Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: The Waking Dark



The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

They called it the killing day. Twelve people dead, all in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn't even know why she killed—or whether she'll do it again.

Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander's, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world; West, the golden boy at war with himself; Daniel, desperate for a different life; Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all; and Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, fate, and in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves.

Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email
me!

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Serafina's Promise

[Cover]

Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg

Serafina has a secret dream.


She wants to go to school
and become a doctor
with her best friend, Julie Marie.

But in their rural village
outside Port-as-Prince, Haiti,
many obstacles
stand in Serafina's way--
little money,
never-hending chores,
and Manman's worries.

More powerful even
than all of these are the heavy rains
and the shaking earth
that test Serafina's resolve
in ways she never dreamed.

At once heartbreaking and hopeful,
this exquisitely crafted story
will leave a lasting impression
on your heart.


Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the work, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. 

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she speaks many languages -- not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

From master storyteller and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes a sweeping and gorgeously written modern fantasy about a forbidden love, and ancient and epic battle, and hope for a world remade.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: Chasing Shadows

Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi

Before: Corey, Holly, and Savitri are one unit -- fast, strong, inseparable. Together they turn Chicago concrete and asphalt into a freerunner's jungle gym, ricocheting off walls, scaling building, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

But acting like a superhero doesn't make you bulletproof...

After: Holly and Savitri are coming unglued. Holly says she's chasing Corey's killer, chasing revenge. Savitri fears Holly's  just running wild -- and leaving her behind. Friends should stand by each other in times of crisis. But can you hold on too tight? Too long?

In this intense novel, Swati Avasthi creates a gripping portrait of two girls teetering o the edge of grief and insanity. Two girls who will find out just how many ways there are to lose a friend... and how many ways to be lost.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: Life in Outer Space


Sam Kinnison is a geek, and he's totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, and World of Warcraft. Until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, worry about girls he will not.

Then Sam meets Camilla. She's beautiful, friendly, and completely irrelevant to his life. Sam is determined to ignore her, except that Camilla has a life of her own -- and she's decides that he's going to be a part of it. 

Sam believes that everything he needs to know he can learn from the movies... but now it looks like he's been watching the wrong ones. 

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Memorial Library!

Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!