Sunday, August 19, 2012

Teens' Top Ten

It's time to vote for your favorite books in this year's Teen's Top Ten!

The Teens' Top Ten is a list where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year. Readers ages twelve to eighteen will vote online through September 15 and the winners will be announced during Teen Read Week, October 14-20.

Vote here for your 3 favorite books here!

The nominees are:

All Good Children by Catherine Austen
Max, his sister Ally and their mother return home to Middleton to find Ally's classmates acting strange. The government has a created a "vaccine" to make kids easier to teach--they are less rowdy, less likely to question, and willing to obey any direction. Max's family has a choice: to be "vaccinated," to flee their home, or to stay and fight.

Ashes by Ilsa Bick
Alex, Tom, and Ellie join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps though the sky. The pulse kills most of the world's population and destroys all computer devices, but it also turns some who remain into zombies or gives them superhuman senses.

Abandon by Meg Cabot
Pierce has experienced death before and barely escaped. When she moves from her old town to a town called Isla Huesos - Island of Bones - for a new start, she realizes that death wants her back. Can she escape death once again?

Tempest by Julie Cross
Jackson is a typical college kid until the day his girlfriend, Holly, is shot. Jackson decides he must use his one incredible gift, the ability to time travel, to save his girlfriend. He goes back in time two years, trying to discover a way to alter the future so that Holly lives. The future is full of uncertainty and the past is full of betrayal--is there anyone Jackson can trust?

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Ever since Mclean's parents divorced, she has lived in four towns in two years--each time taking on a new persona. Mclean expects to leave Lakeview in six months, but soon finds that she doesn't want to--she just wants to be herself.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
In the future, experimental genetics ensures that males only live to 25 and females to 20. When 16-year-old Rhine is kidnapped and sold into marriage, she is determined not to let her walls down for anyone so she can escape and go home to her brother. But when she meets her sister wives and Gabriel, a handsome servant, she finds it harder than ever to plan her escape.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman
This sequel to If I Stay is narrated by Adam, Mia's ex-boyfriend. Shortly after the devastating accident that killed Mia's family, the talented cellist moves to New York, where an accidental meeting brings them back together.

Eona: the Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman
As the battle for ultimate control of her home draws near, Eona finds herself waging an internal battle that might cause more damage than the war threatening to break out across the kingdom.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Hazel and Augustus meet and forge a relationship at a support group for kids battling cancer. As Hazel and Augustus struggle with the "side-effects of dying," they come to learn the strength of wishes, the complexities of long human lives, and the wondrous ways of the universe.

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
When Paige Turner and her family move to Brooklyn from rural Virginia, she tries to make sense of her new life through her sketchbook, which exposes her true personality and helps her find herself.

Legend by Marie Lu
June, a fifteen-year-old military prodigy, is hunting Day, the outlaw she believes is responsible for her brother's death. What will happen when the two meet and discover the government is corrupt?

Hourglass by Myre McEntire
Emerson Cole sees dead people--ghosts from the past blending in with her surroundings. When a new consultant from a secretive organization shows up at her door to try to cure her, everything changes. But diving into the world of the mysterious Hourglass Society proves to be dangerous as the past merges with the present.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A futuristic retelling of the classic Cinderella, Cinder, a cyborg and talented mechanic, lives with her cruel stepmother and two stepsisters in the plague-ridden New Beijing. Soon after meeting Prince Kai, Cinder must find the truths in her past, which may help to save the future.

Shine by Lauren Myracle
When her best friend falls victim to a horrible hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out ot discover the culprits in her backwoods town in North Carolina.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Conor suddenly wakes up just past midnight to find a monster outside his window. This monster wants something from Conor that he is reluctant to give: the truth.

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
In the prequel to Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is on a quest to save his twin's life. With help from his best friend Henry and his lovely cousin Elizabeth, the three go on a quest to concoct the mythical Elixir of Life. How far is he willing to go to save his twin?

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Cyrogenically frozen centuries ago, Amy and her parents are on their way to a new planet aboard the spaceship, Godspeed. Unplugged from her cryo chamber, Amy discovers she has been awoken 50 years early, in a failed murder attempt. With Elder, the future leader of the ship, by her side they are on an adventure filled with murder, lies, dreams, and stars.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
When Jacob was little, his grandfather would tell him stories of the fantastical children's home where he grew up and the seemingly magical kids who lived there with him. When his grandfather is killed, Jacob sets out to find the home where these children lived, unearthing a magical secret and uncovering his true heritage.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (Intelligence), Candor (honesty), Amity (peace), or Dauntless (bravery): where would you fit in? Beatrice lives in a society where she must choose either to remain with her family's faction or set off towards independence and her beliefs. And what happens when the unity between these factions begins to fall apart?

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, Lina, her mother, and younger brother are taken from their home in Lithuania and sent to Siberia. The only thing that keeps her going is her secretly-created art and the hope that one day she'll be reunited with her father.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Every November, the beaches of Thisby come alive with the Scorpio Races. The water horses are vicious, the terrain is treacherous, and death is likely, but the reward can be beyond anything you could imagine. Puck Connolly is racing for her family, Sean Kendrick for his passion--but only one can win the Scorpio Races.

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
A year after Jill's father dies, her mother decides to adopt a baby. Mandy's been living in different places, but now that she's pregnant she wants to make sure her baby has the love and support she never did. A story of two girls dealing with grief, new life, and everything in between when their paths cross.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
In 2083, water is rationed, paper is rare, and coffee and chocolate are illegal. Anya Balanchine balances a mobster family, ailing grandmother, and forbidden love--until it all comes crashing down.





Kimberly

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Olympic Reading

Have you been enjoying the London Olympics this week? Check out some of these great summer sports books when you're not watching the action and drama on TV.

Perfected by Girls by Alfred C. Martino
Life isn't easy for Melinda Radford. Her parents have forbid her from seeing a new out-of-town boyfriend, her grandmother insists she give up a fun job at the mall for a dreary office internship, and she's the lone girl on the Ashton High wrestling team, dealing with opponents who refuse to compete against her, a few who want to crush her, and an infuriating older brother who's the varsity team captain and always flirting with her best friend. Just when it seems things can't get any more complicated, an off-handed comment to a newspaper reporter puts Mel at odds with her teammates, her brother and, worst of all, her coach. But through a strange twist of tragedy and fate, Mel is given an unexpected opportunity to accomplish something no girl in her school's history has ever done, and to redeem herself in the eyes of many.

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in broken-down Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, his dad works nights and Finley is left to take care of his disabled grandfather alone. He's always dreamed of getting out someday, but until he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything seem okay. Russ has just moved to Finley's neighborhood and the life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, Russ won't pick up a basketball but answers only to the name Boy21--taken from his former jersey number. As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, a unique friendship may turn out to be the answer they both need.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? As she struggles to cope with crutches and a prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. Rosa is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed and she sees right into the heart of Jessica. With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself-she wants to take Rosa with her.

Breathless by Jessica Warman
When Katie Kitrell is shipped off to boarding school by her distant father and overbearing mother, it doesn't take her long to become part of the It Crowd. She's smart, she's cute, and she's an Olympic-bound swimmer who has a first class ticket to any Ivy League school of her choice. But what her new friends, roommate, and boyfriend don't know is that Katie is swimming away from her past, and from her schizophrenic older brother, Will, who won't let her go. And when he does the unthinkable, it's all Katie can do to keep her head above water.

Now Is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Just down the road from their families, Deo and his friends play soccer in the dusty fields of Zimbabwe, cheered on by Deo's older brother, Innocent. It is a day like any other until the soldiers arrive and Deo and Innocent are forced to run for their lives, fleeing the wreckage of their village for the distant promise of safe haven with nothing more than a leather soccer ball filled with money. Along the way, they face the prejudice and poverty that await refugees everywhere and must rely on the kindness of people they meet to make it through. But when tragedy strikes, Deo's love of soccer is all he has left. Can he actually use that gift to compete in the Street Soccer World Cup and resurrect his life?


Kimberly