Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, by Beth Fantaskey (354 pages) – Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess, according to new exchange student, Lucius Vladescu. So now Jessica must transform herself from ‘average American teenager to a glam European vampire princess’. It sure ain’t easy.
First line: ‘The first time I saw him, a heavy, gray fog clung to the cornfields, tails of mist slithering between the dying stalks.‘
Witch and Wizard, by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet (329 pages) – This is the first in Patterson’s latest series. Whit and Wisty Allgood are accused of witchcraft and are thrown into prison, along with thousands of other young people. The New Order are out to get all users of magic and crush all expressions of art and liberty. It’s 1984 meets Harry Potter! At last!
First line: ‘It’s overwhelming.’
Homestretch, by Paul Volponi (151 pages) – Seventeen-year-old Gas runs away from his abusive father and finds work on a racetrack in Arkansas. His new job challenges his racism and he also becomes a jockey! He is short.
First line: ‘I’ve always been small – the shortest kid in my class, from kindergarten through the end of my junior year in high school.‘
The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams (213 pages) – Kyra is thirteen, and lives in a religious community where men have lots of wives. She’s been told she will have to marry a 60-year-old who already has six wives. She’s been reading forbidden books (from a library! yay, libraries) and knows she’s got to get out. But how?
First line: ‘“If I was going to kill the Prophet,” I say, not even keeping my voice low, “I’d do it in Africa.”‘
Fire, by Kristin Cashore (491 pages) – A companion book to Graceling (there is one common character). So! If you liked that you will like this, according to Grimm. ‘Cool cover,’ she adds.
First line: ‘Larch often thought that if it had not been for his newborn son, he would never have survived his wife Mikra’s death.‘
Cupid’s Arrow, by Isabelle Merlin (336 pages) – Fleur’s mother inherits a ‘magnificant’ library that belonged to a famous French author, so they head to the ancient French town of Avallon. That sounds like the best thing ever! Mais non! ‘Fleur’s nightmare is just about to begin …’
First lines: ‘I’m running. Running very fast. Running for my life.‘
Secrets at St Jude’s : Jealous Girl, by Carmen Reid (226 pages) – Gina is from L.A. and spends her time in pools, malls, and so on. But she also has to go to school in Scotland, where it rains and is probably a little less glamorous although there are castles and the Edinburgh festival, surely? But it’s all good, and Gina has loads of friends at St Jude’s.
First line: ‘”Gina, you can NOT go back there! You just can NOT leave us again!” Ria was lying back on a lilo in the pool, dangling a tanned arm into the cool turquoise-blue water.‘
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld (440 pages) – This sounds pretty great, I think! ‘In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.’ The book has terrific illustrations throughout.
First line: ‘The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised.‘
Exam Stress? No Worries, by Su Dorland (254 pages) – Here’s a guide to overcoming the anxiety that many feel before exams. There are techniques you can use to relax, and – AND! – it comes with a CD with ‘visualisation and relaxation tracks to help you stay calm and focused, and sleep well at exam time.’ Very timely.
Here’s a small amount of new stuff (no book covers though, as the server’s currently down). The little hooks are how we rate the first sentence.
Fade, by Lisa McMann (248 pages) – the sequel to Wake. Cassandra Clare calls the book “shuddersome”, which is kind of a cool word. The dream catchers Janie and Cabel must expose something horrid that’s going on at Fieldridge High.
First sentence: Janie spirits through the snowy yards from two streets away and slips quietly through the front door of her house.
Hate List, by Jennifer Brown (408 pages) – Val’s boyfriend, Nick, uses a list he and she created (of things and people they hate) to mow down their classmates in the cafeteria. The story is about Val coming to grips with her role in what has happened, the loss of her boyfriend, and how to move on.
First sentence: The scene in the Garvin High School cafeteria, known as the Commons, is being described as “grim” by investigators who are working to identify the victims of a shooting spree that erupted Friday morning.
Killer, by Sara Shepard (A Pretty Little Liars novel, 321 pages) – the sixth book in the series, the first paragraph on the dust jacket says it all: “In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystal. But pictures often lie – and so do Rosewood’s four prettiest girls.”
First sentence: What if, all of a sudden, you could remember every single second of your entire life?
When Irish Guys are Smiling, by Suzanne Supplee (211 pages), and The Great Call of China, by Cynthea Liu (246 pages) – these two titles are part of the series S.A.S.S., or Students Across the Seven Seas, about girls (mostly I think) who go on exchange, experience culture shock, learn about themselves, meet cute guys, and all the other things you’d expect.
Ember Fury, by Cathy Brett (232 pages) – Ember Fury’s parents are celebrities, and they are more interested in their own rise to the top than they are in Ember. So Ember – who hates the whole celebrity world – is a pyromaniac.
First sentence: ‘Fizzzzz … crack … whoosh … It was a tiny tongue at first, then it spread like a rippling, orange blanket over the floorboards and poured itself up the walls.’
Brainjack, by Brian Falkner (438 pages) – Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker, has a go at the computer systems of the White House. This reckless obsession leads Sam into a dangerous world of ‘espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war.’ Dangerous, sure, but pretty exciting you must admit.
First sentence: ‘On Friday, on his way to school, Sam Wilson brought the United States of America to its knees.‘
Mwah Mwah, by Chloe Rayban (263 pages) – Hannah’s plans for the holidays are foiled by her mother, who sends her off to Paris for a fortnight. Hannah isn’t too happy as she will have to stay with the unpleasant Matthilde (although I think we’d all like to grin and bear it if it means a couple of weeks in Paris).
First sentence: ‘”Mayjesweesewer. Annaseraravy! Weegrobeezoo. Abeeantow.”‘
Swerve, by Phillip Gwynne (228 pages)
Trashed (A Year in Girl Hell), by Meredith Costain (151 pages).
Judging from a website titled Ultramarines The Movie there is to be an Ultramarines movie. It seems a fair conclusion to reach. What are Ultramarines? Why, they’re genetically-modified super-soldiers in space, and part of the Warhammer 40k gaming universe. The movie probably won’t be out for a while, but once a trailer appears we will post it!
While the library doesn’t have gaming, we do have a rulebook (for the Warhammer fantasy RPG); we also carry White Dwarf magazine, and we have some of the related novels (and here’s 5 good reasons why you should read them if you haven’t already).
The 2009 Tokyo Game Show is under way, and a massive trailer for Final Fantasy XIII (that’s 13 in Roman numerals) has been released. It’s in Japanese! So probably difficult to follow, unless you’re able to understand Japanese. Either way it sure looks good. It won’t be available outside Japan until about the middle of 2010.
Update! There’s a subtitled version. Enjoy.
The trailer is available below – Read more…
Yes! More new anime, and it’s on the catalogue so you can reserve it now. We have the first fourteen DVDs of Bleach : Agent of the Soul Reaper, which is pretty exciting (it’s very good) (website) and My-HiME : My Otome, which can be read about on Wikipedia (or through the official website in Japanese). Both series should be available from next week.
Some of the others we will be getting are mentioned in this previous post.
(All of the Samura Champloo series will soon become available through the library, although probably as an adult DVD only.)
There are only six, which is less than usual! Never mind.
The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt (264 pages) – This came out in 2007 and won a Newbery Honor Medal in 2008. It’s about a boy growing up in 1967 on Long Island, in the U.S. A pretty tumultuous time.
First line: ‘Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there was one kid that Mrs. Baker hated with heat whiter than the sun.‘
Pink, by Lili Wilkinson (288 pages) – Ava takes on a new image – she doesn’t want to wear black and she doesn’t want to like girls, so she takes to wearing pink and acting perky and even tries to get a boyfriend. Her new ’shiny reinvented life is far more fragile than she imagines.’
First line: ‘”You’re leaving?’ Chloe dropped my hand. “I know, it sucks,” I lied. ‘My parents think I’ll get better marks at a new school.” Another lie.’
Troubadour, by Mary Hoffman (290 pages) – Set in France during the Crusades. Elinor, a young noblewoman, is told she must marry a much older man. So she scarpers and becomes a troubadour, a wandering poet, like the guy she’s in love with, Bertram.
First line: ‘A small group of monks was making its way down to the river crossing.‘
King of the Screwups : A Novel, by K. L. Going (310 pages) – After getting in trouble yet again, popular high school senior Liam, who never seems to live up to his wealthy father’s expectations, is sent to live in a trailer park with his gay “glam-rocker” uncle [Catalogue description].
First line (well, of the second chapter): ‘“You’re a screwup, Liam. Do you think being Mr. Popularity will be enough to get you by in life?”‘
Time of Trial : The Fourth Volume of The Laws of Magic, by Michael Pryor (427 pages) – I’ve not read these and it’s difficult to find out the story’s premise. It looks cool! If anyone has read the series please comment.
First line: ‘Aubrey Fitzwilliam braced himself for the next attack from his young, tall and menacing adversary.‘
Raw Blue, by Kirsty Eagar (273 pages)
Here are this week’s new books. Further to the First Sentence idea we have added an arbitrary rating of hooks (based on how well the first sentence hooks you in (you see)). The hook looks like this – . So there’s one for a pretty meh first line, and for the sentence that makes you want to keep reading.
Fire on High, by David Hill (127 pages) – Jonno wins a trip to South America to watch a solar eclipse. While there he becomes alarmed at the increasing civil unrest, and is keen to return home. His return flight, however, is hijacked …
First line: ‘At exactly 10.43 a.m., the sun started to turn black.’
Deathwatch, by Nicola Morgan (279 pages) – Cat McPherson’s revealed a little too much information about herself online, and now someone’s watching her. Does she realise she’s being stalked? A psychological thriller!
First line: ‘In the hooded darkness, he watches from a high window.’
Flygirl, by Sherri L. Smith (275 pages) – 1940s Louisiana, and Ida Mae Jones wants to fly. She’s black, so it’s going to be tough. The opportunity to fly presents itself, but she has to pass herself off as a white girl to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots – and she soon realises that it’s difficult to escape who she really is.
First line: ‘It’s Sunday afternoon, and the phonograph player is jumping like a clown in a parade the way Jolene and I are dancing.‘
Secret Keeper, by Mitali Perkins (225 pages) – In 1974 when her father leaves New Delhi, India, to seek a job in New York, Asha, a tomboy at the advanced age of sixteen, feels thwarted in the home of her extended family in Calcutta where she, her mother, and sister must stay, and when her father dies before he can send for them, they must remain with their relatives and observe the old-fashioned traditions that Asha hates. [Catalogue description]
First line: ‘Asha and Reet held their father’s hands through the open window.‘
L. A. Candy : A Novel, by Lauren Conrad (326 pages) – This book is a semi-autobiographical account of a girl whose internship in L. A. leads to a role in a major reality show. Fame and fortune follow! And perhaps some soul-searching. The book’s author was in The Hills.
First line: ‘Jane Roberts leaned against her dresser, studying the way her white silk nightie looked against her sun-kissed skin.‘
Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater (392 pages) – A supernatural romance with (I think) a werewolf. A possible Twilight substitute, Grimm reckons. A sequel, Linger, is due out in 2010. Also, the entire book is printed in blue ink.
First line: ‘I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.‘
Andromeda Klein : A Novel, by Frank Portman (424 pages) – High school sophomore Andromeda, an outcast because she studies the occult and has a hearing impairment and other disabilities, overcomes grief over terrible losses by enlisting others’ help in her plan to save library books–and finds a kindred spirit along the way. [Library catalogue]. Saving library books is something we can all get behind, I say.
First line: ‘The Universe is huge.‘
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (391 pages) - This is the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy. It’s incredibly popular, so you’d better reserve it now if you haven’t. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic future where a new, authoritarian government pits teens against one another on television. The third book is due out next year, and a film is in the works.
First line: ‘I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air.‘
Watch The Skies : Daniel X, by James Patterson and Ned Rust (251 pages) – Daniel’s parents were killed by an alien, and he now hunts alien monsters using his uber-powers, which include super-speed and the ability to create anything out of nothing (handy in a pinch).
First line: ‘It was a pretty regular early-summer night at 72 Little Lane.‘
Dull Boy, by Sarah Cross (308 pages) – Avery has superpowers, but in an attempt to remain anonymous he’ll pretend to be as dull and normal as possible. Of course, every superhero has a villain to deal with …
First line: ‘It’s Friday – another afternoon spent pounding the pavement in search of crimes to stop and people to help.‘
Blue Moon, by Alyson Noel (289 pages) – This is the second book in the Immortals series (the first one was Evermore). Ever travels to another dimension in an effort to save Damen; she soon must choose between his life, and going back into the past and saving her parents’ lives. Quite a toss-up.
First lines: ‘“Close your eyes and picture it. Can you see it?”
Also in!
A Student Writing Guide : How to Plan and Write Successful Essays, by Gordon Taylor (266 pages) - This book would be ideal for anyone at any level who wishes to write a cracking good essay. I recommend it!
Two reviews from Raewyn!
Juno of Taris, by Fleur Beale – On an isolated, storm-buffeted island in the Southern Ocean lives Juno and 499 other survivors of the 21st Century world. Their island is covered by a dome which protects them from any outside influences, including disease and war. But Juno begins to question the authority of the council and so becomes a target herself. Is what they have always believed really just a lie? When her friend Vima finds 2 cellphones and Juno teaches her to read, they begin a secret mission to find out what is behind the troubles on Taris.
Good read.
The Last Free Cat, by Jon Blake – ALL FREE CATS CARRY DISEASE! This is what the population have been told and so only the Corporation’s specially bred cats are allowed to be owned by those who can afford them. So when Jade sees a cat walking across her back garden she is not sure what to do. The cat, Feela, doesn’t look dangerous and it feels so nice to stroke her, and amazing when she rubs around her legs. Her mum told her not to encourage it but in the end she too is won over by this furry bundle of fun.
But what will happen if the authorities find out that they have a cat? They soon find out when their house is invaded and it is disastrous for Jade’s mother’s health. Jade finds herself on the run with Kris, a street kid from her school. The chase is on! Will they escape to Ireland where the law regarding cats is different or will they be caught and thrown into prison, knowing that Feela will be put down?
A good adventure in a futuristic world.
Daniel X : Watch The Skies, by James Patterson (251 pages) – Further adventures of teenage alien hunter, Daniel X. This time the alien menace threatens humanity via television.
First line: ‘It was a pretty regular early-summer night at 72 Little Lane.‘
Girls Against Girls, by Bonnie Burton (128 pages) – This non-fiction book looks at the reasons why girls are sometimes mean to one another, what to do if one is being bullied, and why it is better to treat others with respect.
Girl Meets Cake, by Susie Day (215 pages) – Heidi has invented a boyfriend (she had to – it was an emergency). Now, because he’s so perfect, Heidi’s friends are messaging him all kinds of secrets.
First lines: ‘“Poop on a fork, Heidi. What part of ‘I don’t want to see your face in here Saturday’ did you not follow?” Betsy yells before I’m even halfway through the door of the Little Leaf cafe.‘
The Road of the Dead, by Kevin Brooks (292 pages) – Brother Ruben and Cole learn that their sister has been found, murdered, many miles from home. Determined to find out what happened, the brothers retrace her steps.
First line: ‘When the Dead Man got Rachel I was sitting in the back of a wrecked Mercedes wondering if the rain was going to stop.‘
Nicholas Dane, by Melvin Burgess (408 pages) – Fourteen-year-old Nick is sent to a boys’ home after his mother’s death, and things get much, much worse. Much worse.
First line: ‘Nick Dane lifted his head and stared blearily at the doorway.‘
Devil’s Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda (278 pages) – Billi SanGreal’s father belongs to The Order, who protect the world from the Unholy. She’s about to go through her Ordeal, which is he chance to join the Order. Look, an official website!
First line: ‘Killing him should be easy; he’s only six.‘
The Witching Hour, by Elizabeth Laird (417 pages) – 17th century Scotland; a bad time to be accused of witchcraft. Maggie’s grandmother is accused and so Maggie must flee to her uncle’s holdings, where he’s defying the English King. Historic thrills!
First line: ‘I was the first one to see the whale lying dead on the san at Scalpsie Bay.‘
Here’s some books that are the latest in continuing series:
Carpe Corpus : Book Six of The Morganville Vampires, by Rachel Caine (243 pages)
The Diamond Secret : Once Upon a Time, by Suzanne Weyn (209 pages)
Burned : A Year in Girl Hell 3, by Meredith Costain (139 pages)
Death by Denim : Death By 3, by Linda Gerber (211 pages)
My (Dating Disasters) Diary by Kelly Ann, by Liz Rettig (355 pages)
In brief:
Get Your Paws Off!, by Rachel Wright (145 pages)
A new series of Futurama has been ordered. Hooray! It was cancelled in 2003 – a sad year for animated sit-coms – but the newest series should come out in the middle of next year.
In the meantime you can go to the official Futurama website or watch the older episodes by borrowing them from the library. Reserve them through our library catalogue here. We’ve loads of DVDs.
The astrodome is inflated and open for visits at Central Library. I went in yesterday for a visit and it was very cool – well worth a look. Five stars from me, I reckon. It’s open to the public from 4pm to 8pm (last entry is at 7.30pm) for the rest of this week only, and each visit takes half an hour. There’s an article in today’s Dom Post with more information.
Starclimber, by Kenneth Oppel (390 pages) – This is the sequel to Airborn and Skybreaker. Matt and Kate travel are astralnauts on board the spaceship Starclimber. An exciting race to the stars turns ‘into a battle to save their lives.’
First sentence: ‘Rising into the wind, I flew, Paris spread before me.’
Twilight : Director’s Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke (163 pages) – The story of how they made the film. We wrote about it here.
Revelations : A Blue Bloods Novel, by Melissa de la Cruz (264 pages) – The third novel in the Blue Bloods series about vampires. Is Schuyler Van Alen a Blue Blood, or a sinister Silver Blood? ‘Romance, glamour, and vampire lore …’
First sentence: ‘On an early and bitterly cold morning in late March, Schuyler Van Alen let herself inside the glass doors of the Duchesne School, feeling relieved as she walked into the soaring barrel-ceiling entryway dominated by an imposing John Singer Sargent portrait of the school’s founders.‘
Glass Houses : The Morganville Vampires Book One, by Rachel Caine (247 pages) – This was the runner-up to the Selector vote-for-a-new-series thing we ran not so long ago. It seemed pretty good (and is very popular in the US) and worth getting. The Texas town of Morganville is home to a large number of vampires, who lived in peace with the resident mortals. Until the evil Bishop arrives, that is …
First sentence: ‘On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry.‘
Alligator Bayou, by Donna Jo Napoli (280 pages) – Set in Tallulah, Louisiana, the US, in 1899. A Sicilian family is caught in the middle of tensions between the black and white communities. Disaster dogs their family at every turn.
First sentence: ‘The night is so dark, I can barely see my hands.‘
Perfect Match : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (227 pages)
Inside Girl : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (229 pages)
Girls We Love : An Insiders Girls Novel, by J. Minter (215 pages)
The Inside Girl series won our Selector competition a few months ago, and they’re finally in! The third title is part of the parent series that a reader recommended we get.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, by Helen Grant (342 pages)
The Good Daughter, by Amra Pajalic (314 pages)
The Lucky Ones, by Tohby Riddle (211 pages)
Cracked Up To Be, by Courtney Summers (214 pages)
There are new books in this week. (The old books may be in the library’s booksale which is on right now.)
Theodork, by Jessica Green (177 pages) – On his first day in year seven Theo is rather cruelly labelled a dork, and all his efforts to reverse this only make things worse. A comedy.
First sentence: ‘I’m lying here in hospital, one arm in plaster, two legs hanging from a frame, and bruises fading in places I’d rather not think about.‘
Keepinitreal, by Don Henderson (229 pages) – A bike gang war is started when Kid Kabula knocks Fatts Charvetto into a pond display at the local mall. Whichsoundsabitroughbutshouldbeokayintheend.
First sentence: ‘Because this is pretty much a story about how I stopped being an egg-heaed idiot, I might as well start at the moment Kid Kabula exploded through the upstairs doors of the Victory Garden Mall.‘
Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve (321 pages) – A new book in the Infernal Engines world; huge, armoured fortresses that move across the wastelands. The book has a neat cover!
First sentence: ‘That morning they were making paper boys.‘
Gauntanamo Boy, by Anna Perera (339 pages) – Khalid, a British teenager, goes to Pakistan to see his family. There he is kidnapped and forced into a prison in Cuba called Guantanamo Bay, which you may have heard about in recent years.
First sentence: ‘ Sometimes, Khalid things as he drags himself home after another boring day at school, I’d rather be anywhere but here.’
Nathaniel Wolfe and the Bodysnatchers, by Brian Keane (197 pages) – Ghost hunter, Nathaniel Wolfe, must travel to the Other Side to vanquish whatever it is that the bodysnatchers plundering the graveyard have stirred up.
First sentence: ‘Lady Huntercombe was a thin woman with a pointed nose and rather distrustful expression.‘
The Game of Triumphs, by Laura Powell (308 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Cat enters a dangerous world called The Arcanum, where a deadly card game is played out in this mix of reality of fantasy.
First sentence: ‘It was his breathing that she noticed first: the hoarse, ragged wheezes of someone who has been running hard.‘
The Madman of Venice, by Sophie Masson (293 pages) - A vengeful Venetian Countess, a girl accused of witchcraft, a horde of pirates, murder and secrecy, and a madman that haunts the city - Venice, 1602, has it all, and English merchant Matthew Ashby, his daughter and his young assistant must investigate.
First sentence: ‘The city is a riot of laughter and parties and noise.‘
Love, Lies and Lizzie, by Rosie Rushton (216 pages) – This is the fourth of Rosie Rushton’s Austen adaptions. This time she’s updated Pride and Prejudice for the 21st Century. Lizzie Bennet and her sisters are ’swept up in a glamorous life of partying and country pursuits’.
First sentences: ‘“So you dumped him? Just like that? In the middle of the school trip? Are you crazy?”‘
The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (310 pages) – From the catalogue – Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead. Creepy!
First sentence: ‘My mother used to tell me about the ocean.‘
Solar Nation, by Erica Blaney (344 pages) – Solly and Lalune must lead the people of Clandoi out of the darkness and into the sun. Sci fi! A sequel to Cyber Nation.
First sentence: ‘”Ruined!” bellowed the cook, hurling a pan of scalded soup out of the door.‘
Being Nikki, by Meg Cabot (336 pages) – This is the second in Cabot’s Airhead series of books, about Emerson Watts, a ‘braniac in the body of a teenage supermodel’ – a mixture of sci fi, romance, mystery, and chick(en) lit.
First sentence: ‘I’m cold.‘
Due to a case of the winter snufflies, and a current lack of Twilight Saga books, I found myself at home finishing off a couple of books that you may (or may not) want to hear about.
H-Bomb Girl by Stephen Baxter
This is a bit of a Sci-Fi adventure that will leave you guessing until the last chapter. If you’re a fan of Dr Who and other time-travel stuff then you’ll like this book.
Laura is a 14 year old girl living in Liverpool, England, in October 1962. As the Cuban missle crisis is unfolding before her eyes, weird people start messing with Laura’s life; people that know a little too much about her and seem to all want something from her. Who these people are, and the decisions Laura has to make, will have consequences across the world. Laura’s future is just as uncertain as the rest of the world’s…
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
From the author of the Bartimous Trilogy. Halli Sveinsson dreams of being the hero of his valley but, while he has the courage and noble heart of a hero, he lacks the stature and good looks of a hero – being stumpy, squat and having the face of a toad.
Up on the hills surrounding his village are the burial cairns of his ancestors. The legend says that a terrible creature, called a Trow, lives underground beyond the cairn wall which emerges at night to kill anything that strays past the cairns onto their land. Halli dreams of testing the Trows, but the days of fighting are over and the swords are melted down…
Bored and frustrated, Halli pulls some pranks that ignite an old feud between villages, which sets Halli out on a quest of his own and discovers the true, and terrifying, nature of the trows and the old cairn line.
This is an exciting tale of adventure and mischief; you won’t be able to help liking this unlikely Hero!
Only three new DVDs this week, but they will be popular.
High School Musical 3 : Senior Year (G) – this is the ‘extended edition’, which means that it has bloopers, deleted scenes, extra scenes, a sing-along, and much more. It had a higher budget than the previous HSM films, so has more oomph as well.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (M) – This is actually based on the fourth book in the series, although it does use bits from the second and third books as well. Stars Ugly Betty, a Gilmore Girl, a Gossip Girl, and Joan, from Arcadia.
Ben 10 Alien Force : Vol 2 (PG) – episodes six to nine of the pretty cool animated series.
It is the 20th birthday of the Internet, which means that it hasn’t been entitled to a YA library card for a couple of years. Also, that for many people (i.e. this blog’s intended audience) there’s not been a time when there wasn’t an Internet, or WWW, or chat, or even online shopping. Can you imagine – a world with no social networking? Truly a dark epoch.
Anyway, here’s an article about the beginnings of the Internet. Pretty complex stuff!
Word is that the Maximum Ride series of books is to be turned into a film series. But will it be the next Twilight? Perhaps not, but it will still be very popular. It may be the next Harry Potter, which would be pretty good – I’m a fan. It’s due out in 2010.
Maximum Ride is a series of five books set in a world where a group of students are part human, and part bird, and must save the planet from mysterious figures. We have them in the library catalogue here.
Remember This, by S. T. Underdahl (282 pages) – Lucy’s looking foward to summer. But she embarrasses herself when trying out for the cheerleading team, ends up dating a boy she previously disliked, and has to watch her grandmother suffer from the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
First sentences: ‘Remember this: I love you. It was the special saying my Nana Lucy and I had for each other, ever since I was tiny.‘
Sword : A Novel, by Da Chen (232 pages) – Martial arts expert Miu Miu turns fifteen and is told by her mother about her father’s violent death. Miu Miu is asked to avenge her father, and to find her fated true love, all in the faraway city of Chang’an. The Emperor has ‘other plans’.
First sentence: ‘On the morning of Miu Miu’s fifteenth birthday, her mother did not arrange a visit by a matchmaker, as all the mothers of Goose Village did when their daughters reached marriageable age.‘
The Bloodstone Bird, by Inbali Iserles (326 pages) – Sash finds a riddle in his father’s study, which leads him – and his enemy, Verity – on the search for a magical bird. Their search takes them to a dazzling new world.
First sentence: ‘“In the beginning, Aqarti was a lush paradise surrounded by endless sea.”‘
Sharp Shot, by Jack Higgins and Justin Richards (297 pages) – Twins Jade and Rich are kidnapped and find themselves at the centre of a deadly plot, involving the first Gulf War and explosives. This is the third book in a series.
First sentence: ‘John Chance raised his powerful binoculars and focused on the low building on the other side of the sand dune.‘
The Other Side of the Island : A Novel, by Allegra Goodman (280 pages) – Honor and her family move to Island 365, where the weather is always nice, there’s no unhappiness or violence, and everyone prays to Earth Mother and her Corporation. Honor and her family don’t fit in, however, and she meets Helix; together they uncover a terrible secret about the island.
First sentence: ‘All this happened many years ago, before the streets were air-conditioned.‘
Crushed : A Year in Girl Hell, by Meredith Costain (137 pages) – It’s Lexi’s first year of high school and life is changing fast. Her friends split up and Lexi has to choose between her old friends and her new, cooler friends. And she develops a crush on Jack, one of the cool kids. For younger teens.
First sentence: ‘“Lexi, can you hurry up please?”‘
Undiscovered Country : A Novel, by Lin Enger (308 pages) – Seventeen-year-old Jesse is out hunting with his father in Minnesota on a cold, wintery day. His father is shot; and it looks like he had killed himself. His father’s ghost begins to haunt Jesse, and he soon uncovers family secrets and his own, new responsibility. This book is a ‘bold reinvention’ of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
First sentence: ‘As I write this, I am sitting in the kitchen of the small house where we’ve lived now for a decade.‘
Fouth Comings : A Novel, by Megan McCafferty (310 pages) – This is the fourth Jessica Darling book and it will be very difficult to summarise in my usual two or three sentences. But if you’ve read the others you will be hanging out for this (I know Grimm will probably be first to read it).
First sentence: ‘”Waiting sucks.” The voice was male and came from behind my right shoulder.”
Bliss, by Lauren Myracle (444 pages) – Bliss has grown up in a Californian commune, and is sent to live with her strict grandmother and to study at Crestview, an exclusive school for the rich with an old, dark history. There she is targetted by Sandy, a girl obsessed with the occult. A ‘contagiously creepy tale of high school horror.’
First sentence: ‘Grandmother won’t tolerate occultism, even of the nose-twitching sort made so adorable by Samantha Stevens, so I’m not allowed to watch Bewitched.’
In brief:
The Beginner’s Guide to Living, by Lia Hills (248 pages)
A Small Free Kiss in the Dark, by Glenda Millard (225 pages)
Dead is a State of Mind, by Marlene Perez (175 pages)
Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, retold by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Chris Riddell (347 pages)
Saving Sam, by Susan Brocker (192 pages)
New DVDs:
Skykids (Rated M) – Two friends sneak aboard a plane for a look and it takes off. They discover a bomb and then – to compound the dire situation further – realise that they’re the only ones left on board.
Grange Hill Series 1 & 2 (Rated PG) – Grange Hill was a British drama series about a group of kids at a high school. It lasted from 1978 until late last year. This DVD collects the first two series. Very retro. Maybe.
The UN has revealed that about half the planet’s population use cellular phones, which is pretty impressive. The first small ‘flip’ cellphone came out in 1989, almost 20 years ago – I vaguely remember my dad had one for work, which was pretty impressive. At the time. Nowadays phones are vastly cheaper, smaller, and have many more functions. (Though it would be nice to own a retro phone.)
So, assuming you have one, would you like us to text or email you with information about upcoming events and news the Wellington City Libraries are planning for teens? If you would, please fill in the contact form below! Thanks!
There’s a new trailer out for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – you can view it in HD at the official site. It’s about two minutes long and full of robots blowing things up. Cars, bridges, buildings, and even an aircraft carrier; it’s just that fantastic!
We have the first Transformers film on DVD as well, if you need to catch up before the sequel’s release. We also have Transformers : Beast Wars series one and series three.
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