We're having a Read-a-thon at the library on Saturday, July 28, at 1pm! Come and bring whatever book you're reading or we'll match you up with a great new book. We'll also have pizza and giveaways. Come hang out with your friends and other teens and discuss your favorite books or just enjoy some food and a good book.
I thought that I would share with you some of the books that I've enjoyed recently.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Charlie Bucktin is startled one summer night by an urgent knock on his bedroom window. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in their small mining town, and he has come to ask for Charlie's help. Terribly afraid but desperate to impress, Charlie follows him into the night. Jasper takes him to his secret glade, where Charlie witnesses Jasper's horrible discovery. With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion. He locks horns with his tempestuous mother, falls nervously in love, and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend.
Jasper Jones is a 2012 Printz Honor Book and it's one of the best books I've read so far this year and features some unforgettable characters--especially Charlie's best friend, Jeffrey Lu.
The Académie by Susanne Dunlap
I love French history so this book instantly intrigued me. Eliza Monroe-daughter of the future president of the United States-is devastated when her mother decides to send her to boarding school outside of Paris. But the American teen is quickly reconciled to the idea when she discovers who her fellow pupils will be: Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte, and Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of the famous French general. It doesn't take long for Eliza to figure out that the two French girls are mortal enemies-and that she's about to get caught in the middle of their schemes. Loosely drawn from history,
The Académie provides a scintillating glimpse into the lives, loves, and hopes of three young women during one of the most volatile periods in French history.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I loved
Divergent and couldn't wait to read the sequel! As unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves as well as herself. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but haunted by grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. Now that I've finished
Insurgent, I'm dying to read the last book in the trilogy!
Chi's Sweet Home by Kanata Konami
This is my favorite manga series! Chi is a mischievous newborn kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Overcome with loneliness she breaks into tears in a large urban park but is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment...where pets are strictly not permitted. This is such a cute and silly manga series and it's a favorite of several Anime & Manga Club members.
Chi is just so adorable and reminds me of my own cat!
I am also currently in the middle of two excellent books:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
I've had trouble putting this one down! When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl. But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative Aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship--one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self--even if she's not exactly sure who that is.
Legend by Marie Lu
Yes, it's another novel about a dystopian America but the story and characters are so addicting! What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, Day is the country's most wanted criminal--but his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths--until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
So what are you currently reading?
Kimberly
Having cheated death, Hikaru Hamura must save himself by using his artistic abilities to help others. Hikari Hamura, nicknamed Picasso because of his natural artistic abilities, survived a horrible accident, but his friend Chiaki wasn't so lucky. Suddenly, Chiaki appears in front of him and tells him in order to keep living he must help the people around him. Can Hikari save people with his sketchbook and a 2B pencil?
One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the 'Host Club', a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.
Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the earth. The society of the ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father's occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu's job treats him to an outsider's view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.
