Showing posts with label Paranormal Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paranormal Romance. Show all posts

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Ghosts and Ghouls

Enjoy some of these great ghost stories this Halloween.

Anna Dress in Blood by Kendare Blake
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: he kills the dead. So did his father, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost. Now Cas travels the country with his mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead. When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted house she used to call home. But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met--a boy she's talked to in her head since she was born. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she has learned ways to turn that to her advantage. Her life seems to be in order, until disturbing events begin to occur. There has been screaming in the woods and the manor overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. Now Kami can see that the town she has known and loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets--and a murderer. The key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy she thought was imaginary is real, and definitely and deliciously dangerous.
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . .Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend--even a ghost--is just what she needs. Or so she thinks. 
 
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.
On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each of these ten stories takes place during a different time period from the 1860s to the present, and ends with the narrator's death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic possession, all against the backdrop of Chicago's rich history--the Great Depression, the World's Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
When Rinn Jacobs moves to a new town she hopes it will be a fresh start--a place where nobody knows about her past. At first, everything goes according to plan. She falls in with the popular girls at her new school and falls for the very cute Nate. But River Hills High School has a secret. The ghost of a girl who died back when Rinn's mom was a student supposedly haunts a hallway. Rinn's not sure she believes it, but when strange things start happening to her friends, Rinn decides there's only one way to know for sure. She needs to ditch her bipolar meds and see what the voices are really trying to say... Fans of films like Black Swan will be fascinated by this psychological thriller.

Kimberly

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Teen Read Week


 It Came from the Library...and into a movie theater!

You can find these great books at the library...and you can find the movie (and other media) adaptions here too. 

Batman Series
Wealthy businessman Bruce Wayne leads a double life as the caped crusader: Batman. He must battle a variety of evil villains--and his own inner demons--in order to keep peace in Gotham City.
Beastly by Alex Flinn
On book, DVD, and e-audio. 
Kyle Kingsbury has enjoyed being the most popular guy at school with the meanest and most egotistical attitude; however, he is punished by a witch in his English class and turned into a beast. Kyle now must find his true love and make her accept him as he is in order to break the curse and return him to the man he once was.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
On book and DVD.
She flipped the first time she saw him. He ran the first time he saw her. That was second grade but not much has changed by seventh. She says: "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says: "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort." But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he's thinking there's more to her than meets the eye, she's thinking that he's not quite all he seemed.


The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
On book, audiobook, and DVD.
In a wondrous parallel world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals and talking bears and witches fight wars, one special girl is destined to hold the fate of the universe in her hands. Lyra sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North.
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
On book, DVD, and e-audio.
John Smith tries to be a normal American teenager in rural Ohio but he's actually been hiding for ten years developing the Legacies, or powers, he will need to fight the Mogadorians who destroyed his planet Lorien. But the Mogadorians have begun hunting the nine fugitives from Lorien. They have already killed Number One, Number Two and Number Three and now they are after Number Four: John Smith.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
On book, DVD, and soundtrack.
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. An American bioengineering firm erects a theme park on a Caribbean island and creatures once extinct now roam the soon-to-be opened Jurassic Park. Until something goes wrong...and science proves a dangerous toy....
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn
 On book and DVD.
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked in to his band's show with a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City. This is a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be--and where the next great band is playing.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
 On book, audiobook, and DVD.
Ponyboy and his two brothers struggle to stay together after their parent's deaths. Ponyboy knows he can count on his brothers and his friends, but not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids who get away with everything, including beating up greasers like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect--until the night someone takes things too far.

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
On book, DVD and soundtrack.
NASA engineer Homer Hickam paints a warm, vivid portrait of the harsh West Virginia mining town of his youth, evoking a time of innocence and promise, when anything was possible, even in a company town that swallowed its men alive. A story of coming of age at the end of the 1950s, it is the story of a mother's love and a father's fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . .and who made those dreams come true.

Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim's fantastic life takes an unforseen turn when rollerblading delivery girl Ramano Flowers makes her appearance. The only catch to winning Ramona? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him.  If Scott hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all.



Kimberly

Friday, July 13, 2012

Chocolate


Our Summer Reading Club is almost over so now it's time for dessert! Here are some books about chocolate. :)

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Stunned by his mother's recent death and appalled by the way his father sleepwalks through life, Jerry Renault, a New England high school student, ponders the poster in his locker- Do I dare disturb the universe? Part of his universe is Archie Costello, leader of a secret school society-the Virgils-and master of intimidation. Archie himself is intimidated by a cool, ambitious teacher into having the Virgils spearhead the annual fund-raising event-a chocolate sale. When Jerry refuses to be bullied into selling chocolates, he becomes a hero, but his defiance is a threat to Archie, the Virgils, and the school. In the inevitable showdown, Archie's skill at intimidation turns Jerry from hero to outcast to victim leaving him alone and terribly vulnerable.

Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne
Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn't entered her into the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. Celeste competes to please her mother but she makes plans to sabotage her chances of winning by losing weight. What Celeste never imagined was that the HuskyPeach challenge would help her gain a backbone and give her a chance to shine. A hilarious read.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. Then Vivian falls in love with a human. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
When their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out as teens, they are invited to stay with Sophia Kelly at her sweet shop. Sophia creates magical treats that instill confidence, bravery, and passion and cause Gretchen's haunted childhood memories of her twin sister's abduction by a witch-like monster to fade. Life seems idyllic--until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel, and learns that girls have been vanishing at Sophia's annual chocolate festival, taken by the insatiable witch of Gretchen's nightmares.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Kimberly

Monday, April 30, 2012

Karly Kirkpatrick

Local author Karly Kirkpatrick will be at the library on Wednesday, May 9 at 7pm!

Karly grew up around Bartlett and currently lives in Elgin. Her novel, Bloody Little Secrets, actually takes place in Bartlett and the Chicago suburbs!   

Bloody Little Secrets follows the story of 17-year-old Vicky Hernandez who has a big problem. She's dead. Or not quite. After waking up in a coffin and discovering she's been turned into a vampire, Vicky struggles to start over and settle into a normal life in the Chicago suburbs. If only she could stop wanting to bite her awesome new boyfriend. Vicky is also dying to find out how she became a vampire and why it happened. Soon the man who created her comes looking for her and now he's in need of her blood.

Also read: Into the Shadows 
Paivi Anderson has it all—friends, a spot on the varsity basketball team, wonderful parents, and, quite possibly, her first boyfriend. It's everything a freshman in high school could ask for but her perfect life begins to crumble when she discovers her name on a list distributed by a power-hungry presidential candidate. How could anyone think of Paivi as an "Enemy of the State?" Could it be because of her special powers? No one was supposed to know about them, but the mysterious messages in her tater tots say otherwise. Paivi must quickly learn who her friends are when she is forced into a reality she didn’t see coming. A sequel will be published this summer.

Both of these novels are enjoyable reads. They're both quirky and suspenseful and Into the Shadows is particularly chilling.

Karly helped create Dark Side Publishing which publishes YA novels. Check out their website! You can download some of their awesome titles for free!

--Kimberly

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Fairy Tale Romances

Looking for some fairy-tale romance this Valentine's Day? While you're waiting for your prince (or princess) to come, read some of these great fairy tale retellings!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. The first book in the Lunar Chronicles offers a futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

Beastly by Alex Flinn
Beastly is a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" told from the point of view of the Beast, a vain Manhattan private school student. Kyle Kingsbury has enjoyed being the most popular guy at school with the meanest and most egotistical attitude; however, he is punished by a witch in his English class and turned into a beast. Kyle now must find his true love and make her accept him as he is in order to break the curse and return him to being the man he once was. Also read Cloaked by Flinn. Cloaked is a modern romantic adventure with elements of The Shoemaker and the Elves and The Frog Prince. 


Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson
A retelling of the French fairy tale set in pre-colonial India, Diribani meets a goddess at the village well and is granted a remarkable gift: flowers and precious jewels drop from her lips whenever she speaks. It seems only right to Tana that the goddess judged her kind, lovely stepsister worthy of such riches. And when Tana encounters the goddess, she is not surprised to find herself speaking snakes and toads as a reward. Blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem, however. Diribani's newfound wealth brings her a prince--and an attempt on her life. Tana is chased out of the village because the province's governor fears snakes, yet thousands are dying of a plague spread by rats. As the sisters' fates hang in the balance, each struggles to understand her gift. Will it bring her wisdom, good fortune, love . . . or death?

Ash by Malinda Lo
In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother in the wake of her father's death. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt. Kaisa reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
In this story loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging, disgusting bachelor her mother has chosen for her. When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. Also by Dickerson: The Merchant's Daughter based on Beauty and the Beast.

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
The body of a young girl is discovered in a field of wheat. Her flesh mutilated by telltale claw marks. The Wolf has broken the peace. When Valerie learns that her sister has been killed by the legendary creature, she finds herself at the center of a dark mystery, one that has plagued her village for generations. It is revealed that the werewolf lives among them, and everyone in the village immediately becomes a suspect. Could her secret love Peter be behind the attacks on her town? Is it her betrothed, Henry? Or someone even closer to her? As the men in the village hunt for the beast, Valerie turns to her grandmother for help. She gives Valerie a handmade red riding cloak, and guides her through the web of lies and deception that has held her town together for so long. Will Valerie discover the werewolf's identity before the town is ripped apart?

Beauty by Robin McKinley
Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?" Also check out Spindle's End for McKinley's adaption of Sleeping Beauty.

Kimberly

Monday, July 11, 2011

Die for Me by Amy Plum

After her parents are killed in a car accident, Kate Mercier moves to Paris with her older sister, Georgia, to live with their grandparents.  While Geogia enjoys Parisian nightlife, Kate spends her time alone in cafés and museums until she meets the handsome and mysterious Vincent.  Kate and Vincent begin dating but things become difficult when Kate discovers that Vincent isn’t entirely human.  When Georgia gets involved with Vincent’s sworn enemy, Kate and Vincent’s relationship takes a dangerous turn.

The most intriguing thing about this paranormal romance is the new creature the author has created: the revenants.  Vincent and his friends were once human but they all risked their lives and died while saving the lives of other humans and have now become immortal beings called revenants.  Revenants use their immortality to save human life wherever they can and they fight against the evil Numa--immortals who try to destroy humans.        

The Parisian setting and the dashing and handsome Frenchmen add to the romance.  Die for Me is the perfect book for Twilight fans.   

Kimberly                    

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

What if love refused to die?

Having experienced visions of past lives, Haven seeks the help of a mysterious society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and the secrets of her past lives.

Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Book_Buddy

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

House of Night by P.C. Cast

Books are often like food; you either love it or hate it. That includes the junk food we all love now and then. The House of Night Series is wonderful junk food if you like paranormal romance. Burned is the seventh book from the House of Night Series and look for Awakened to come out early in 2011.
1. Marked
2. Betrayed
3. Chosen
4. Untamed
5. Hunted
6. Tempted
7. Burned
8. Awakened

Book_Buddy

Monday, September 13, 2010

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Suspected in the death of her boyfriend, 17-year-old Luce is sent to a reform school where she meets two intriguing boys and learns the truth about the strange shadows that have always haunted her. Readers will feel for Luce's frustration in the last chapters, when she discovers the answers to some secrets, but is still left largely in the dark by those seeking to protect her. The long-awaited sequel, Torment, will be released the end of September 2010.
KC

Monday, August 16, 2010

Evernight Series by Claudia Gray

Sixteen-year-old Bianca, a new girl at the sinister Evernight boarding school, finds herself drawn to another outsider, Lucas, but dark forces threaten to tear them apart and destroy Bianca's entire world. The vampire-human war and Bianca and Lucas' romance only heat up in the novel's sequels, Stargazer and Hourglass.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Those of you who have read Shiver by Stiefvater will want to read the continuing story of Grace and Sam. Many unanswered questions are addressed in Linger. Can Grace finally let the world know about her love for Sam? Will Sam be able to maintain his human form? See how Isabelle continues to influence future of the pack. Reserve a copy of Linger today!

Book_Buddy

Friday, August 22, 2008

So I just thought I would tell you . . .

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is such a good book. I really started to read it on Monday and finished it last night! Well, last night I started reading before bed. That was a mistake. The book starts off a little slow, but was still an entertaining read. So last night I was a little over halfway through the book and before I knew it, I couldn't put the book down. I finished it at 2am! I even came to a point where I was actually scared in my room, so of course I had to finish it. I just really don't know how they are going to make this into a movie, but I definitely want to see it. I think the book is going to be way better than the movie, but I guess we will see.
K

Friday, August 17, 2007

New at the BPLD

Here are some of this week's new teen items.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer Young Adult MEY
This is the long awaited sequel to Twilight and New Moon. Be sure to reserve your copy now!
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?