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  • Library Serf, Movies, News, Sport, Today in History

    From the random news desk

    28.10.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Some quick random headlines to distract you from work:

    The World Cup in Book Form
    You will be pleased to read that New Zealand publishers are working overtime to produce books commemorating the epic victory. The NZ Booksellers site reports that the first books may be available from as early as tomorrow, which is also an epic effort, but doesn’t get a cup or a medal unfortunately.

    Hunger Games Movie Poster Teasers
    This week Hunger Games movie posters have been popping up on different sites all over the world wide web: see here for a summary of opinions. As for the posters: here are a few links:

    Chaos at the Movies
    Fans of the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness will be pleased to read that this is also going to be made into a movie(s)! The films are being made by the Hunger Games movie people, so they’ll appear in a couple of years. Go Manchee.

    Today in History
    And finally, because today’s news is tomorrow’s history: today and yet 121 years ago the first Labour Day was celebrated: read about it.

    Good luck with your exam study! (Although you won’t need any luck, you’ll be amazing.)


  • Great Reads, News

    LIANZA Children’s book award winners

    09.08.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Two of the awards announced last night go to books in our YA collection.

    The Shadow of the Boyd by Diana Menefy the judges report says that this book ” tells a powerful tale from our colonial past, the bitter clash of two cultures from the point of view of Thomas Davidson, an apprentice sailor who survived the infamous massacre of the Boyd. This classic adventure would also suit readers that usually prefer nonfiction. The background research and attention to detail is excellent.”

    Fierce September by Wellington author Fleur Beale continues the story that began with Juno of Taris. The judges say this book  “poignantly deals with a community’s transition into life in New Zealand where they don’t know everyone, where life has changed fundamentally and they are living isolated like refugees.”


  • Grimm, Movies, News

    The Hunger Games Motion Poster

    22.07.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    The moving poster for The Hunger Games movie has just been released, and it looks pretty cool:

    Read more…


  • Grimm, Movies, News

    From the Sporadic News Desk

    11.07.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Some movie/book news:

    Maybe people have been wondering what Stephenie Meyer has been doing with her time? Well, she’s going to be producing a movie, Austenland to be exact, starring Keri Russell (from Felicity), Bret McKenzie (from Wellington! and Flight of the Conchords!), and James Callis (from Battlestar Galactica). The movie is based on the book Austenland by Shannon Hale (Goose Girl, etc).

    Segueing away, once the final instalment of the Twilight series has finished at the movies, you can expect to see a host of other young adult fiction adaptations: The Mortal Instruments (by Cassandra Clare) and of course The Hunger Games, other rumours/news are/is of Matched (Ally Condie), Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater), Fallen (Lauren Kate), Divergent (Veronica Roth) for example. They’re currently casting The Mortal Instruments, including Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace (he was Caius in the Twilight movies) and Lily Collins as Clary (she was in 90210).

    Most of these books above are series, with some follow ups arriving in the next few months: Forever, by Maggie Stiefvater, Crossed by Ally Condie (will be published in November this year), and Passion by Lauren Kate (which should be available very very soon, having just arrived in the library), plus Divergent is the first in a planned trilogy, so this means many more movies, lots of them having the world falling apart. Goodie.

    Sort of connected to the movies and books, and related to our earlier post about Pottermore, now you sort of know what it is and if you’re keen, Pottermore is giving you the chance to enter the site early – so mark the 31st of July in your calendars and go visit the site to find out more. Pottermore is also tweeting updates and previews.

    In the mean time, enjoy Harry Potter 7P2!


  • Library Serf, News

    Terry Pratchett Wins Andre Norton Award

    24.05.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Terry Pratchett has won the Andre Norton Award for young adult science fiction and fantasy writing for I Shall Wear Midnight. I Shall Wear Midnight is the fourth book featuring Tiffany Aching, the others being The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith.

    Here’s more information about the Andre Norton Award, including past winners, and here’s the official site. Here’s our post including the full list of nominees (Inception won the script award).


  • Grimm, News

    Dystopia: the new Supernatural Romance?

    23.05.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Here’s some links for lovers of young adult dystopian fiction: has it overtaken supernatural romance as the YA genre of choice?

    - Love and Dystopia: a new sub genre? There’s been a new influx of novels exploring social issues for teenage girls living in dystopian environments (Matched by Allie Condie, XVI by Julia Karr, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, Bumped by Megan McCafferty  for example). We like sub-genres. The New York Times looked at this theme recently.

    - The Hunger Games movie: more anticipated than Twilight? The internets is awash with discussion of casting for the Hunger Games movie (due out in the first half of next year): just plug “hunger games casting controversy” into your preferred search engine. The major casting controversy (a blonde actor as Katniss???) might be put to rest soon, with her appearance in costume on the cover of the latestEntertainment Weekly*. See the cover here (what do you think?). EW also has a special Hunger Games Central site here. Incidentally, The Hunger Games made an appearance on the list of 10 most challenged books in the USA in 2010 (although it wasn’t as  un-popular as  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and And Tango Makes Three is still rocking it at number one).

    - Back to the New York Times, here’s a debate they hosted about dystopian fiction, featuring authors like Scott Westerfeld (Uglies etc), Paolo Bacigalupi (author of Ship Breaker), and Maggie Stiefvater (currently not a writer of dystopian fiction).

    * We have Entertainment Weekly in the young adult magazine collection, so you’ll be able to borrow the Hunger Games issue for free very soon!


  • Great Reads, News, Wellington

    Wellington authors win awards

    19.05.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Last night the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award Winners were announced.  Fleur Beale’s Fierce September won the Young Adult category and Leon Davidson won in the Non Fiction category with Zero Hour: The ANZACs on the Western Front.

    http://www.wcl.govt.nz/easyfind/?hreciid=|library/m/wellington-carl|0000817318

    Fierce September is the sequel to Juno of Taris (which won the Esther Glen award)  but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this fine story. It’s set in a dystopian future and much of the action occurs in Wellington.

    Zero Hour is set on the Western Front during WWI. It’s an honest portrayal of an horrific time and place, that we don’t usually hear much about. It’s a fascinating, sad and compelling read.


  • Grimm, News

    Diana Wynne Jones, 1934-2011

    28.03.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    We are sad to hear that Diana Wynne Jones, influential author and one of the queens of fantasy, has died. She was the author of many titles including the Chrestomanci series, the Dalemark quartet and others such as Howl’s Moving Castle.

    “You’ve no right to walk into people’s castles and take their guitars.”
    Howl’s Moving Castle


  • Books, Fantasy, Horror, News, Sci Fi, Simon

    Here are some new books!

    25.03.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    Here they are! Exclaim!

    You, by Charles Benoit (223 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Kyle makes some choices that will come to haunt him. In a big way. You are Kyle, in that the book is in the second person, you know? Kyle is a bit of a thug who is turned into a ‘project’ by Zack, who has come from a private school and who may actually be quite sinister.

    First lines: ‘You’re surprised at all the blood.‘

    The Darlings Are Forever, by Melissa Kantor (328 pages) – The Darlings are some friends who have matching necklaces, a shared motto, and their own table at Ga Ga Noodle. Now they all are heading to different schools in New York City! Will they stay friends?!  I bet the Ga Ga Noodle people want them to.

    First line: ‘The Labor Day sun was scorching, and as Jane waited for the light to change,  she could practically hear her dark hair frizzing.‘

    You Against Me, by Jenny Downham (412 pages) – Mikey’s sister claims a boy assaulted her, and Ellie’s brother is charged with the offence. Mikey and Ellie are both caught up; he seeks revenge and she must defend her brother. “Brave and unflinching,” says the blurb, along with (the optimistic) “above all it’s a book about love.”

    First line: “Mikey couldn’t believe his life.”

    Darkest Mercy, by Melissa Marr (327 pages) – Here it is; the final Wicked Lovely book. ‘The political and romantic tensions that began when Aislin became Summer Queen threaten to boil over as the Faerie Courts brace against the threat of all-out war,’ says the Library of Congress cataloging-in-publication data summary, not incorrectly.

    First line: ‘Niall walked through the ruins of the tattoo shop.‘

    The Maya Brown Missions : Circle of Fire, by S. M. Hall (291 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Maya’s mum is an intelligence agent, and Maya can’t wait to be one herself. She enjoys assault courses and shooting ranges and maybe Spooks? Not sure on that. Anyway, her mother is kidnapped by terrorists, and Maya, alone, is determined to infiltrate the terrorist cell and rescue her.

    First line: ‘Maya opened her eyes to a room full of shadows.‘

    Eternal : More Love Stories with Bite, ed. P. C. Cast with Leah Wilson (215 pages) – Here’s a collection of love stories with people being bitten by vampires. The stories are by a who’s who of modern YA authors who write about the supernatural, like Nancy Holder, Rachel Caine and Claudie Gray. And the girl on the cover looks JUST LIKE Buffy to me, do you reckon? Say yes.

    6, by Karen Tayleur  (203 pages) – ‘One car. One after-party. Six people, six points of view. But only one outcome.’ The book ends with the outcome (which you might be able to guess) but has an ending that I read several times, it was so powerful. (I only read the ends of books.)

    First line: ‘A light drizzle falls upon a car.‘

    The Latte Rebellion, by Sarah Jamila Stevenson (328 pages) – Asha Jamison and her best friend sell t-shirts to help fund a post-graduation trip to London. The shirts promote the Latte Rebellion, a club that raises awareness of mixed-race students. But the club goes nationwide, and the peaceful underground movement ’spins out of control’, and Asha’s ivy league dreams are subsequently threatened.

    First line: ‘The jeering male voice came from somewhere behind me, waking me up from a heatstroke-induced doze.‘

    Blood Ransom, by Sophie McKenzie (418 pages) – This is the sequel to Blood Ties, which was about cloning and genetic manipulation. This is also about cloning and genetic manipulation, it looks like! And missing persons. And ransoms of missing persons, who are clones. I wish I had a clone!

    First line: ‘It was a Saturday afternoon in early July and I was looking forward to the highlight of my week – the hour or so when Theo and I met online and everything else dropped away.‘

    All Just Glass, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (246 pages) – Sarah is from a family of vampire hunters. It is a family business! But when she is turned into a vampire by boy she loved (ironically!) she becomes the hunted. By her sister, Sarah, no less, who is made to by her mother. “Aww, mom.”

    First line: ‘Saturday, 5.53 a.m. The ringing in her ears was the sound of the world shattering.‘

    The Blending Time, by Michael Kinch (254 pages) – In a dystopian future, teenagers are made to perform ‘Global Assignment’ work assignments when the turn seventeen. Three such teens are given what they think is a cushy job; to repopulate and rebuild African, which has been devastated by a solar flare. But it’s not quite the stroll through the rose garden that they thought …

    First line: ‘Jaym stirred as morning light slanted across his cot.‘


  • Comedy, Librarian's Choice, Music, News

    Who Is Arcade Fire?

    19.02.11 | Permalink | Comment?

    The 53rd Grammy Awards were held earlier this week in Los Angeles. There were plenty of notable stories from the event, Lady Gaga dressed up as an egg for example. But the one that amused us the most was the reaction to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs winning album of the year, it seems that a large chunk of music fans around the world didn’t even know who they were. And were outraged. Which was hilarious.

    We here at Teen Blog clearly approved of the decision as it was the only album of the year nominee on our Librarian’s Choice page.


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