going to read these books! I'm hoping you will too!

Just the other day my colleague Lori blogged about book recommendations, and how we library people really do pay attention to what our customers are reading -- and recommending! Read Lori's blog here. 

If you're reading this, I know you're not just a reader of blogs, but a reader of books! Do you recommend your favorite books to your friends? Do you read books your friends recommend to you? I do! I do both! And I want to hear your recommendations as well. And I will read them. I promise, promise, promise.

After all....to quote Thomas Jefferson: "I cannot live without books."

So true.

Happy reading. And happy sharing your favorite books with others!

 

Learning | Dude! Read Any Good Books?

A friend asked me for a quick recommendation for a 7th grade boy who's more interested in Legos and guns than reading stories.  This sounded very familiar to me; neither of my boys liked fiction much until they were older.  (It's interesting to note, that I caught each of them reading classic adult literature in their late teens. Even though they were not currently in school, and had no assignments. You could have knocked me over with a feather. The only reasons they gave were things like, "I heard this is a good book," or "it looked interesting.")

I recommended Jeanne DuPrau's The City of Ember off the top of my head.  It's the beginning of a series that takes place in the future, after a huge war has destroyed civilization. The City of Ember is an underground settlement that has relied on a water-powered generator for hundreds of years. When it fails, the residents of Ember will be in darkness, day and night. It's up to Lina and Doon to solve a number of mysteries and technical problems to save the city, because nobody else seems to know the danger they face.  You may have heard of the movie based on this book.  Sometimes a reluctant reader is more inclined to pick up a book if (s)he knows a little bit about the story.

Later, I thought about books for boys who like guns. There are quite a few classic books that are perfect for grades 5 through 8. I always loved Fred Gipson's books, like Old Yeller, because they invariably featured dogs, but I do recall that the main characters needed to know how to shoot.  The same thing with Jack London's books, like The Call of the Wild, and Jim Kjelgaard's books, including Big Red.












I'll have to think a little harder about books that might have an appeal for those who love building with Legos. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment below.  

______________________________________________________________________________
So, this week, I was already pondering the idea of books to recommend to young men, when I heard a cool idea from a customer.  She's a (grownup) musician who plays with the Stockton Youth Chorale.  She struck up a conversation with a fifth grader; they talked about reading. Pretty soon, she came up with a list of twenty of her favorite books from her childhood; the fifth grader composed a list of his twenty favorite books from today.  Now they each have a list of titles to read and discuss with each other. Sounds like a win/win plan to me!

Teens Only | What Are You Reading?

Hello gentle readers!

As you know, there has been much sickness in these parts of late, and your teen blogger is no exception.

So apologies for the intermittent posts. I promise to get back into the Saturday posts next week.

In the meantime, please tell me what you're reading! I desperately need your book recommendations. 

Just post a title you think I should read in the Comments section below.

I will read and respond!

Until next Saturday, happy reading!