Creature Cups.

A little something to brighten up your Wednesday. Creature cups. Which one would you buy? If you could make your own, what would you put in the bottom.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Before I Fall

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Drama, Death
Published: 2010
Age: 13+ 

Synopsis: What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her deathâ#128;#148;and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Review:   If you could relive your last day, what would you do differently? This is what Samantha asks herself when, after a fatal accident driving from a party on Friday, she wakes in her bed to find she must repeat the entire day again. And again. As Samantha lives through multiple Fridays, desperate to prevent her death, she is struck by how even the most insignificant acts, like running late for school instead of being on time, can change everything. Suddenly she is noticing uncomfortable things about her friends, about herself she has never noticed before. It's the ultimate learning experience, and it takes Samantha seven times not to save her own life but to leave with one she can be proud of. Oliver, in a pitch-perfect teen voice, explores the power we have to affect the people around us in this intensely believable first novel. Samantha grows from an entitled, popular, yet insecure girl to one with the compassion and guts to make the right decisions. This is a compelling book with a powerful message that will strike a chord with many teens.- Booklist

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Imaginary Maps

If only, huh?

Librarian's Pick of the Week: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Title: 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Author: Maureen Johnson
Genre: Coming of Age, Adventure
Published: 2005
Age: 13+

Synopsis:When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.

Review:   Seventeen-year-old Ginny had always admired her aunt Peg, a free-spirited artist who often disappeared for months, most recently to Europe. Now Aunt Peg has died of brain cancer, and in a characteristically cryptic gesture made before her death, she arranged for her niece to receive a plane ticket to London, where Ginny will begin a series of adventures. Guided by Peg's friends and the instructions in each of 13 letters her aunt wrote, Ginny sets off across Europe. Staying with Peg's contacts or in hostels, Ginny begins to peel away some of the mythic layers surrounding her aunt, even as she falls into thrilling escapades and a blossoming romance. Johnson's plot stretches plausibility. Would Ginny's practical mother really have agreed to such a solo, undefined journey? But readers will probably overlook any improbabilities and willingly accompany Ginny through her sensitive, authentically portrayed experiences--uncomfortable, lonely, giddy, and life changing--as she pieces together family mysteries and discovers herself.- Booklist

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!!

October 1st - 15th

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Forever

Title: Forever
Author: Judy Blume
Genre: Coming of Age
Published: 1975
Age: 14+

Synopsis:Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.

Review:  Judy Blume is considered one of the world's best-known writers for young adults. She was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1938. She earned a degree in education. Blume has written over 20 books. Titles such as "Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret", "Then Again, Maybe I Won't", and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" are widely recognized. Her books have sold over 50 million copies worldwide and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Blume has received more than 100 awards. In 1996, she received the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her adult titles include "Wifey", "Smart Women", and "Summer Sisters". Young readers have always viewed Blume as someone who is in touch with their feelings. They write thousands of letters to her each year, a number of which were published in her 1986 book, "Letters to Judy: What Your Kids Wish They Could Tell You". Blume currently resides in New York. She has three grown children, speaks out against censorship, and continues to write. (Bowker Author Biography) Judy Blume is a worldwide bestselling author of numerous novels for adults as well as children. Judy Blume has more than 70 million copies of her books in print.

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Geekery: Tetris Mistake

Been there. Done that. What is your favorite "old" game? Mine would definitely be Tetris and Donkey Kong Country for Super Nintendo.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Graceling

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2008
Age: 14+

Synopsis: Kristin Cashore's bestselling, award-winning fantasy Graceling tells the story of the vulnerable-yet-strong Katsa, a smart, beautiful teenager who lives in a world where selected people are given a Grace, a special talent that can be anything from dancing to swimming. Katsa's is killing. As the king's niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his thug. Along the way, Katsa must learn to decipher the true nature of her Grace... and how to put it to good use. A thrilling, action-packed fantasy adventure (and steamy romance!) that will resonate deeply with adolescents trying to find their way in the world.

Review:   Feared as a killer since her childhood, Lady Katsa uses her unusual Grace (superhuman gift) in the service of her uncle, King Randa. She is beginning to rebel against his orders to kill or maim his more disloyal subjects when her path crosses that of Po. A young foreign prince with a mysterious Grace as well as wisdom beyond his years, Po convinces Katsa that she can stand up to the brutal king and put her gift to better uses. When Katsa joins Po on a quest, she throws herself headlong into a rescue mission and finds romance, self-knowledge, and justice along the way. Although many fantasy writers create intriguing alternate worlds and worthy adventures, as Cashore does in this well-imagined novel, she also offers believable characters with enough depth, subtlety, and experience to satisfy older readers. Katsa is a heroine who can physically overpower most men she meets, yet her strength is not achieved by becoming manlike. She may care little for fine clothes, but from her first kill to her first experience of lovemaking, Katsa's womanhood is integral to her character. An impressive first novel, this well-crafted and rewarding fantasy will leave readers hoping for more.- Booklist

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

New Arrivals!!

September 15th - 30th

Geekery: The Flash

Just becase.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: Paper Towns

Title:  Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Genre: Coming of Age
Published: 2008
Age: 13+

Synopsis: When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night--dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows her. Margo's always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she's always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they're for Q. Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

Review:   Quentin or Q. as everyone calls him has known his neighbor, the fabulous Margo Roth Spiegelman, since they were two. Or has he? Q. can't help but wonder, when, a month before high-school graduation, she vanishes. At first he worries that she might have committed suicide, but then he begins discovering clues that seem to have been left for him, which might reveal Margo's whereabouts. Yet the more he and his pals learn, the more Q. realizes he doesn't know and the more he comes to understand that the real mystery is not Margo's fate but Margo herself enigmatic, mysterious, and so very alluring. Yes, there are echoes of Green's award-winning Looking for Alaska (2006): a lovely, eccentric girl; a mystery that begs to be solved by clever, quirky teens; and telling quotations (from The Leaves of Grass, this time) beautifully integrated into the plot. Yet, if anything, the thematic stakes are higher here, as Green ponders the interconnectedness of imagination and perception, of mirrors and windows, of illusion and reality. That he brings it off is testimony to the fact that he is not only clever and wonderfully witty but also deeply thoughtful and insightful. In addition, he's a superb stylist, with a voice perfectly matched to his amusing, illuminating material.- Booklist

If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!