inkpop

Hey! All aspiring writers need to check out inkpop from book publisher HarperCollins. This social networking site allows writers to post their work and have it read by other aspiring writers. Besides getting feedback from those who read it, if you blow everyone away and your work gets voted into the monthly top 5, editors from HarperCollins will read your work and give you feedback...and there is even the possibility of a publishing contract. This is a great way to break into the difficult publishing world or just to enjoy some great writing.

And if you like this idea, then you'll love our Writers Workshop which meets Saturdays @ 1pm (grades 8+). Come share your work with other writers.

Just a Typical Day in the Library

Award Winners

It was a big weekend for awards. Following the Golden Globes the book award winners were announced Monday morning. Congratulations to Going Bovine by Libba Bray which won the Printz Award! I truly enjoyed this book, so I was glad that it was recognized. The honor books are Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman, The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey, Punkzilla by Adam Rapp and Tales from the Madmen Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes. Overall, I think the committee made a good selection.

The Lightning Thief Trailer

Check out the Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief movie trailer. The movie comes out next month!

Jen Calonita

We love Jen Calonita, author of Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. So I was very excited when I saw on her facebook page that an excerpt from Broadway Lights the latest addition to the series is available on her website. Hopefully the first chapter will tide you over until March 1 when the book publishes. As usual, the cover is very cute!

http://www.jencalonitaonline.com/sneakpeeks.html

The Votes Are In...Kinda

This morning the librarians from Nassau and Suffolk voted at what we call our Annual Mock Printz meeting. The Printz award is for a young adult book that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature." That means is it's like the best YA book of the year. So us librarians who have no power over the real winner like to have our own vote each year. This year's winner was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and the runner-up was Marcelo in the Real World by Francis K. Stork. The real Printz winner will be announced later this month, check back to see the winner.

Girl in the Arena

So I'll admit it, I was eager to read Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines because the description reminded me of Hunger Games, a book I'm in love with and just can't get over. A girl fighting to the death in an arena while the rest of the world eagerly cheers and boos each move they make - that description fits both Hunger Games and Girl in the Arena. In Girl in the Arena, Lyn an 18-year- old living in Massachusetts has her world turned upside down when her 7th stepfather, a gladiator in the popular Gladiator Sports Association (think NFL without the padding and the tackling but with swords and wild animals), dies in the arena. Thanks to some crazy finagling of rules, the Gladiator Sports Association determines that Lyn must marry the glad who defeated her dad. (heh) Not so fast, Lyn isn't about to spend her life just like her mother- losing husbands to the barbarous sport. So she decides she'll take on the glad in the arena herself, kinda.

Overall, I felt like the book needed more action and less chitchat. Also, while you have to expect a book with a plot like this to be somewhat contrived, it seemed to me that there were just too many "awfully convenient" situations that occurred. While the end left a bit to be desired, I did appreciate that the story wrapped up in 1 book and didn't leave the reader hanging.

Cover: When I first picked up the book, I thought the jacket was great. The girl on the front is intriguing, dressed as a beautiful gladiator (even her toe nails look pretty!) But there is one very big problem with this cover- Lyn shaves her head early on in the book and the girl on the cover has long flowing locks. Glaring!

Favorite Teen/Tween Books of '09

2009 may be over, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about books of '09. Here is a list of my favorites from last year in no particular order. Feel free to post some of your favorites too. Here's to more good reads to look forward to in '10!

Chasing Lincoln's Killer by Swanson --nonfiction; tells the story of the days following Lincoln's assassination and the eventual capture of John Wilkes Booth.

Wintergirls by Anderson --realistic fiction; chilling story of a teen girl who is haunted by her bestfriend's death from anorexia, the same disease that she suffers from.

Catching Fire by Collins --science fiction; 2nd book of the Hunger Games trilogy, no sophomore slump here.

The King's Rose by Libby --historical fiction; Catherine Howard recounts her marriage to loose cannon Henry VIII and the events leading up to her loosing her head--literally.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Choldenko --historical fiction; follow up to Al Capone Does My Shirts-- Moose and his cohorts must find a way to pay back Mr. Capone...and fast.

Alibi Junior High by Logsted --fiction; CIA secrets + middle school + suits= lots of action

If I Stay by Forman --realistic fiction; after a car accident wipes out her family in an instant, Mia, now in a coma, must choose between life and death.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Cochrane --fiction; after the death of her father, Molly uses baseball to heal her wounds. Perfect for those of us counting the days until spring training.

Going Bovine by Bray --fantasy; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas meets Don Quixote for one crazy road trip.

Flygirl by Smith --historical fiction; During WWII, a young woman decides to go to extremes to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Leviathan by Westerfeld--science fiction; in an alternate 1914 WWI breaks out and countries fight using genetically engineered beasts. Great steam punk.

Fire by Cashore --fantasy; excellent prequel to Graceling.

Hold Still by LaCour --realistic fiction; in the months following her best friend's suicide, Caitlin finds her deceased friend's journal, and slowly realizes that she has her own life to live.

The Brooklyn Nine by Gatz --historical/sports fiction; 9 innings or tales of 9 generations of a baseball loving Brooklyn family. Makes you wish the Dodgers had never traded Ebbets for crumby LA.

Everything is Fine by Ellis -- fiction; heartbreaking and beautiful story of Mazzy whose mother falls into a serious depression and whose father becomes a workaholic following the death of her younger brother.

Jumped by Williams-Garcia -- realistic fiction; after overhearing a classmate say she is going to beat up another unsuspecting classmate, a girl at an urban school must decide if she should speak up.

Once Was Lost by Zarr --realistic fiction; when a girl goes missing in her town, Samara starts to question everything she has ever believed.

North of Beautiful by Headley--realistic fiction; a stain on her face causes Terra to struggle with her perception of beauty.