So in case you’ve been living under a rock, our Read a Book, Write a Review program is still going on. If you’re looking to read and review a book none of your peers have perused, check out the following titles (in reverse alphabetical order! Ha!):
In this compilation of dueling stories, which creature wins more? Zombies? Or Unicorns? My favorite short story was Meg Cabot’s contribution, Princess Prettypants, about a unicorn that literally farts rainbows.
Two words: VAMPIRE LUAU. Cue the awesomesauce. My father essentially read the book with me, because I read every other line aloud to him, it was so funny.
Charlie and Fielding star on the Family Network’s hit show, Jenna & Jonah’s How To Be a Rockstar, onscreen and off as two teens in love. Only problem? They hate each others guts. When certain ruin is spelled out for them, will the two team up or tear up?
An exquisite retelling of the Cinderella story,where Ash must choose between the fairy cursed to love her, and the King’s Huntress whom she loves. Absolutely breathtaking. Lo is a gifted writer.
The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, announced the 2011 shortlist. The Prize celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.
The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman, announced the 2011 shortlist. The Prize celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.
So imagine my utter delight this morning, when going through email, that I found the Ministry of Magic’s website?
Check out Magic is Might – and if you’ve never been, also head over to the Leaky Cauldron. This fan-based site has been up and running for years, and used to be my only source of information, back when J.K. Rowling’s website was just a list of her publishers. (I kid you not).
Also, speaking of Harry Potter, we’ll be showing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 on May 26th. Be there.
Baseball season started last week … and I know some of you love sports fiction. Here’s a selection of sports fiction just for teens.
Beanball by Gene Fehler- It’s the last inning of a high school baseball game between arch-rivals Oak Grove and Compton. Center fielder Luke “Wizard” Wallace steps up to the plate – and is hit by a beanball, a wild pitch that shatters his skull, destroys the vision in his left eye, and changes his life forever.
Change-up: Mystery at the World Series by John Feinstein – While covering baseball’s World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers during an interview reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach – Just before his sixteenth birthday, Felton Reinstein has a sudden growth spurt that turns him from a small, jumpy, picked-on boy with the nickname of “Squirrel Nut” to a powerful athlete, leading to new friends, his first love, and the courage to confront his family’s past and current problems.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock – Caveat: I do not understand football. I could take it or leave it. I LOVED THIS BOOK. D.J. is a smart, funny heroine who proves you don’t have to be a boy if you want to play football. If you’re hungry for more stories starring D.J., check out The Off Seasonand Front and Center.
Derby Girl by Shauna Cross- this book was faster than a derby bout. Loved Whip It? This is the book it’s based on. Want more information on derby? Check out the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.
Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman – Told in their separate voices, thirteen-year-old soccer star Kevin and police sergeant Brown, who knew his father, try to keep Kevin out of juvenile hall after he is arrested on very serious charges.
Leverage by Joshua Cohen – High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and forms an unlikely friendship with Danny.
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman– Wallace Wallace cannot tell a lie … and his very honest review of “Old Shep, My Pal” has gotten him off the football team and helping with the school musical. Help.
Shutout by Brendan Halpin– Ever felt like you no longer knew who your best friend was anymore? Shutout is about two best friends – who suddenly become enemies after Lena makes Varsity Soccer and Amanda does not. This was given five stars from Sara (grade 9) and Jane (grade 8).
Vanishing Act by John Feinstein- Love mysteries and sports? Eighth grader Brendan gives this title five stars – mainly for the mystery, the unpredictable ending, and loads of comedy and action.
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher – Intellectually and athletically gifted, T.J., a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school’s less popular students.
April showers bring May flowers …. and books. Yeah, doesn’t flow off the tongue as easily, but these books should keep you busy. Also, keep those book reviews coming in. They absolutely rock.
Also, check out the ever-changing display of YA titles on the Lower Level. Today? Sports-themed books. Next week, who knows?
This year’s Long Island Reads selection is Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead.
Each April, during National Library Week, book lovers in Nassau and Suffolk come together to read the same book, participate in discussions of the selection, and enjoy related events in their public libraries.
The time is 1985. Benji, the son of a lawyer and a doctor, is one of the only black kids at an elite prep school in Manhattan. He spends his falls and winters going to roller-disco bar mitzvahs and trying desperately to find a social group that will accept him.
But every summer, Benji and his brother, Reggie, escape to the East End of Sag Harbor, where a small community of African American professionals has built a world of its own. Except Benji is just as confused about this all-black refuge as he is about the white world he negotiates during the school year.
In this deeply affectionate and fiercely funny coming-of-age novel, Colson Whitehead—using the perpetual mortification of teenage existence and the desperate quest for reinvention—beautifully explores racial and class identity, illustrating the complex rhythms of the adult world.
COLSON WHITEHEAD AUTHOR EVENTS
Colson Whitehead will be speaking on Thursday, April 14 at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton at 3:00 p.m. and at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are not required. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
