Cookbooks

Has this summer's reading club inspired you to start cooking? Here are some great cookbooks with easy and delicious recipes that you can make yourself this summer.

Teens Cook Dessert
From quick treats to impressive sweets, this step-by-step guide teaches you to make delicious desserts - the kinds teens like to make and eat. Sisters Megan and Jill Carle understand what other teens know and don't know about baking, and they clearly describe and explain everything their peers need to do to produce fabulous results. A great follow-up to Teens Cook and with 75 delicious recipes included!


A Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook 
From Apple-Date Dessert to Zesty BBQ Burgers, vegetarian cooking is more varied and exciting than ever before. Here are over 120 recipes for mouth-watering and nutritious meals, snacks, and desserts-- including: Easy Homemade Granola, Cold Sesame Noodles, Thai Coconut Curry, and Chocolate Coma--that are easy enough for beginning chefs to handle. You'll also find a glossary of cooking terms and unusual ingredients, complete step-by-step menus for meals the whole family can enjoy, and a chapter on college cuisine.

Clueless in the Kitchen
This thorough and witty culinary guide demystifies the kitchen and its contents for young adults and anyone who's found themselves in front of a full fridge exclaiming, "There's nothing to eat here!" With 200 easy-to-follow recipes, Evelyn Raab shows culinary novices how to make all kinds of simple and scrumptious dishes for every meal and occasion. Recipes are coded with easy-to-understand icons and symbols that sort each dish into categories, such as vegetarian meals, cheap eats, couch potato, mom and family food, and cooking to impress.

Real Food, Real Fast
British teen Sam Stern is a great cook, and he's on a mission to get everyone else doing it. He's offering REAL FOOD, REAL FAST to lure all those time-pressured teens away from their fast-food fixes. With his engaging conversational tone -- and the help of his friends -- Sam breezily runs through dozens of recipes, using real ingredients and simple techniques. But what makes these dishes a cinch for even cooking-resistant kids are the cool tabs that indicate preparation times of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes.

The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook
Learn to make recipes inspired by the Hunger Games! For the first time, you will be able to create delicious recipes from the humble District 12 to the extravagant Capital, including: French Bread from the Mellark Family Bakery, Katniss's Favorite Lamb Stew with Dried Plums, Rue's Roasted Parsnips, Gale's Bone-Pickin' Big Game Soup, and Capitol-Grade Dark Chocolate Cake
 

And remember that we have a great selection of cooking magazines that you can check out too! I always find great recipes in Vegetarian Times.

If you haven't signed up for the Summer Reading Club yet, there is still time. Come by the Reference Desk and start earning some prizes for the books you're reading this summer!

Kimberly

Reading is So Delicious!

Our Summer Reading Club begins this week! Sign up at the Reference Desk and earn prizes for the books you read this summer. Our grand prizes this year are a Nook Simple Touch, an iPod shuffle, and iTunes and Barnes & Noble gift cards. 

This year's theme is "Reading is So Delicious!" Here are some great food-related books to read this summer!

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer
Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother, Rayka, escape Rayka's abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia. Foster dreams of having her own cooking show like her idol, celebrity chef Sonny Kroll. Rayka longs to be a headliner instead of a back-up singer. Macon Dillard's goal is to be a documentary filmmaker. And Miss Charleena plans a triumphant return to Hollywood. Everyone has a dream, but nobody is even close to famous in the little town of Culpepper. Until some unexpected events shake the town and its inhabitants-and put their big ambitions to the test.

The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
Macy's summer stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. She plans to work at the library, spend her evenings studying for the SATs, wait for her brainy boyfriend to return from camp. Spare time will be used to help her obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section of her luxury development. But Macy's plans don't anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with Wish Catering, a motley crew of new friends, or...Wes. Tattooed, artistic, anything-but-expected Wes. He doesn't fit Macy's life at all-so why does she feel so comfortable with him? So...happy? What is it about him that makes her let down her guard and finally talk about how much she misses her father, who died before her eyes the year before?

Kitchen Princess by Miyuki Kobayashi and Natsumi Ando
Najika is a great cook and likes to make meals for the people she loves but something is missing from her life. When she was a child, she met a boy who touched her heart and now Najika is determined to find him. The only clue she has is a silver spoon that leads her to the prestigious Seika Academy. Attending Seika will be a challenge. Every kid at the school has a special talent, and the girls in Najika's class think she doesn't deserve to be there. But Sora and Daichi, two popular brothers who barely speak to each other, recognize Najika's cooking for what it is: magical. Is either boy Najika's mysterious prince?

Flavor of the Week by Tucker Shaw
Cyril Bartholomew isn't exactly everyone's idea of a dream date and he's a little on the heavy side. Not that he gets pushed around or anything, but it does cause him to keep one very important secret from everyone: he loves too cook. The only person who knows this secret is his best friend, Nick. Nick is just about the opposite of Cyril-he's a really attractive track star who is cool in a rebellious sort of way. Cyril has never been jealous of Nick, though. . .until the day that Nick decides he is interested in Rose Mulligan, Cyril's long-time secret crush. Cyril helps Nick woo Rose with culinary masterpieces which secretly creates. Includes recipes from the story.

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their new hire into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who's playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?

Kimberly

Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia, the main character in Ally Condie’s novel Matched, completely trusts the autocratic society she lives in. Everything in her world is planned out for her. Her society will choose her future husband, the job she will have for the rest of her life, and like her fellow citizens she will even know the day of her death because people in this world die on their eightieth birthdays. Even music and literature are controlled by the government. The Society has preserved exactly one-hundred poems, one-hundred songs, one-hundred of any art form they deem worthy for their citizens. Works not making the lists are destroyed.

Cassia’s trust in the society waivers on the day she finds out her match, which is the person she will spend the rest of her life with. She feels lucky to be matched with Xander, a boy from her neighborhood she has known for years. But another match is also briefly show to her, that of Ky. Ky is also someone she knows although he is considered an aberration and is the adopted son of a couple living in her neighborhood. His past is a mystery to her and so is the possibility that she might have a choice in her life. People are not supposed to be matched with more than one person.

This apparent mistake causes Cassia to start questioning the happy and perfect world the government has designed for her, and she starts to see her entire society unravel in small but significant ways. Tension builds throughout the book and while I was disappointed that it ended on a cliffhanger—it’s book one of a trilogy—I’m definitely anxious to find out what happens in Crossed, the second book of the series.

John

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Have you read this amazing book yet? If not, you must! Let me start with the opening sentence: There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." How can you not want to jump into this novel immediately??? That sentence begins the story of Nobody Owens, known as Bod. One night, his parents and sister are brutally murdered, and Bod, only two years old at the time, innocently crawls out of his crib and toddles into a nearby cemetery. There he is adopted by Mr. & Mrs Owens (childless and dead for 250 years!) who gladly care for and protect him. And he really does need protection. Because, of course, the person who killed is family is still out there...

The Graveyard Book is a little bit of everything: humor, mystery, horror, and historical fiction. You will not be disappointed after reading this book, but you might be scared!

Karen

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

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

Poor Jack! All of his life he has felt invisible. He has no friends, and his mother and father have never really paid attention to him and only seem interested in his older brother Baxter. There aren't even any pictures of him in their home; just Baxter. When his parents decide to divorce, Jack is sent to live with his Aunt Mabel and Uncle Clive in Hazelwood, Iowa. Just Jack, not Baxter. Jack has never even heard of Aunt Mabel and Uncle Clive, much less a town called Hazelwood. But strangely, his aunt and uncle seem to know him. They even have pictures of him when he waws a little boy, taken in their living room. How could that be?

At first, Jack thinks it might not be too bad here in Hazelwood. His aunt and uncle seem nice, and he even begins to make a few friends. However, he senses that things just don't feel right... Odd things happen as the summer progresses, and these events all seem to revolve around a very special, very old book The Secret History of Hazelwood. Some of Jack's things disappear, and while trying to solve that mystery, Jack discovers that in Hazelwood, children disappear as well...

Creeped out yet? You will be, after reading The Mostly True Story of Jack.

Karen

Novels in Verse

April is National Poetry Month. Recently, a lot of YA authors have been writing novels-in-verse or novels told through poetry or through a series of poems. Here are few good novels-in-verse to check out.

Shark Girl by Kelly L. Bingham
On a sunny day in June, at the beach with her mom and brother, fifteen-year-old Jane Arrowood went for a swim. And then everything -- absolutely everything -- changed. Now she's counting down the days until she returns to school with her fake arm, where she knows kids will whisper, "That's her -- that's Shark Girl," as she passes. In the meantime there are only questions: Why did this happen? Why her? What about her art? What about her life? 

Hidden by Helen Frost
When Wren Abbott and Darra Monson are eight years old, Darra's father steals a minivan. He doesn't know that Wren is hiding in the back. The hours and days that follow change the lives of both girls. Darra is left with a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has questions, too.  Years later, in a chance encounter at camp, the girls face each other for the first time. They can finally learn the truth--that is, if they're willing to reveal to each other the stories that they've hidden for so long.

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there. Cara's parents' unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run, Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes that to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he'll be living a life his ancestors would never have understood. Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect? 
Ellen Hopkins has written several other novels in verse.

Addie on the Inside by James Howe
Addie Carle is opinionated, and sometimes…just a bit obnoxious. But as seventh grade progresses, Addie's not so sure anymore about who she is. It seems her tough exterior is just a little too tough and that doesn't help her deal with the turmoil she feels on the inside as she faces the pains of growing up. Addie confronts experiences many readers will relate to: the loss of a beloved pet, first heartbreak, teasing…but also, friendship, love, and a growing confidence in one's self. 

Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs by Ronald Koertge
Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball. Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, a knack for writing poetry -- and a cute girlfriend named Mira who's not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn't exactly share Mira's newfound fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? 

Sold by Patricia McCormick
Lakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her desperately poor family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. When the harsh Himalayan monsoons wash away all that remains of the family’s crops, Lakshmi’s stepfather says she must leave home and take a job to support her family. He tells her he will find her a job as a maid but Lakshmi soon learns the unthinkable truth: she has been sold into prostitution. An old woman named Mumtaz cruelly rules the brothel. She tells Lakshmi that she is trapped there until she can pay off her family’s debt—then cheats Lakshmi of her meager earnings so that she can never leave. Then the day comes when she must make a decision—will she risk everything for a chance to reclaim her life?

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder
Years have passed since Alice lost her mother to cancer, but time hasn't quite healed the wound. Alice copes the best she can by writing her music, losing herself in her love for her boyfriend, and distancing herself from her father and his new wife. But when a deadly snowstorm traps Alice with her stepmother and newborn half sister, she'll face issues she's been avoiding for too long. As Alice looks to the heavens for guidance, she discovers something wonderful. Perhaps she's not so alone after all....
Look for Lisa Schroeder's other novels in verse.

Kimberly