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Books, Library Serf
Stuck For Something to Read This Summer?
16.12.11 | Permalink | Comment?
Never fear! Here are some ideas:
- - The Teen Blog summer reading list. This has got selected fiction from this year, loosely divided into categories (like Free Classic Novel e-books, Ghosts, The 20th Century for example).
- - The New Books tag. Sift through new items that have arrived in the library this year. There’s heaps to choose from.
- - Kirkus Reviews‘ best of 2011 list. This is an extensive list of excellent reading, from Anna Dressed in Blood to White Crow.
- - Some New Zealand fiction. Have a look in the library for books that have koru stickers on their spines. For example, the Listener magazine thought these titles were a highlight of 2011:
The Bridge, Jane Higgins
Heart of Danger, Fleur Beale
Calling the Gods, Jack Lasenby (on order, but you can reserve it!)
Dark Souls, Paula Morris (on order: reserve it!)
Grimm, New
Some More New Books
20.09.11 | Permalink | Comment?

If you love a good thriller, then read on! (There’s a few in here.) There’s also some fantasy, reality, and the all-conquering supernatural romance.

Heart of Danger, Fleur Beale (315 pages) – The third in the Juno series, so if you’ve read Juno of Taris and Fierce September make sure you read this! ”Juno and her family arrive at their new home, but almost immediately danger threatens Hera and they move to Willem’s protection in New Plymouth, the city Juno most hoped to avoid. Fairlands school is too like Taris, and Hilto’s son Thomas is a pupil there. The handsome Ivor is also there and soon begins to pay attention to Juno in a way she finds both confusing and exciting. Juno’s special mind powers are called upon to help her save Hera.” (from the publisher). Romance for Juno?

First sentence: A girl about the same age as me stood on our doorstep.

Fury of the Phoenix, Cindy Pon (359 pages) – Ai Ling joins Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, but she’s plagued by the knowledge that Zhong Ye the sorcerer is not in fact dead, but trapped in Hell and still a threat, particularly to Chen Yong. The sequel to Silver Phoenix.

First sentence: Chen Yong was already on board the ship.

The Fox Inheritance, Mary E Pearson (294 pages) – If you’ve read The Adoration of Jenna Fox you know what happened to Jenna, but what about Locke and Kara? Two hundred and sixty years on from the accident Locke and Kara are brought back to life in new manufactured bodies. They’re haunted by 200+ years of memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld, and having to adjust to a new world knowing nobody (except Jenna).

First sentence: My hands close around the heavy drape, twisting it into a thick cord.

All These Things I’ve Done, Gabrielle Zevin (351 pages) – in a New York of the future, Anya is given an impossible choice by the District Attorney after being arrested for attempted murder. She must choose between her family’s safety and the boy she loves. Things are complicated: the boy she loves is the DA’s son, and her family is really involved in organised crime.

First sentence: The night before junior year – I was sixteen, barely - Gable Arsley said he wanted to sleep with me.

Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt (360 pages) – at the end of the book someone says “Haven’t you ever heard of New Zealand?”. We want to know why! Anyway, this one is set in 1968 in New York state and features Doug Swieteck, as first seen in The Wednesday Wars. Everyone’s on a mission in 1968, the Apollo shuttles are on missions to space, the US army are on missions in Vietnam, and Doug’s on a mission discovering a passion for art, and other life lessons.

First sentence: Joe Pepitone once gave me his New York Yankees baseball cap.

Death Sentence, Alexander Gordon Smith (261 pages) – this is book three in the Escape From Furnace series, in which Alex is bearing the consequences of his second attempt at escape from Furnace Penitentiary. Horrifyingly, the warden is injecting him with stuff, turning him into a “superpowered minion of Furnace” (<3 the description). So now Alex must excape not so much the prison outside, but the prison inside.

First sentence: I died in that room.

Shut Out, Kody Keplinger (273 pages) – a reimagining of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, set in an American high school. The football (American) team and soccer (football) team are serious rivals, to the point of school wars. Lissa, girlfriend of the QB, is sick of it all, so she decides to lead the girlfriends in a revolt. Trouble is, this develops into a new war, girls against boys, and the leader of the boys (Cash) is quite distracting. The author’s website (complete with book trailer) is here.

Die for Me, Amy Plum (341 pages) – the first in a new supernatural trilogy. After the death of her parents, Kate and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with their grandparents. There, Kate meets Vincent, who’s dreamy, but also not your normal human being. He’s a ___________ (couldn’t possibly say), and he has dangerous enemies, and this means danger for Kate and her family too.

First sentence: The first time I had seen the statue in the fountain, I had no idea what Vincent was.

Texas Gothic, Rosemary Clement-Moore (404 pages) – Amy Goodnight’s family are witches, surrounded by friendly spirits. But when she and her sister go to look after their Aunt’s ranch, they encounter a not-so-friendly spirit. It appears there’s a ghostly uprising. Something dangerous is going on “deep in the heart of Texas” (back cover). So Amy, Phin (her sister) and Ben (handsome cowboy) must investigate.

First sentence: The goat was in the tree again.

Paper Covers Rock, Jenny Hubbard (181 pages) – When Alex is unable to save a schoolmate from drowning, he and his friend Glenn (a witness) decide to lie about what happened. But Alex is plagued by guilt, and works through it by writing poetry in his journal. His English teacher, Miss Dovecott, decides to nurture his growing talent, but it’s possible she knows something about what happened – at least Glenn thinks something’s up.

First sentence: When my dad gave me this journal two years ago and said “Fill it with your impressions,” I imagine he had a more idyllic portrait of boarding school life in mind.

Shift, Em Bailey (304 pages) – Olive has made a clean break from the group of friends that got her into so much trouble. Then she notices that there’s a new girl, Miranda, making friends with her former best friend. But there’s something creepy about Miranda, and terrible rumours are circulating about her. What if they are true? Will anyone believe Olive’s suspicions?

First sentence: There were two things everyone knew about Miranda Vaile before she’d even started at our school.

Choker, Elizabeth Woods (233 pages) – Cara is a loner who’s been bullied at school, so she’s happy to be reunited with Zoe, a childhood friend. But then a girl goes missing, and Zoe starts acting strangely: can Cara trust her?

First sentences: “Come out, come out, little frog. We’ve made you a nest. It’s under a log.”

Two angels to end:

Angelfire, Courtney Allison Moulton (453 pages) – “A seventeen-year-old girl discovers she has the reincarnated soul of an ancient warrior destined to battle the reapers–monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell.” (catalogue)

First sentence: I stared out the classroom window and longed for freedom, wanting to be anywhere in the world other than gaping up at my economics teacher like the rest of my classmates.

Angel Burn, L. A. Weatherly (449 pages) – “In a world where angels are fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans and drain them of their vitality, a ruthless teenaged assassin of angels falls in love with a half-angel half-human girl, with devastating consequences.” (catalogue) This is the sequel to Angel.

First sentence: “Is that your car?” asked the girl at the 7-Eleven checkout counter.
Grimm, Most Wanted
Most Wanted: June 2011
01.06.11 | Permalink | Comment?

These are the 10 most requested and taken home young adult items at the moment, featuring New Zealand author Bernard Beckett and his new(ish) novel August, the entire Hunger Games trilogy, plus the usual Most Wanted suspects. Reserve them now, if you haven’t already!

1. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare [no change]
2. Passion, Lauren Kate [no change]
3. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins [back again again]
4. Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz [up 1]
5. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins [up 5]
6. Midnight, L J Smith [up 4]
7. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins [back again]
8. I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore [down 4]
8. Plague, Michael Grant [down 3]
10. August, Bernard Beckett [new]
Grimm, New
New Books
19.04.11 | Permalink | Comment?

August, Bernard Beckett (204 pages, New Zealand author) – Tristan and Grace are in a car wreck, waiting for rescue (if it happens!). As they wait, as one does, they review their very different lives and philosophies. “A compelling novel about will, freedom and what it means to live” (cover).

First sentence: For a moment the balance was uncertain.

Scorpia Rising, Anthony Horowitz (402 pages) – the final mission, the cover declares! No! Alex must put Scorpia out of business, once and for all, but is this the mission to end all missions, and to end Alex? We hope not!

First sentence: The man in the black cashmere coat climbed down the steps of his private, six-seater Learjet 40 and stood for a moment, his breath frosting in the chill morning air.

Where She Went, Gayle Forman (260 pages) – the follow up to the über popular If I Stay. Three years after Mia ended it with Adam they’re back together for one night in New York City, a chance to put things to rest (or to respark something?).

First sentence: Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: it’s just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.

Plague, Michael Grant (526 pages) – the fourth in the Gone series. Quelle horreur, this one sounds ghastly. There is a plague threatening Perdido Beach (one that is described in graphic detail on the back cover! Guts! Being eaten away from the inside out!), and there’s still the grim reality of what happens to you at fifteen.

First sentence: He stood poised on the edge of a sheet of glass.

Invincible, Sherrilyn Kenyon (420 pages) – The second on the Chronicles of Nick series. Poor Nick is once again challenged by the presence of all manner of horrific supernatural creatures, affecting his life in so many ways, from the inconvenient (his principal thinks he’s gone to the bad, making school a problematic place) to the downright deadly; he must figure out how to raise the dead or he might find himself counted as one of them.

First sentence: They say when you’re about to die, you see your entire life flash before your eyes.

The Running Dream, Wendelin Van Draanen (332 pages) – Puts one’s own annoying, minor running injuries into perspective. Jessica is a runner, until she’s involved in a terrible accident and loses a leg. A story of coming to terms with a significant loss, reestablishing your identity and your place, and overcoming odds.

First sentence: My life is over.

All You Get is Me, Yvonne Prinz (279 pages) – Roar’s father goes all green on her, installing them on an organic farm, where she must spend the summer adjusting from her city sensibilities, coping with falling in love, the fact that her mother is gone, and with the fallout from her father’s crusade against the bad working conditions of Mexican farm workers.

First sentence: My mom always promised me she would keep me safe, and then she disappeared.

As Easy as Falling off the Face of the Earth, Lynne Rae Perkins (352 pages) – Ry’s train strands him in the middle of seriously nowhere and he’s got to get to somewhere, a journey that is peppered by a series of scrapes, mishaps and “comedic calamities” (catalogue).

First sentences: Wait a minute. Was the – had the train just moved?

The Floating Islands, Rachel Neumeier (388 pages) – “The adventures of two teenaged cousins who live in a place called The Floating Islands, one of whom is studying to become a mage and the other one of the legendary island flyers” (library catalogue).

First sentence: Trei was fourteen the first time he saw the Floating Islands.

The Education of Hailey Kendrick, Eileen Cook (256 pages) – Hailey is the perfect girl who never does anything wrong, until one night, together with a secret accomplice, she does something quite wrong and gets into a rather lot of trouble, which her secret accomplice escapes. Now her friends don’t want to know her, her teachers don’t trust her, everything’s a mess, and she’s keeping quiet about the identity of said secret accomplice. Is it worth it?

First sentence: There was a matter of life and death to deal with, and instead we were wasting our time discussing Mandy Gallaway’s crotch.
Library Serf, Reviews
Review: The Raging Quiet
26.11.10 | Permalink | Comment?

We’ve asked library staff for some reviews, here’s one of a great book written by New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan.

This year, I really enjoyed The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan. It’s the tale of Marnie, married at 16 to a wealthy landowner and beginning a new life in the seaside town of Torcurra. Set in Medieval Europe, it richly invokes the living conditions and atmosphere of the times. Jordan writes in a beautiful style, and all of her books are hard to put down. Highly recommended!

~ Rowan
Books, Grimm
What happens to Banquo’s son?
17.08.10 | Permalink | 1 Comment

He wins an award!

Have you read/watched and loved Macbeth? If yes (and what’s not to love: ghosts, witches, mad people, lots of murderous treachery, swords, deaths, and lines like “out, damned spot”) then you’ll be interested to hear that Macbeth was the inspiration behind the inaugural winner of the LIANZA Young Adult Book Award: Banquo’s Son by Tania Roxborogh.

A fantastic idea for a story (so much so I wish it were mine!), Banquo’s son Fleance gets a very, very short walk on (or run off?) part in Macbeth, when he’s told by his father, “Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayst revenge” (Act 3, Scene 3). Macbeth kills Banquo and Fleance flees south - according to Tania Roxborogh’s story - to England, where he’s taken in by a family, raised as their son. Ten-ish years later, Fleance’s destiny is to avenge his father’s murder…

If you like Shakespearean adaptations then read this. You’ll be pleased to hear it’s the first in a trilogy (Bloodlines will be published in September this year), and there is, I think, also a film in the works. See more information on the trilogy on the blog (Fleance, being Web 2.0, has one).
Books, Fantasy, GLBT, New, Sci Fi, Simon, Writing
New Books
19.02.10 | Permalink | Comment?

Only a few new books this week.

The Splendour Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore (220 pages) – Sylvie is a ballerina. She broke a leg, her father died, and her mother remarried! Also, she might be losing her mind (or it might be ghosts). To cheer her up her mother moves her from an Manhattan apartment to a haunted Alabama mansion, where she meets the mysterious yet attractive Rhys.

First line: ‘For months, I relived the pas de deux in my dreams, in that multisensory Technicolor of a memory I’d much rather forget.‘

The Polar Bear Ward, edited by Tessa Duder and James Norcliffe (118 pages) -This is the seventh Re-Draft anthology, which we finally have (it came out in 2008!) It collects works by young NZ writers and poets.

The 13 Curses, by Michelle Harrison (454 pages) – This is the sequel to 13 Treasures. Rowan Fox makes a deal with the fairy court; she will find the cursed charms from a bracelet in exchange for her brother, who was stolen by the fairies. And there’s no guarantee the fairies will keep their side of the bargain – they have a secret up their little fairy sleeves.

First line: ‘As midnight approached in Hangman’s Wood two girls fled through the forest, desperately searching for a way out.‘

The Phoenix Files : Contact, by Chris Morphew (309 pages) – This is the second book in a series. It is part sci-fi, part thiller, part conspiracy theory paranioa, and it’s all leading up to the end of the world. Great stuff! There’s a website here.

First line: ‘Someone’s phone was ringing.‘

The Medusa Project : The Hostage, by Sophie McKenzie (244 pages) – This is also the second book in a series. It also has a website! This series is about four teens, who all exhibit psychic abilities. They are brought together to secretly fight crime – with their minds.

First line: ‘Like I didn’t have enough problems?‘

Winter’s End, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (trans. Anthea Bell) (415 page) – This is originally French, and it’s also been released as Winter Song. It made one of our Top 10 lists (Books in Which Winter Stars) under that title, and you can read about it there.

First line: ‘At a sign from the supervisor, a girl in the front row rose to her feet and went over to press the metal switch.‘

About a Girl, by Joanne Horniman (188 pages)
Raven Summer, by David Almond (198 pages)
Books, DVDs, Jack, Movies
Under The Mountain Trailer
29.07.09 | Permalink | 1 Comment

Did you know Maurice Gee’s Under The Mountain is now a soon to be released movie? I didn’t until I found the trailer, but it looks like it could be quite good. Check out the book and 1982 TV series at the library before you head off to the theatre.
Adrienne
And the winners are…
22.05.09 | Permalink | Comment?

Book lovers have recently been celebrating the New Zealand Post Book Awards. The nominated books have been put through a gruelling test over the last month, but the winners have finally been announced!

The 10pm Question by local gal Kate de Goldi has taken out the award for Young Adult fiction and Book of the Year. Yup- it’s that good!

This is an awesome book, we recommend you get your mitts on it ASAP. Check out the other category winners here.
Books, Grimm, Happenings
New Zealand Post Book Awards: the finalists
03.03.09 | Permalink | Comment?
The finalists for this year’s New Zealand Post Book Awards have been announced. In the YA fiction category we’ve got this interesting lineup:
- The 10pm Question, Kate de Goldi
- Chronicles of Stone #1: Scorched Bone, Vincent Ford
- Gool, Maurice Gee
- Juno of Taris, Fleur Beale
- The Tomorrow Code, Brian Falkner
Let the games begin! If you want to express an opinion, you can vote in the Children’s Choice category (I’m guessing it’s a broad definition of “children”). Have fun.