Paris Public Library Teen Blog: 2014

It's the end of an era, my friends. Naruto is officially done. As someone who is, as of late, eyeballs deep in manga, this news makes me quite sad. Though I am nowhere near having read all of Naruto, and admittedly am spending more time reading Vampire Knight, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Akira, it feels strange knowing that Naruto is done. At least it will continue in others forms:

“This year’s 50th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing on Monday that a new, tentatively titled Naruto manga mini-series will launch next spring. The mini-series will tell “a newly budding Konoha story.” Shueisha’s Jump j Books imprint will also launch a series of Naruto side-story novels, starting with one about Kakashi, by Naruto movie scriptwriter and novelist Akira Higashiyama (Naruto Shippūden: Blood Prison).” From this website.

What do you think?

So it's that time of year. The leaves have changed, it's getting colder, and Halloween is right around the corner! This time of year always has me wanting to read every chance I get. For those of you looking for a good book to tide you over until the big night of pumpkins, toilet paper, and pranks, here's a great list of books available at the library:

Bras & Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski

"What if all your wishes could come true? Blink your eyes, drink a fizzing pink potion, andpoof!Life is perfect. That's Rachel's situation. Except she's not the one who suddenly has magical powers. Her younger sister is. And as Rachel would tell you, spellbooks arewastedon the young! Yes, yes, of course world peace and cures for horrible diseases are important. But so is dancing without looking like she's being electrocuted, winning back her best friend, stopping her dad's wedding, and finding a date for Spring Fling. Rachel's not bewitched. Yet. . . . "

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

"Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead-keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.When they arrive in a new town in search of pa ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life."

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

"On Halloween night, eight trick-or-treaters gather at the haunted house by the edge of town, ready for adventure. But when Something whisks their friend Pip away, only one man, the sinister Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, can help the boys find him. "If you want to know what Halloween is, or if you simply want an eerie adventure, take this mysteryhistory trip. You couldn't ask for better than master fantasizer Ray Bradbury," raves The Boston Globe."

All Hallow's Eve: 13 Stories by Vivian Vande Velde

"A boy is trapped in a possessed car that has stalled in the path of an oncoming train. A girl is dragged into a crypt during a field trip to an eighteenth-century cemetery. A group of friends meet their fate after an unsettling visit with a backwoods psychic. And that's just the beginning. Celebrated author Vivian Vande Velde is at her spine-tingling best in this collection of thirteen scary stories, all of which take place on Halloween night. With tales that range from the disturbing to the downright gruesome, this is one collection that teens will want to read with the lights on . . . and the doors locked."

Ghosts of New England by Hanz Holzer

"From Hans Holzer, an internationally known expert in the field of the paranormal, here is a chilling collection oftrueghost stories. Two books in one, this volume combines Holzer'sYankee GhostsandGhosts of New England, each describing spine-tingling encounters with spirits in some of New England's most eerie haunts."

Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett

"Post-life citizens Breath challenged Vertically disadvantaged (buried, not short) Johnny Maxwell's new friends not appreciate the term "ghosts," but they are, well, dead. The town council wants to sell the cemetery, and its inhabitants aren't about to take that lying down! Johnny is the only one who can see them, and and the previously alive need his help to save their home and their history. Johnny didn't mean to become the voice for the lifeless, but if he doesn't speak up, who will? In Johnny Maxwell's second adventure, Carnegie Medalist Terry Pratchett explores the bonds between the living and the dead and proves that it's never too late to have the time of your life -- even if it is your afterlife!"

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

"A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children , an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow--impossible though it seems--they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows."

The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

"Diana and her little brother Georgie have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying Victorian mansion, for what already seems like forever. They aren't allowed to leave the property or show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker comes to live there with his young daughter, Lissa, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules they live by and reveal herself so she can finally have a friend. Somehow, Diana must get Lissa's help if she and Georgie ever hope to release themselves from the secret that has bound them to the old Willis place for so long. Mary Downing Hahn has written a chilling ghost story in the tradition of her most successful spine-tingling novels. The intriguing characters, frightening secrets, and plot twists will delight her many fans."

The Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoddman

"Fourteen-year-old Susan Backstrom seems to have a charmed life-she's smart and beautiful, the only child of wealthy, attentive parents. But there are secrets inside her expensive house that Susan would never tell. One day, at the library, she overhears their housekeeper's son talking with some friends about sneaking into a nearby abandoned house. Much to her own surprise, Susan very much wants to join them-and soon she's part of the best secret of all. The house has a resident teenage ghost. More important than that, the house itself is a living, supernatural thing, able to serve as a magic conductor. With the help of five new friends-three humans, one ghost, and House, Susan has what she needs to transform her life, if she dares. A Stir of Bones is the stand-alone prequel to acclaimed fantasist Nina Hoffman's award-winning adult novels A Red Heart of Memories and Past the Size of Dreaming. It is every bit as remarkable, warm, and heartwrenching."

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

"Jack Perdu, a shy, ninth grade classics prodigy lives with father on the Yale Univerity campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But when Jack suffers a near fatal accident, his life is forever changed. His father sends him to a mysterious doctor in New York City-a place Jack hasn't been since his mother died there eight years ago. While in the city, Jack meets Euri, a young girl who offers to show him the secrets of Grand Central Station. Here, Jack discovers New York's Underworld, a place where those who died in New York reside until they are ready to move on. This, Jack belives, is a chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri's past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack's visit to the Underworld. Masterfully told, The Night Tourist weaves together New York City's secret history and its modern-day landscape to create a highly vivid ghost world, full of magical adventure and page-turning action."

Witch Child by Celia Rees

'"First they 'walked ' her, marching her up and down, up and down between them for a day and a night until she could no longer hobble, her feet all bloody and swollen. She would not confess. So they set about to prove she was a witch. . . ." Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary's startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared? Though Mary's story takes place 350 years ago, she is a credible and engaging feminist character for modern times. Witch Child will compel readers to ask themselves: how much have things really changed?"

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

"Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler is marked by suspicion and disapproval from the moment she arrives on the unfamiliar shores of colonial Connecticut in 1687. Alone and desperate, she has been forced to leave her beloved home on the island of Barbados and join a family she has never met. Torn between her quest for belonging and her desire to be true to herself, Kit struggles to survive in a hostile place. Just when it seems she must give up, she finds a kindred spirit. But Kit's friendship with Hannah Tupper, believed by the colonists to be a witch, proves more taboo than she could have imagined and ultimately forces Kit to choose between her heart and her duty. Elizabeth George Speare won the 1959 Newbery Medal for this portrayal of a heroine whom readers will admire for her unwavering sense of truth as well as her infinite capacity to love."

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

"Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she is a witch. Her non-gifted mother has been supportive, consulting Sophie's estranged father-a warlock-only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who exiles her to "Hex Hall", an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, fairies, and shape-shifters. By the end of her first day, Sophie has three new enemies, a futile crush on a warlock, a tagalong ghost, and a vampire roommate. Worse, Sophie soon learns that an unknown predator has been attacking students. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries converges, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her."

Witch's Business by Diana Wynne Jones

"When Jess and Frank's father stops their allowance for four months, desperate measures are necessary. Jess's friends expect her to pay her share for things, of course, and, worse, Frank owes money to the bully Buster Knell. So they decide to start a business. They make a sign: OWN BACK LTD. REVENGE ARRANGED. PRICE ACCORDING TO TASK. ALL DIFFICULT FEATS UNDERTAKEN. TREASURE HUNTED, ETC. At first the only response they get is from adults who laugh at them. But before long they find themselves working for their first customer -- Buster Knell, of all people. One thing leads to another leads to another, and soon their business has whirled out of control in ways they never could have imagined. What's more, the local witch, Biddy Iremonger, sees Own Back Ltd. as competition to her business, and when Biddy is angry, there's no end to the trouble she'll cause. . . . Witch's Business, Diana Wynne Jones's first novel, has all the humor, action, inventiveness, and surprises that have established her reputation as one of the finest fantasy writers."

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

"A gripping tale of a girl with a morbid ability that could lead her to a killer . . . and the boy who would never let anything happen to her. Sixteen-year-old Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her unusual so-called gift. While her confusing feelings for her best friend are new, she has been able to sense dead bodies--or at least those that have been murdered--and the imprints that attach to their killers since she was a little girl. Violet has never considered her ability useful, but now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Fiercely protective of her, Jay agrees to help Violet search for the murderer. But even as she's falling in love, Violet is getting closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself."

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

"In Mary's world there are simple truths. nbsp;nbsp; The Sisterhood always knows best. nbsp;nbsp; The Guardians will protect and serve. nbsp;nbsp; The Unconsecrated will never relent. nbsp;nbsp; And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. nbsp;nbsp; But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. nbsp;nbsp; Now, she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death? "A bleak but gripping story...Poignant and powerful."- Publishers Weekly , Starred"