Still More New Books

Two more new books today!

First up we have You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith (click the picture to visit her Myspace page).

Emma Healy has never quite fit in at home, an ordinary girl in an extraordinary family. When she discovers she was born a twin--and that her brother died only days after they were born--she feels justified in thinking something was missing in her life.

With her neighbor, Peter Finnegan, she takes off to visit her twin's grave on an impromptu road trip from upstate New York to North Carolina.

Seems interesting...

Our other selection of the day is The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein (click the picture to visit his website).


The quote on the cover (incidentally the first line of the book) reads, "Have you ever seen a face hidden in the bark of a tree and known that a man trapped inside wanted to hurt you?"

Umm...No.

Where I come from, they call that paranoid schizophrenia. But it seems like an interesting idea. Someone will have to let me know what it's like, and if Zack Jennings makes it out alive.

Which he must, if there's a sequel.

Summer Reading Plans...

Things are falling into place for this summer's reading program!

The theme this year will be "Express Yourself @ Your Library" and we have some great programs planned.

We'll draw manga with Cartoon Express...


And you will all walk away (unless you are me and cannot draw a straight line to save your life) knowing how to draw your favorite characters or even how to create your own.

I have a book discussion planned on Saving Francesca by Printz Award winning author Melina Marchetta. I love this book. I love Melina Marchetta--what a fantastic writer!

Francesca has spent her whole life letting other people tell her who she is, especially her mother, Mia. One day, though, Mia doesn't get out of bed. She's had a breakdown and is now suffering from serious depression

Through the novel, Francesca struggles with defining herself, fitting in at her formerly all-boys private school, finding a new group of friends, and holding her family together.


I love this novel.

We will have goodies to eat, sit in a big circle, and talk literature the way the muses intended--no holds barred and no lectures (and lots of junk food--did I mention the junk food?). This is not your jr. high/high school English class (unless you have an awesome teacher, in which case I envy you because I didn't).

Copies of the book are here for you to check out or to purchase for $5.00!

I bought mine yesterday, because one of my best college professors once spent a week checking our novels to make sure we'd written in them, because you should always write in your novels.

I'll post a discussion guide here within the next week so that you know what kind of questions we'll be chatting about as you read.

We'll also design our own jewelry with local artist and author Candie Cooper. Check out her blog here.

Candie suggested taking old books and cutting up the pages, then decoupaging them with other neat things to make pendants. The neat thing about that is--we can all do that at home with minimal trips to Wal-mart for supplies.


And the less I end up spending at Wal-mart on craft supplies, the better.

Registration for the reading portion of our program starts June 1, make sure to come down and sign up!

I'm really excited about my first summer program here at the library; I think we have some fantastic events planned. I hope you all come and join the fun!

A Novel Idea: Tantalize

I had fun with all but the last bit of this book.

Really, it was hilarious in parts, heart-wrenching in others. It was fun.



Set in Texas, Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize features Quincie Morris (named for the Texan hero of Stoker's novel: Dracula) is setting up her family's Italian restaurant with a vampire twist at the request of her guardian, Uncle Davidson, and his creepy girlfriend, Ruby.

As if the stress of restaurant management is not enough for a teenage girl, she has to deal with her true love (Kieran), a half-werewolf/half-human, leaving her forever to join a pack. If he doesn't go, his life will be in danger as he lives unprotected in a world that fears him.

Quincie is devastated when her longtime friend and confidant--not to mention chef at the restaurant--is brutally murdered only weeks before the reopening of Sanguini's.

The new chef is creepy, but also friendly and fun to be around. Quincie finds herself oddly drawn to him...

And then it all goes horribly wrong. This book will be a must for the Twilight fans among us. But frankly, it creeped me out.

I guess you could say the whole scenario left a bad taste in my mouth.

I know, sorry. Couldn't help the vampire restaurant related quip.

Give it a go if you miss Twilight and long for a vampire/werewolf romance that isn't a carbon copy of the Meyer's books. But if you shy away from the darker side of fantasy like me...read Susan Cooper instead.

More and more and more...New Books!

Gosh, I love getting new books. Not only do I get the whole book purchasing thrill, I also get to tell everyone about them and try to force others to read them.

My friends will tell you that trying to force other people to read books I like is my favorite hobby.

I loved If I Stay by Gayle Forman, so I added Sisters in Sanity to our stacks. It's about Brit, who gets sent to a work camp for rebellious teens. I'll do a full book review when I finish.

Also, I adored Melina Marchetta's Saving Francesca (upcoming book discussion!) and Jellicoe Road, so I went ahead and ordered her first novel, Looking for Alibrandi.


Looking for Alibrandi was a huge hit in Australia (where Marchetta is from) and it was even made into a movie Down Under. A movie I wish I could see. I wonder if it is on Netflix...


I think that Tantalize (by Cynthia Leitich Smith) will be a hit for the Twilight crowd. It takes a humorous look at the whole vampire/werewolf love thing. I would imagine it is a bit like Buffy the Vampire Slayer for those of us old enough to know what that show was all about.

Hooray for the '90's. I miss you. Gosh. I sound old. Is 24 old?

By the way, if you don't know Buffy...seasons are $15.00 a pop at Wal-mart right now. 'Nuff said.

We also now have Scott Westerfeld's Extras. I know you were waiting for it! While you're at it, check out Westerfeld's blog...


And finally, The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray.


The sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. Think Victorian lace and corsets meets magic and dark secret societies bent on controlling...you'll see. These books are fun, exciting, and just a bit girly--the perfect summer beach read.

Oh, and make sure to click on the cover picture (or, if you're too lazy to scroll up, right here), Bray's website is neat. I always like it when authors take a little time and come up with a fun site.

As always, when we've got new books, you'll be the first to know!

New Series: The Mortal Instruments

Here's a new series!





I've read bits and pieces...and they are addicting.

Twilight fans will enjoy these. The series pulls in some of the elements of Twilight WITHOUT being mediocre copies.

Which we don't want.

I mean, if we wanted to read Twilight, we could all just read Twilight again.

And again.

And again...

New Book: Scat

Here's another book!



Scat by Carl Hiaasen

When the feared biology teacher, Bunny Starch, disappears after a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, her students are relieved.

But the family emergency that the school administration claims caused her sudden disappearance isn't fooling her students, Nick and Marta. The two think Smoke, the class troublemaker, has something to do it.

And he is involved...but not in the way they'd imagined. "There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to recon with an excentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture" (publisher's description).

Hiaasen's novel Hoot won the Newbery Honor Award and was adapted as a motion picture. Flush spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list.