Please help me, I'm "Fall"-ing...

Hi! This is Miss Jo at the Library. I just finished reading a book that I think you will enjoy. It is called Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver.

What if you were one of the popular kids in high school? You know, the ones who don't care how you acted or treated others if they weren't part of your little group.

This story is about Samantha Kingston, who was one of those cool kids. She's at a party where there's drinking, and gets a ride home with her friend -- who swears that no matter how much she drinks, she can't get drunk. So it's safe, right?

Wrong.

There is an accident, and Samantha dies. But death isn't what she expects -- it's more like she's asleep, and she keeps re-living that same day over and over, for seven days. She sees all the changes she should have made in both her behavior and the choices she made. Over the course of seven days, she finally gets it right. But by then, it's too late.

This book should make you stop and think. About drinking, about drunk driving, and about the way you treat others. Because in real life, you don't get seven chances to get it right.

This book is in our young adult section.

See you at the Library!

A will of IRON...

An unnamed mother of some of our young adult readers left us a review of Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series.

TITLE: The Iron Fey series (Iron King, Iron Daughter, Iron Queen)

AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa

REVIEWED BY: [a mother]

BRIEF SUMMARY: Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school... or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

WHY I PICKED IT UP: It looked like something my girls already read and enjoy

WHY I FINISHED IT: It was a good and interesting book.

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: My daughters. They have read books similar to these.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: It was a very enjoyable book to read. Interesting as well as kept you wanting to read more.

Thank you so much for your review. See you at the library!

Jennifer Lawrence cast as Katniss in HUNGER GAMES...

After much speculation on the 'Net, Jennifer Lawrence has officially been cast as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film based on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series.

An MTV article covering the story can be found here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660152/jennifer-lawrence-hunger-games.jhtml

So, what's your opinion? If Jennifer hadn't gotten the part, who would you have picked? What about the other characters? Peeta? Rue?

See you at the library!

A kind of "Hush"...

Hi! This is Miss Jo at the Library. I have just finished reading a book titled Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

All I can say is my years in high school were nothing like Nora's.

Nora Grey is a sophomore in high school. She likes school. She has her best friend, Vee. She has high hopes for college and her future. But like everyone else, she also has the regular, everyday high school drama to deal with.

One day, her life is changed forever. A seating change in biology class introduces her to Patch. Patch (we later find out) is a fallen angel.

What does he have to do with Nora? Nora is drawn to him and she doesn't want to be. Vee mistrusts him and her mother is leery of him, but he seems to be everywhere she is. Why? And how does he keep getting into her head? Who is he? What does he want with her? Is she in grave danger? And is she falling in love with him?

The Bible records that there were angels who were cast out of heaven. Could Nora's father be a fallen angel, too? Could there be fallen angels around you?

Check this book out. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Note: The second book in this series is called Crescendo.

See you at the library!

Poignant and moving...

Hi! This is Miss Jo at the Library. I just finished reading a book titled God is in the Pancakes, by Robin Epstein.

Grace Manning, a 15-year-old student, is working in a retirement home. She has become close friends with a patient, Mr. Sands, and eventually becomes friends with his wife who also lives there. Grace looks up to Mr. Sands as if he was her father. Grace's parents are separated and she looks forward to seeing Mr. Sands every time she works. He helps her work out her problems. But Mr. Sands has Lou Gehrig's disease, and one day he asks her to help him die. He even gives her the pills to do it.

This book will definitely leave you with many questions. Would you do the same thing if you were in her shoes? Would you help knowing the person was not going to get better? Could you make this kind of decision on your own? What would you do if this happened to you?

Pick up this book and find out what Grace does.

(This book is in our Young Adult section.)

See you at the Library!

The Hunger Games cometh...

From today's Shelf Awareness:

Lionsgate has set a March 23, 2012 release date for The Hunger Games, director Gary Ross's adaptation of the first novel in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. A cast has not yet been named. Variety reported that Lionsgate "acquired the feature rights in 2009 and set the project up with Nina Jacobson at her Color Force banner with Collins adapting her own novel."

The Library owns the entire Hunger Games series. You can find them or place reserves here: The Hunger Games series in the JPL online catalog.

To find out more about the series and author Suzanne Collins, visit The Official Hunger Games Website at Scholastic.com.

See you at the Library!

The people in your "Neighbor"-hood...

TITLE: The Good Neighbors series (Kin, Kith, and Kind)

AUTHOR: Holly Black ; illustrated by Ted Naifeh.

REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink

BRIEF SUMMARY: Rue is your typical sixteen year old. Except her mother's disappeared. And her father is accused of murdering one of his students. And oh yeah, she sees things that may or may not actually be there. She's starting to see faeries, and what's more, she has reason to believe that her maternal grandfather -- whom she's never met -- might actually be one. Something big is about to happen that could threaten her friends, her father, and her town -- but can she do anything to stop it?

WHY I PICKED IT UP: It was new to the library. It looked interesting to me while I was cataloging it.

WHY I FINISHED IT: Although the Faerie-fantasy books have never really interested me, the story kept me going for the most part. A bit of confusion set in during the second book, and it could have used more explanation.

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Young adult (and adult) readers who like the Faerie-fantasy genre.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: This is a graphic novel, so if you don't like those, you'll want to stay away. The art work alternates between stunning and confusing. Distinct character design should easily differentiate the faeries from the humans, but to tell the truth, many of the humans looked "faerie"-like and vice versa. Still, if you like this sort of thing, you will easily look past that.

All in all, I can't help but feel that this one might have worked better as a regular novel first, then a graphic novel adaptation later. The second book got kind of confusing with so many characters and plot lines going simultaneously, but I was able to keep up by going back every once in a while to remind myself who was who and what was going on. Two or three characters appear out of nowhere and are immediately appropriated as important plot points, but you have no idea who they are when they first appear. Again, it would definitely have benefited from more plot and character development if space had allowed.

See you at the library!