Happy New YeAr!Well, what can we say? If you ever needed proof that New Year's Resolutions are hard to keep, the past year for this blog has been a good example. Still, we are nothing if not stubborn, so we are trying again this year. We're taking a different approach, and we've asked some of our friends to contribute with book reviews and such, so hopefully we'll be able to keep this thing active.
This year has seen several Young Adult books/series get made into successful films (including New Moon, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Whip It! -- based on Shauna Cross's Derby Girl, reviewed by Miss Jo back in January of last year). The teen vampire craze has continued with the TV series The Vampire Diaries (which we don't have, but we could get for you on Interlibrary Loan if you want to read them).
Teens are continuing to break down the barriers in the music business as well, with the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and the Scene, Mitchel Musso and Emily Osment all releasing breakout CDs this past year. This year we can expect debut CDs by Nick Jonas and the Administration, Jennette McCurdy, Miranda Cosgrove, and possible follow-up albums from past favorites.
We have added a good number series to our Young Adult section in the past year. They've been pretty popular, so you might want to get on the waiting list now for anything that looks interesting. We'll highlight a few of them here:
- Carter House Girls by Melody Carlson.
What's it about? Mix six teenage girls and one ‘60’s fashion icon (retired, of course) in an old Victorian-era boarding home. Add boys and dating, a little high school angst, throw in a Kate Spade bag or two…and you’ve got the Carter House Girls! - The Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter.
What's it about? The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school -- that is, it would be if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but it’s really a school for spies. - House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast.
What's it about? HOUSE OF NIGHT is a thrilling, New York Times bestselling book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird as she is “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Broken Arrow, OK, and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledgling vampyres like her.
It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Although Zoey has awesome new powers, it’s hard to fit in when everyone knows you’re “special.” As Zoey tries to make new friends and maybe find a hot boyfriend (or two), she comes up against all kinds of evil, from the perfect-looking, super-popular girl with not-so-faultless plans, to the mysterious deaths happening at the House of Night and all over Tulsa. Things at the House of Night are not always what they seem. Can Zoey find the courage deep within herself to find the truth and embrace her destiny? - Maximum Ride by James Patterson.
What's it about? Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Six kids who are pretty normal in most ways -— except that they're 98 percent human, 2 percent bird. They grew up in a lab, living like rats in cages, but now they're free. Aside, of course, from the fact that they're prime prey for Erasers -- wicked wolflike creatures with a taste for flying humans. - Cirque du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) by Darren Shan.
What's it about? Darren Shan's an ordinary schoolboy, until he and his best friend Steve get tickets to the Cirque Du Freak, a bizarre freak show featuring such arcane performers as Hans Hands, Gertha Teeth, the Wolf Man and Rhamus Twobellies. In the midst of the ghoulish excitement, true terror raises its head when Steve recognises that one of the performers -- Mr. Crepsley -- is in fact a vampire! - Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody.
What's it about? In a world struggling back from the brink of apocalypse, life is harsh. But for Elspeth Gordie, born with enhanced mental abilities that would see her sterilised or burned if discovered, it is also dangerous. There is only survival by secrecy, and so she determines never to use her forbidden Talent. But it is as if they have their own imperative, and their use inevitably brings her to the attention of the totalitarian Council that rules the Land. Sent to the remote mountain institution of Obernewtyn where escape is impossible, she must throw off her cloak of concealment and pit herself against those who would resurrect the terrible forces of the apocalypse. Only then will she learn most truly who and what she is... - The Companion Quartet by Julia Golding.
What's it about? When Connie is sent to live with her aunt by the sea, she’s not expecting anything much -- not to make friends with Col, the coolest boy in town, and certainly not to discover that mythical creatures still exist, that an ancient society has protected them for centuries and that a dark and powerful force is now trying to destroy it. Above all, she doesn’t expect to discover that she has a special talent -- greater even than her secret ability to talk to animals -- which with Col’s help, could give her unimaginable power...
(NOTE: This series is actually in our Juvenile Fiction section.)
You can also download a list of some of our great Young Adult series to research before you come visit us! Click here to download the list.
See you at the library!
