Thursday, December 25, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: Zero

Zero by Ales Kot
Recommended as one of the Best Ongoing and Special Series Comics of 2014 by A.V. ClubZero explores what happens to the mind of a secret agent after years of violent traumatic experiences.

That question is what sets Ales Kot’s ongoing series apart from the typical action comic. There’s plenty of dynamic, forceful combat courtesy of Kot and his artistic collaborators, but violence is never glorified and the choices made during these encounters reverberate through the characters’ lives and become more painful with time. 

With a different artist for every issue, each chapter of Zero functions as a standalone story, a decision that is reflected in Jordie Bellaire’s highly specific coloring and Tom Muller’s fluid design aesthetic, which change to suit the content of each plot. 

The book is constantly evolving, and Kot’s decision to work with a new artist every month has brought astounding depth and personality to the series’ visuals as the story ventures deeper into Edward Zero’s psyche. [Oliver Sava via A.V. Club]

Check out Zero, volumes 1 and 2, now at the 
Ventress Library. Click on the title to place it on hold.
Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!
Curious to see what other new and hot titles we've added to our collection? Check out the NEW Graphic Novel and YA Fiction boards on the Ventress Memorial Library Pinterest page

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Hello From 2030, The science of the future and you

Cover image for Hello from 2030 : the science of the future and you


Schutten, Jan Paul
Nonfiction
Grades 3-7

Robots. Flying cars. And what the heck is futurology?

From living  homes ( where plants grow in earthen walls) and computers that roll up like sheets of paper, to disease-fighting robots that patrol your body and cars that can drive themselves--what will the future look like?

We know the Earth's population will grow, and our technology will continue to get faster and smaller.  We know we will cure more diseases.  But what about the things we don't know?  Maybe there will be an invention that changes everything.  Or an unexpected event will turn the whole world upside down!

Today it's time for you to start shaping the future by discovering how futurologists determine what's ahead.  Then put your own imagination to the test.  With the dynamic illustrations and challenging thought experiments in Hello From 2030, you, too, can become a prediction pro.


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!

Teen Pick of the Week: Girl Online

Girl Online
by Zoe Sugg
From YouTube sensation Zoella comes a debut coming-of-age novel that perfectly captures what it means to grow up and fall in love in today’s digital world. 
"I have this dream that, secretly, all teenage girls feel exactly like me. And maybe one day, when we realize that we all feel the same, we can all stop pretending we’re something we’re not. That would be awesome. But until that day, I’m going to keep it real on this blog and keep it unreal in 'real' life."
Penny has a secret.
Under the alias GirlOnline, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her quirky family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse at school, her parents accept an opportunity to whisk the family away for Christmas at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. There, she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love—and capturing every moment she spends with “Brooklyn Boy” on her blog.
But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny’s cover—and her closest friendship—forever.
Award-winning and influential YouTube vlogger Zoe Sugg delivers a heartfelt coming-of-age novel that perfectly captures the highs and lows of first love, friendship, and growing up in the digital age.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Library.
Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!
Curious to see what other new and hot titles we've added to our collection? Check out the NEW Graphic Novel and YA Fiction boards on the Ventress Memorial Library Pinterest page

Friday, December 12, 2014

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Animas: Legacy of the Claw

Cover image for Legacy of the claw

Legacy of the claw
 
Grey, C. R., author.
 
Book 1.

Ages 9+

To Twelve-Year-Old Baily Walker, kin means more than just family.  It means being part of the Animas bond, a harmonious link that connects humans and animals, and guides everything in his world. But Bailey hasn't found his kin yet, and without Animas, he's destined to be an outcast--or worse, lose his mind entirely.  So when he's accepted into the prestigious Fairmount Academy, he's determined to Awaken to his Animas once and for all, even if it's a measly worm.

But once there, Bailey can't resist the pull of the dark mysteries surrounding the kingdom.  A bear has been viciously attacked on school grounds, and when he and his friends discover signs of a ferocious predator in the woods surrounding campus, he knows something's out there, something dangerous.  And Fairmount isn't the only place where darkness if brewing.  In the capital city, a new leader preaches that humans must assert power over their kin and enslave them instead of living as one.  

Bailey can't shake the feeling that the root of the unrest, and the key to his Awakening, lies in an old riddle entwined around an even older prophecy--a prophecy that may reveal the truth about the rightful king of Aldermere.  And Bailey may be the only one who can unravel them.  The capital's dark forces with stop at nothing to prevent the prophecy from coming true.  If they succeed, the Animas bond will be in peril.  Can Bailey help protect the Animas bond while trying to Awaken to his own?

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, December 11, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: Avalon

Avalon
by Mindee Arnett
For fans of Josh Whedon's cult classic television show Firefly comes a fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi thriller from author Mindee Arnett, which New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White calls "a heart-pounding, tense joyride of a novel."
Jeth Seagrave and his crew have made their name stealing metatech: the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light. In a world where the agencies that patrol the outer edges of space are as corrupt as the crime bosses who control them, it's as much of a living as anyone can ask for. For years Jeth's managed to fly under the radar of the government that executed his parents for treason—but when he finds himself in possession of information that both the government and the crime bosses are willing to kill for, he's going to find there's no escaping his past anymore.
With pulse-pounding action, a captivating mystery, and even a bit of romance, Avalon is the perfect read for hard-core sci-fi fans and non-sci-fi fans alike.

Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Library.
Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!
Curious to see what other new and hot titles we've added to our collection? Check out the NEW Graphic Novel and YA Fiction boards on the Ventress Memorial Library Pinterest page

Friday, December 5, 2014

Small Fry Pick of the Week: Gabriel Finley & the Raven's Riddle


Cover image for Gabriel Finley & the raven's riddle












Gabriel Finley & the Raven's Riddle by George Hagen

Ages 9-12

A tangle of ingenious riddles, a malevolent necklace called a torc, flocks of menacing birds, and a stubborn writing desk that refuses to reveal its contents: these are just some of the obstacles that stand between Gabriel and his father, Adam Finley, who has vanished from their Brooklyn brownstone without a trace.

When Gabriel rescues an orphaned baby raven named Paladin, he discovers a valuable family secret that may lead him to his father: Finleys can bond with ravens in extraordinary ways--sharing thoughts, speaking to one another, even merging into one being and taking to the air.  Along with Paladin and three valiant friends, Gabriel sets off to bring his father home.

They will soon discover that Adam is being held captive by the evil demon Corax--half man, half raven, and Adam's very own disgraced brother--miles underground in a foreboding netherworld of birds called Aviopolis.  Along with his army of ghoulish minions, the Valravens, Corax is plotting to take over the land above, and now only Gabriel stands in the way.

As Gabriel and his friends travel from the heights of New York City to the depths of Avipolis on their quest--and ultimately confront Corax--readers will be held rapt.


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, December 4, 2014

Teen Pick of the Week: The Wake

The Wake by Scott Snyder
New York Times bestselling author, Scott Snyder (American Vampire, Batman, Swamp Thing) and artist Sean Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus, Joe The Barbarian), the incredible team behind the miniseries American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest, are reuniting for the powerful miniseries: The Wake.
When Marine Biologist Lee Archer is approached by the Department of Homeland Security for help with a new threat, she declines, but quickly realizes they won't take no for an answer. Soon she is plunging to the depths of the Arctic Circle to a secret, underwater oilrig filled with roughnecks and scientists on the brink of an incredible discovery.  But when things go horribly wrong, this scientific safe haven will turn into a house of horrors at the bottom of the ocean!
Collects The Wake #1-10.
Click on the title to place it on hold at the Ventress Library.
Read a great book lately? Want to recommend it as Pick of the Week? Email me!
Curious to see what other new and hot titles we've added to our collection? Check out the NEW Graphic Novel and YA Fiction boards on the Ventress Memorial Library Pinterest page