Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Press, 2009.
Martin couldn't put down this sequal to Collins' Hunger Games (2008), a novel which Martin also highly recomends. The heroine and hero of the first novel, after surviving their society's brutal ritual ordeal, find that they have consequences to face as their story continues in Catching Fire.
Kim, Yong. The Long Road Home: Testimony of a North Korean Camp Survivor. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. The title is descriptive. Kim tells the story of his life, the events leading to his imprisonment, and his escape.
Burling 2nd Floor HV9815.6 .K56 2009 .
Showing posts with label Young Adult Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Adult Reading. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, November 21, 2008
Moonstone – Book One, The Unbidden Magic Series
Brothers, Marilee. Moonstone – Book One, The Unbidden Magic Series. Smyrna, GA: Belle Bridge Books, 2008.
Contributed by Simone Sidwell, Teen Librarian at Grinnell's Stewart Public Library
Moonstone is a well-written and entertaining paranormal young adult novel from former high school teacher and debut author Marilee Brothers. The underclass/trailer-park setting of the novel in “Peacock Flats,” Washington adds an interesting social dimension to the novel, which chronicles the awakening of the “weird psychic powers” of our likeable and funny heroine, fifteen year-old Allie – and the grand mystical mission to come. Allie’s unemployed, single-parent mother suffers from a psychosomatic case of fibromyalgia, making Allie more of the caretaker than Mom. While struggling with the usual teen angst and joys (puberty, crushes, first-romances, school cliques, gangs, bullies), Allie also is visited by a comical hippy-dippy guardian angel who has been relegated to an afterlife in limbo at the local airport in town, and who alerts her to her new powers. This sets Allie off on an entertaining and dangerous adventure centered upon a mystical piece of jewelry - a moonstone necklace given to Allie by a close family friend – and the sinister minion after it. Allie discovers than in addition to weathering the usual ups & downs of a high-school student in Peacock Flats, she has a greater destiny to fulfill as a “star keeper” entrusted with the power Moonstone...Marilee Brothers’ novel stands out for its humor and Allie’s strong point-of-view as an underdog finding her place in the world. This is another [see her review for Bite Me] good choice for public library teen/fantasy collections - I look forward to the next title in this series.
Contributed by Simone Sidwell, Teen Librarian at Grinnell's Stewart Public Library
Moonstone is a well-written and entertaining paranormal young adult novel from former high school teacher and debut author Marilee Brothers. The underclass/trailer-park setting of the novel in “Peacock Flats,” Washington adds an interesting social dimension to the novel, which chronicles the awakening of the “weird psychic powers” of our likeable and funny heroine, fifteen year-old Allie – and the grand mystical mission to come. Allie’s unemployed, single-parent mother suffers from a psychosomatic case of fibromyalgia, making Allie more of the caretaker than Mom. While struggling with the usual teen angst and joys (puberty, crushes, first-romances, school cliques, gangs, bullies), Allie also is visited by a comical hippy-dippy guardian angel who has been relegated to an afterlife in limbo at the local airport in town, and who alerts her to her new powers. This sets Allie off on an entertaining and dangerous adventure centered upon a mystical piece of jewelry - a moonstone necklace given to Allie by a close family friend – and the sinister minion after it. Allie discovers than in addition to weathering the usual ups & downs of a high-school student in Peacock Flats, she has a greater destiny to fulfill as a “star keeper” entrusted with the power Moonstone...Marilee Brothers’ novel stands out for its humor and Allie’s strong point-of-view as an underdog finding her place in the world. This is another [see her review for Bite Me] good choice for public library teen/fantasy collections - I look forward to the next title in this series.
Bite Me – Book One, The Demon Underground Series
Blue, Parker. Bite Me – Book One, The Demon Underground Series. Smyrna, GA: Bell Bridge Books, 2008.
Contributed by Simone Sidwell, Teen Librarian at Grinnell's Stewart Public Library
Bite Me is a well-written and entertaining paranormal mystery/romance with both teen and adult appeal. Val Shapiro seems like your average 17 year old teenager, except that she has to struggle daily to keep her demon side “Lola,” at bay. Lola is a lust demon or succubus, a part of Val (thanks to her demon father) that she struggles to suppress. As a metaphor for teen lust, this paranormal device works well in the novel -- Val is trying to be “a good girl” despite the raging demon hormones. Val learns along the way, however, that totally repressing Lola’s natural urges is just as unhealthy as giving them free-reign, and eventually finds a way to strike a balance between demonic promiscuity on the one hand, and puritanical denial on the other. Val’s uneasiness with her demonic side has made her a loner for most of her teen life, and when she is kicked out of her parents’ house on her 18th birthday she embarks on a positive journey of self-discovery and belonging! outside the confines of school and family: she takes a job in a secret unit of the San Antonio police force and teams up with a telepathic hellhound dog named Fang and a handsome police detective to take on a gang of renegade Vampires that has been attacking the city...Vampires and demons aside, Parker Blue captures a humorous and authentic young adult voice in Val and keeps readers turning pages. Parker’s book would be a popular addition to public libraries teen/fantasy collections. I look forward to the next in the series.
Contributed by Simone Sidwell, Teen Librarian at Grinnell's Stewart Public Library
Bite Me is a well-written and entertaining paranormal mystery/romance with both teen and adult appeal. Val Shapiro seems like your average 17 year old teenager, except that she has to struggle daily to keep her demon side “Lola,” at bay. Lola is a lust demon or succubus, a part of Val (thanks to her demon father) that she struggles to suppress. As a metaphor for teen lust, this paranormal device works well in the novel -- Val is trying to be “a good girl” despite the raging demon hormones. Val learns along the way, however, that totally repressing Lola’s natural urges is just as unhealthy as giving them free-reign, and eventually finds a way to strike a balance between demonic promiscuity on the one hand, and puritanical denial on the other. Val’s uneasiness with her demonic side has made her a loner for most of her teen life, and when she is kicked out of her parents’ house on her 18th birthday she embarks on a positive journey of self-discovery and belonging! outside the confines of school and family: she takes a job in a secret unit of the San Antonio police force and teams up with a telepathic hellhound dog named Fang and a handsome police detective to take on a gang of renegade Vampires that has been attacking the city...Vampires and demons aside, Parker Blue captures a humorous and authentic young adult voice in Val and keeps readers turning pages. Parker’s book would be a popular addition to public libraries teen/fantasy collections. I look forward to the next in the series.
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Twilight Series
Victoria Stuhr '10, Pinole High School in Pinole, California recommends
The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Boston: Little, Brown, 2005, 2006. This Three volume set includes Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse
Meyer has written a vampire romance for young adult readers. Victoria tells the review that the first volume in the series is a romance, the story in the second volume is very sad, and the third and final volume is action packed.
For those of you who don't want any of the plot to be given away before you read it, this review gives away some important information about the books—it may be a spoiler.
The Twilight Series is about a teenage girl who moves to a new town with her dad. At her new school she meets a boy who seems a little strange. Nonetheless, or perhaps because of this, they end up falling in love. The girl discovers that he is a vampire. This is not the only suprise for her, because later on she discovers that her best friend is a werewolf. The vampire boyfriend doesn’t want to let the heroine go, but he doesn’t want to turn her into a vampire. The heroine however is willing to make this sacrifice to stay with him. These stories describe the life of vampires, their family arrangements, and their origins. These are fat books, but Victoria has read right through them and is recommending them to her friends.
You can find out more about these books at http://stepheniemeyer.com/
These books are available at Grinnell's Stewart Library.
The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. Boston: Little, Brown, 2005, 2006. This Three volume set includes Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse
Meyer has written a vampire romance for young adult readers. Victoria tells the review that the first volume in the series is a romance, the story in the second volume is very sad, and the third and final volume is action packed.
For those of you who don't want any of the plot to be given away before you read it, this review gives away some important information about the books—it may be a spoiler.
The Twilight Series is about a teenage girl who moves to a new town with her dad. At her new school she meets a boy who seems a little strange. Nonetheless, or perhaps because of this, they end up falling in love. The girl discovers that he is a vampire. This is not the only suprise for her, because later on she discovers that her best friend is a werewolf. The vampire boyfriend doesn’t want to let the heroine go, but he doesn’t want to turn her into a vampire. The heroine however is willing to make this sacrifice to stay with him. These stories describe the life of vampires, their family arrangements, and their origins. These are fat books, but Victoria has read right through them and is recommending them to her friends.
You can find out more about these books at http://stepheniemeyer.com/
These books are available at Grinnell's Stewart Library.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Martin Stuhr-Rommereim, Grinnell High School '10
loves reading books by Max Brooks. He carried the Zombie Survival Guide around with him all last school year, and he is currently trying to find the time to finish:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. New York: Crown, 2006.
If you enjoyed Brooks's mock Survival Guide, this is a more serious look at the threat of Zombie attack world wide.
For those Zombiefiles on the Grinnell College campus, contact [rinaldi] for information about Grinnell Zombies, a Zombie movie a week during spring semester '08. (We just noted the poster in the library this morning--)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. New York: Crown, 2006.
If you enjoyed Brooks's mock Survival Guide, this is a more serious look at the threat of Zombie attack world wide.
For those Zombiefiles on the Grinnell College campus, contact [rinaldi] for information about Grinnell Zombies, a Zombie movie a week during spring semester '08. (We just noted the poster in the library this morning--)
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