If you’re looking for a quick read, just a few hours, full of fun, mayhem, and vomit, Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris is definitely the way to go. We have it available in both book and ebook formats. I read it in one sitting over Thanksgiving weekend, and trust me, it was the highlight of Black Friday for me!
It’s the end of the year, and we all know what that means! The Best Books (as determined by grownups) are being released. The Teens Top Ten Books list can be found here, and in January, the Printz award books will be released.
But,the Cold Spring Harbor Library has 29 of the Best Teen Books of 2011, according to Kirkus!
Curious as to which ones we have? There’s a handy-dandy guide below. Also, ALL of these titles are eligible for our Read A Book, Write a Review Program (which ends December 31st). Don’t you just *want* community service hours for reading a cool book, and writing a review that will most likely wind up on our website?
First foray into science fiction? Curious about the genre, or assigned to read a sci-fi novel for school?
Science fiction novels tend to have a few things going for them:
Here are some titles by great authors to get you on your way…
So what are the recommendations for this month?
Y: The Last Man graphic novel series. For mature teens. The best way to read this phenomenal series is to marathon it.
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick: I read this back in May. In one sitting. And woke up everyone in the house because I was laughing so hard. This novel is at best a cross between Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Devilish Something wicked is going on at St. Teresa’s Preparatory School.
The Great War, now known as World War I, took place from 1914-1918. At the time, it was the largest war the world had seen (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition). In honor of the poster exhibit that will be on display in the Lower Level of the Library during November and December 2011, we have a select bibliography of fiction and nonfiction resources.
Bausum, Ann. Unraveling freedom: the battle for democracy on the home front during World War I. Looks at how U.S. presidents from Wilson to George W. Bush have suspended or revoked guaranteed freedoms in the country during times of war, and includes first-person stories and illustrations.
Bosco, Peter I. World War I. Discusses the circumstances that led to the United States becoming involved in World War I, profiles key figures, and describes major battles.
Freedman, Russell. The war to end all wars: World War I. Complemented by archival photographs, an accessible introduction to the “Great War” explains its relevance as a conflict that involved many nations and casualties while introducing modern weaponry and military strategies that have shaped all subsequent wars. By the Newbery Award-winning author of Lincoln: A Photobiography.
Frost, Helen. Crossing stones. In their own voices, four teenagers, Muriel, Frank, Emma, and Ollie, tell of their experiences during the first World War, as the boys enlist and are sent overseas, Emma finishes school, and Muriel fights for peace and women’s suffrage.
Hemingway, Ernest. A farewell to arms. An American’s love for an English nurse during the First World War ends in tragedy.
Miller, Sarah Elizabeth. The lost crown. Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia tell how their privileged lives as the daughters of the tsar in early twentieth-century Russia are transformed by the Great War and revolution.
Morpurgo, Michael. Private Peaceful. When Thomas Peaceful’s older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, even though he is only fourteen years old.
Murphy, Jim. Truce: the day the soldiers stopped fighting. Narrative illustrated with archival photos explains how World War I soldiers defied their commanding officers and stopped fighting to declare a miraculous “Christmas truce” and celebrate with their enemies.
Readings on All Quiet on the Western Front. Essays discuss the construction, meaning, themes, and emotional impact of Remarque’s novel as well as the reason war books are popular and the impact of fame on the author.
Remarque, Erich Maria. All quiet on the western front. The horrors of war as told through the eyes of a young German soldier in World War I.
Sedgwick, Marcus. The foreshadowing. Alexandra poses as a nurse to go to France to locate her brother and to try and save him from the fate she has foreseen for him.
Spillebeen, Geert. Kipling’s choice. In 1915, mortally wounded in Loos, France, eighteen year old John Kipling, son of writer Rudyard Kipling, remembers his boyhood and the events leading to what is to be his first and last World War I battle.
More than 9,000 teens voted in ALA|YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten – the Teen Choice Awards for books, essentially!
The Top Ten Books for 2011 are…
1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
4. I Am Number Four – Pittacus Lore
5. The Iron King – Julie Kagawa
7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel – James Patterson
8. Paranormalcy – Kiersten White
9. Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver
10. Nightshade – Andrea Cremer
Planning to watch any of the fairy-tale inspired tv shows or movies that are coming out? Want to get into the fairy-tale mood? Here are some great titles for teens:
Ash – Malinda Lo. She must choose, between the handsome fairy cursed to love her, and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.
Beast – Donna Jo Napoli. Beauty in the Beast, in Persia, from the Beast’s POV.
Beastly – Alex Flinn. Kyle is a stuck-up jerk who insults the wrong witch.
Cloaked – Alex Flinn. Johnny is asked by a hot-looking princess to find her brother … who just happens to be in amphibian-form.
Entwined – Heather Dixon. The real story of the Twelve Dancing princesses.
Extraordinary – Nancy Werlin. What happens to you when your ancestor made a promise to the faeries?
Goose Chase – Patrice Kindl. Rather than marry a cruel king or a seemingly dim-witted prince, an enchanted goose girl endures imprisonment, capture by several ogresses, and other dangers, before learning exactly who she is.
The Grimm Legacy – Polly Shulman. The objects are real, and you can check them out from the New-York Circulating Material Repository!
The Healer’s Apprentice – Melanie Dickerson. Rose falls in love with Lord Hamlin, who is not only engaged, but is looking for the sorcerer who cursed his future bride. Can we say love triangle?
Impossible – Nancy Werlin. In order to stop the madness cursing the women of her family for centuries, Lucy must perform three impossible tasks before her daughter is born in order to appease the Elfin King.
A Kiss in Time – Alex Flinn. Her kingdom has been asleep for centuries. What’s an old-fashioned girl gonna do in a modern world? And why did *no one* think to show her what a spindle looked like before it was too late, anyway?
The Princess and the Snowbird – Mette Ivie Harrison. She has magic. He doesn’t.
The Replacement – Brenna Yovanoff. Mackie isn’t one of us, he’s a changeling.
Sisters Red – Jackson Pierce. Scarlett and Rosie are not thrilled with the Big Bad Wolf, who had the gall to kill their grandmother. This is the story of how they take revenge.
Tithe – Holly Black. A dark and modern faerie tale.
Do you just die for a great mystery?
Some great mysteries:
This Thursday we’re having a conjoined event – Caramel Apple Making AND the Teen Advisory Board! 7pm-8pm in the Hands-On-Learning Center.
Books that are AMAZINGLY awesome (and you should read RIGHT NOW):
Anna Dressed in Blood – Miss Diane says it’s sufficiently creepy.
The Boyfriend List: (15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and Me, Ruby Oliver) – the start of Roo’s story. Bring on the neuroticism, bring on the heartbreak, bring on the kisses and not-kisses and a houseboat.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone – once upon a time, and angel and a devil fell in love. It did NOT end well.
Daughters of Eve, Down a Dark Hall, Locked in Time, Stranger with My Face, Summer of Fear – the quintessential Lois Duncan novels, re-released! These books are full of thrills, chills, and will scare the pants off you.
Glow – What if you’re expected to populate New Earth?
Totally Joe – Loved The Misfits? Find out more of Joe’s story, and what else is going on with the Gang of Five.
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer -Miss Kate read this … and was up until 3 a.m. finishing it. It’s dark, it’s creepy, and has more twists and turns than the best Gothic novel you’ve ever read.
Wildwood – do you love the Decemberists? Do you love fairytales similar to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, or A Wrinkle of Time, or dare we say, Harry Potter? Written by Colin Meloy (lead singer of the Decemberists) and illustrated by Carson Ellis (illustrator for the Decemberists AND The Mysterious Benedict Society…) … this awesome adventure starts when Prue’s baby brother is taken away by a murder of crows. What happens next? You’ll have to read to find out.
