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Read Teen Vogue online for free!

On Tuesday, 8 March, 2016

You may already know you can read magazines for free using Zinio with your library card, and we just added some new titles to our collection, including Teen Vogue! Not only can you read it online, but there’s a year of back issues you can read too! Once you download them, you never need to return or delete them (unless you need more space on your tablet or phone, of course).

Find out how to get started with a Zinio account here, or if you already have an account, go here to look at the online issues of Teen Vogue!

mar feb jan

Trailer… Thursday? Paper Towns 2nd trailer!

By admin

On Thursday, 4 June, 2015

In Movies, Rachel, Trailers

The second trailer for John Green’s Paper Towns came out yesterday, and it looks pretty rad. Ben is wearing the “World’s Best Grandma” tshirt! I reckon the cast look spot on and we are in for a treat. Check out the new trailer below:

And just in case you missed it the first time around, here’s the first trailer as well:

If you want to refresh your memory, you can reserve Paper Towns by clicking on this cover image:

We also have Paper Towns as a CD audiobook, as a BorrowBox ebook and as an Overdrive ebook!

Does Margo look how you imagined she would? Does Q? Which John Green book do you hope gets adapted next? Share your thoughts on the trailers with us in the comments!

Trailer Tuesday: The Scorch Trials

By admin

On Tuesday, 26 May, 2015

In Rachel, Trailers

It’s here! The trailer for The Scorch Trials, sequel to last year’s action-packed The Maze Runner starring Dylan O’Brien of Teen Wolf fame. It came out last week so maybe you’ve seen it already, but you can watch it below for a second or third (or seventh…) time!

In case you want to catch up on how the book went down, you can reserve any of the books by clicking on their covers below:

Or reserve the Maze Runner film here!

Happy Free Comic Book Day!

By admin

On Saturday, 2 May, 2015

In Comics and Graphic Novels, Competition, Happenings, Rachel

HAPPY FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! It’s the last – and biggest! – day of Comicfest 2015! Come on down to the Central library today to collect a free comic book! Plus there are LOADS of exciting things happening all day!

At 10am we have a Comics 101 workshop with Sarah Laing providing insight into what is required to make successful prose, comics and cartoons. For all ages – bring along pens and paper!

At 11.30 we will be judging our cosplay competition with prizes for kids, teens and adult divisions. Get dressed up or just come down to see the costume extravaganza!

At 12pm we have a talk from Tintin and Weta Workshop lead conceptual designer, Chris Guise who will take you through the process of transforming a much-loved comic into the successful film “The adventures of Tintin – the secret of the Unicorn”. Don’t forget to have your questions ready for the Q&A!

At 1pm we have a panel discussion titled “New Zealand Women’s Comics with the editors of Three Words” where Sarah Laing, Rae Joyce, and Indira Neville will discuss the rich history and future of New Zealand’s female cartoonists and comics. Sarah, Rae, and Indira will also discuss the genesis and work behind assembling Three Words, a forthcoming comprehensive anthology of New Zealand Women’s Comics.

Finally, judging for the manga drawing competition will take place at 2pm! Please remember entries must be entered by 1pm.

We hope you’ll join us for a super comic-filled day, we can’t wait to share it with you!

Trailer Tuesday – Me & Earl & the Dying Girl

By admin

On Tuesday, 14 April, 2015

In Movies, Rachel, Trailers

Remember that post where I mentioned this movie was A Thing but the trailer wasn’t out yet? Well, the trailer is here! Check it out below:

We think it’s going to be fantastic! Plus, the film’s screenwriter was the book’s author Jesse Andrews, so we can be pretty certain it has the author’s seal of approval. If you would like to read (or re-read) the book, go ahead and reserve it from the link below before the queue gets too long! We reckon this one’s going to be a hit.

Syndetics book cover Me and Earl and the dying girl : a novel / Jesse Andrews.
“Greg Gaines, 17, would be the first to tell you that his constant dickhead behavior makes him the least likely person to befriend a classmate dying of leukemia. But he is pushed into it by his mother and, well, the result is this horrifyingly inane, unstoppable barf-fest of a book. Greg prefers to keep a low profile at school, instead collaborating with his almost-gangsta pal, Earl, on terrible remakes of classic films: Apocalypse Later with Super Soakers, The Manchurian Cat-idate with cats. But his knack for cracking jokes keeps the dying girl, Rachel, smiling, and pretty soon the whole school thinks he is some kind of hero. He is even pushed into making a final opus: Rachel the Film, aka the worst film ever made.” (Booklist)

Life’s a zoo

By admin

On Tuesday, 31 March, 2015

In Books, cute animals awww, Rachel

This week, as a follow up to the previous post about magical animals, we have a post about regular ol’ animals. Except the one about a girl whose brain is put into a chimpanzee. That’s not necessarily a regular ol’ animal. But otherwise we’re featuring dogs, chimps and whales, just your usual backyard pets…

Syndetics book cover Half brother / by Kenneth Oppel.
“Thirteen-year-old Ben Tomlin’s whole world is changing. His parents, research scientists, have moved them across Canada to be with their newest subject, Zan. Intending to prove that chimpanzees are capable of intelligent thought and communication, the Tomlins teach the baby chimp sign language and incorporate him into their daily lives. Thrust into a new school and, essentially, a new family, Ben is caught in a whirl of new emotions, especially when the lovely Jennifer comes onto the scene. Though Zan learns sign language relatively well, his animal instincts gradually become more pronounced and Ben and his parents must make some important decisions about the chimp’s future.” (School Library Journal)

Syndetics book cover Jamrach’s menagerie : a novel / by Carol Birch.
“Jamrach’s Menagerie tells the story of a nineteenth-century street urchin named Jaffy Brown. Following an incident with an escaped tiger, Jaffy goes to work for Mr. Charles Jamrach, the famed importer of exotic animals, alongside Tim, a good but sometimes spitefully competitive boy. Mr. Jamrach recruits the two boys to capture a fabled dragon during the course of a three-year whaling expedition. They even succeed in catching the reptilian beast. But when the ship’s whaling venture falls short of expectations, the crew begins to regard the dragon—seething with feral power in its cage—as bad luck, a feeling that is cruelly reinforced when a violent storm sinks the ship. Drifting across an increasingly hallucinatory ocean, the survivors, including Jaffy and Tim, are forced to confront their own place in the animal kingdom. ” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Wolves, boys, & other things that might kill me / Kristen Chandler.
“The only daughter of a fishing and wildlife guide, KJ Carson can hold her own on the water or in the mountains near her hometown outside Yellowstone National Park. But when she meets the shaggy-haired, intensely appealing Virgil, KJ loses all self-possession. And she’s not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that they’re assigned to work together on a school newspaper article about the famous wolves of Yellowstone. As KJ spends time with Virgil, she also spends more time getting to know a part of her world that she always took for granted… and she begins to see herself and her town in a whole new light.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Lost dogs / Garrett Carr.
“Ewan is back in the city for his father’s trial, while May has come to join a school for girls with special talents. Andrew wants only to keep them all out of trouble. But trouble is sure to find them. Crates of genetically engineered dogs are stacked down by the docks. They rattle their containers and smell of death. Vicious and unstoppable, they will soon be exported to fight in foreign wars. Unless someone releases them first.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Threatened / Eliot Schrefer.
“Luc lives with other young orphan boys under the roof of Monsieur Tatagani, an unscrupulous man who exploits his charges. Professor Abdul Mohammad, a prosperous-looking Arab, meets Luc and hires him as his assistant, taking him deep into the jungle to study chimpanzees. Luc discovers he has an interest and aptitude for the work, and he thrives under Prof’s tutelage. All too soon, though, Prof disappears under mysterious circumstances, and Luc must survive on his own. With only Prof’s tiny pet vervet for company, Luc watches and learns from the chimps.” (Booklist)

Syndetics book cover The boy with the tiger’s heart / Linda Coggin.
“The wild is danger, the wild is fierce, the wild is freedom. Raised by dogs and feared by humans, Nona, suspected of murdering her guardian, must run from the authorities with the only poeple she can trust: a frightened boy called Caius, a mixed-up boy called Jay – and a bear by the name of Abel Dancer.” (Back cover)

Syndetics book cover Edge of nowhere / John Smelcer.
“Seth, an overweight teenager who is grieving over his mother’s death is washed overboard his father’s fishing boat during a torrential storm. He and his dog Tucker must make their way home from island to island along the Alaskan coast, and Seth gains new insights into himself, even as his father searches desperately for him. Based on true events, interwoven with Alutiiq myths.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Singing home the whale / Mandy Hager.
“Will Jackson is a city boy reluctantly staying with his uncle in small town New Zealand while he struggles to recover from a brutal attack and the aftermath of a humiliating Youtube clip gone viral. Will discovers an orphaned orca and they form a deep bond through music, but Will must rally to protect it from hostile locals, worried about the whale’s effect on the town’s salmon farms.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Eva / Peter Dickinson.
“Following a terrible car crash, Eva, 14, awakens from a strange dream and finds herself in a hospital bed. Medical science, in this book’s future setting, has allowed doctors to pull her functioning brain from her crushed body and put it into the able body of a chimpanzee. With the aid of a voice synthesizer, she communicates with others and adjusts to her new body; because her father is a scientist who has always worked among the chimps (who have been crowded by the massive human population out of any semblance of a natural world, and into iron and steel jungles), Eva is comfortable with her new self. She takes on the issue of animal rights, setting up (with the help of others, of course) an elaborate scheme to release chimps back into the last of the wild.” (Publisher Weekly)

Syndetics book cover The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents / Terry Pratchett.
“It’s time for the rats to tell their side of the Pied Piper story. Think rats can’t talk? These rats can, and not only that, they also read, disarm mousetraps, and concoct schemes with a genius cat known as the Amazing Maurice.” (Syndetics summary)

Magical menagerie

By admin

On Tuesday, 10 March, 2015

In Anime and Manga, Books, cute animals awww, DVDs, dystopia, eBooks, Fantasy, Lists, Rachel, Top 10

This week we have a list featuring animals – magical animals, to be precise. If you just want a taster, try a short story from the collection Unnatural Creatures curated by our fave Neil Gaiman. If you know what you’re in for, try the dark tale The Knife of Never Letting Go (Manchee the dog is the comic relief here) or perhaps an interpretation of the Grimm brothers fable The Goose Girl. Whatever you choose, expect a talking dog. Or bear. An animal will probably be able to talk.

Syndetics book cover Down the Mysterly River / Bill Willingham ; illustrations by Mark Buckingham.
“Max ‘the Wolf’ is a top notch Boy Scout, so it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no recollection of his immediate past, lost in an unfamiliar wood. Even odder still, he encounters a badger named Banderbrock, a black bear named Walden, and McTavish the Monster (who might also be an old barn cat) – all of whom talk – and who are as clueless as Max. Before long, Max and his friends are on the run from a relentless group of hunters and their deadly hounds. Armed with powerful blue swords and known as the Blue Cutters, these hunters capture and change the very essence of their prey. For what purpose, Max can’t guess. But unless he can solve the mystery of the strange forested world he’s landed in, Max may find himself and his friends changed beyond recognition, lost in a lost world…” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Unnatural creatures / stories selected by Neil Gaiman with Maria Dahvana Headley ; illustrated by Briony Morrow-Cribbs.
The 16 short stories in this anthology contain accounts of delightfully fantastical creatures, ranging from the familiar (werewolves, mermaids, griffins, and unicorns) to the chillingly mysterious (an ever-expanding, flesh-eating blob; a strange bird that spurs unpredictable changes to its surroundings; and even Death herself). Classic science fiction and fantasy authors Anthony Boucher, Frank R. Stockton, Peter S. Beagle, E. Nesbit, and Diana Wynne Jones are represented, as are contemporary authors such as Nnedi Okorafor, E. Lily Yu, and Gaiman himself. Who would a griffin eat? What does a phoenix taste like? What happens when you question an invisible dragon? Why are there always too many coat hangers? All of these questions, and more, are answered here.” (School Library Journal)
Also available as an Overdrive eBook!

Syndetics book cover The princess and the hound / Mette Ivie Harrison.
“He is a prince, heir to a kingdom threatened on all sides, possessor of the animal magic, which is forbidden by death in the land he’ll rule.She is a princess from a rival kingdom, the daughter her father never wanted, isolated from true human friendship but inseparable from her hound.Though they think they have little in common, each possesses a secret that must be hidden at all costs. Proud, stubborn, bound to marry for the good of their kingdoms, this prince and princess will steal “your” heart, but will they fall in love?” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Darkwood / M.E. Breen.
“Darkness falls so quickly in Howland that the people there have no word for evening. One minute the sky is light, the next minute it is black. But darkness comes in other forms, too, and for thirteen-year-old Annie, the misery she endures in her Uncle’s household makes the black of night seem almost soothing. When Annie escapes, her route takes her first to a dangerous mine where a precious stone is being stolen by an enemy of the king, and later to the king’s own halls, where a figure from Annie’s past makes a startling appearance.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover The twyning / Terence Blacker.
“Thirteen-year-old Peter, who lives in a garbage dump with his younger friend Caz, scratches out a living catching rats for the local “sportsmen” and their dogs. He also works for Dr. Ross-Gibbon, a monomaniacal scientist who wants to wipe out all of the rats in London. Efren, an impulsive young rat living in the Kingdom of elderly King Tzuriel, is restless and has trouble following orders. When Peter captures the dying King for the doctor’s experiments, Efren reports this to his superiors, leading to outrage in the kingdom; matters worsen quickly after the doctor puts his deadly plan into action.” (Publisher Weekly)

Syndetics book cover The knife of never letting go / Patrick Ness.
“Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee — whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not — stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden — a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?” (Goodreads)
We also have the Bolinda eAudiobook & Overdrive eBook versions.

Syndetics book cover Winter falls / Nicole Maggi.
“Alessia Jacobs is a typical sixteen-year-old, dying to get out of her small Maine town. Things look up when a new family comes to town. But as she begins to fall for the hot, mysterious son, Jonah, her life turns upside down.Weird visions of transforming into an otherworldly falcon are just the beginning. Soon she learns she’s part of the Benandanti, an ancient cult of warriors with the unique power to separate their souls from their bodies and take on the forms of magnificent animals. Suddenly forced to weigh choices a sixteen-year-old should never have to make, Alessia witnesses two worlds colliding with devastating consequences.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover The goose girl / Shannon Hale.
“Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt’s guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani’s journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny.” (Syndetics summary)
Also available as an audiobook on CD and Overdrive ebook.

Syndetics book cover Pom Poko [videorecording] / a film by Isao Takahata.
A community of magical shapeshifting raccoons desperately struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.

Many Studio Ghibli movies contain magical animals of some find, including Nausica’a, Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke. Because who doesn’t love a good Ghibli film? (Hint: they are all good.)

Syndetics book cover Tender morsels / Margo Lanagan.
“Liga’s life is filled with dark hearts and foul deeds. So she chooses a protective path of natural magic to find a safe other-worldly place for herself and her two daughters. But when magicked bears and mischief men break the borders of their refuge the girls must face the truth, and engage with the appeal and risk of the real raw world.” (Syndetics summary)
Also available as an Overdrive ebook.

There’s something about… Kimberley!

By admin

On Tuesday, 3 March, 2015

In Books, Lists, Rachel

At request, I have found some books featuring Kimberley, Kim and Kimmy! This was a bit trickier than finding Hannahs, but it’s so fun finding what variations in story can come from the same name!

Syndetics book cover The end or something like that / Ann Dee Ellis.
“Emmy’s best friend Kim had promised to visit from the afterlife after she died. But so far Kim hasn’t shown up even once. Emmy blames herself for not believing hard enough. Finally, as the one-year anniversary of Kim’s death approaches, Emmy is visited by a ghost—but it’s not Kim. It’s Emmy’s awful dead science teacher. Emmy can’t help but think that she’s failed at being a true friend. But as more ghosts appear, she starts to realize that she’s not alone in her pain. Kim would have wanted her to move forward—and to do that, Emmy needs to start letting go.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Hacking Harvard : a novel / by Robin Wasserman.
“”Oceans 11” meets “The Princeton Review” in this high-stakes comedic caper, as four too-smart-for-their-own-good pranksters take on the ultimate challenge: breaking into the Ivy League.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover If I stay / Gayle Forman.
“The last normal moment that Mia, a talented cellist, can remember is being in the car with her family. Then she is standing outside her body beside their mangled Buick and her parents’ corpses, watching herself and her little brother being tended by paramedics. As she ponders her state (“Am I dead? I actually have to ask myself this”), Mia is whisked away to a hospital, where, her body in a coma, she reflects on the past and tries to decide whether to fight to live.” (Publisher Weekly)

Syndetics book cover The boyfriend list : 15 guys, 11 shrink appointments, 4 ceramic frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver / E. Lockhart.
“Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:
– lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),
– lost her best friend (Kim),
– lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),
– did something suspicious with a boy (#10),
– did something advanced with a boy (#15),
– had an argument with a boy (#14),
– drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),
– got caught by her mom (ag!),
– had a panic attack (scary),
– lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),
– failed a math test (she’ll make it up),
– hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),
– became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)
and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!). But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists. ” (Syndetics summary)

And a couple by authors by the name of Kim:

Syndetics book cover Clarity / by Kim Harrington.
“Clarity “Clare” Fern sees things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It’s a gift. And a curse. When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare’s ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case–but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare’s brother–who has supernatural gifts of his own–becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Shift / Kim Curran.
“When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he’s not so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.” (Syndetics)

One old, one new

By admin

On Friday, 27 February, 2015

In Books, New, Rachel

I bring you two new titles we’ve ordered that I’m very much looking forward to reading! One of which was released a few years back, and one which is out next month.

The old:
Syndetics book cover My favourite band does not exist.
“Idea Deity suffers from the delusion that someone else is writing the story of his life; that he is living in a book. To combat his paranoia, he creates a fake band, Youforia. As it gains a cult following, even though it has never performed, Idea realizes that someone out there is pretending to be Youforia, and he’s furious. Alternately, Reacher Mirage is Youforia’s lead singer. Somewhere, someone is posting all kinds of secret information about his band online. He can’t figure out how they know what they know, but he’s determined to figure it out. As both boys head for the same concert venue with an enigmatic girl in tow, both Reacher and Idea feel as though someone else is pulling the strings, guiding their lives, but neither of them knows to what point. When their alternate worlds collide, the consequences have the power to affect the entire universe.” (School Library Journal)

A fellow librarian called this book “almost uncomfortably meta” which I really enjoy – the deconstruction of narrative is an interesting one to tackle. It has also been recommended for fans of Libba Bray’s Going Bovine.

The new:
The sequel to last year’s fantastic Half Bad by Sally Green, which may have been my favourite read from 2014.

Syndetics book cover Half Wild
“This riveting second entry in Green’s Half Bad trilogy continues the story of Nathan, the outcast child of Black and White Witches, as he struggles to find his bearings amid a deadly power struggle in the witch world. Simultaneously, Nathan attempts to control his newfound magical Gifts and comprehend the prophecy that claims he will kill his father, Marcus, the most feared Black Witch in Europe. Along with a handful of (mostly) trustworthy allies, Nathan sets out to rescue love interest Annalise, who has been trapped in a deathlike coma, and becomes involved in the formation of a tentative alliance of Black and White Witches, sworn to overthrow the corrupt Council.” (Publisher Weekly)

Trailer Tuesday… almost

By admin

On Tuesday, 24 February, 2015

In Movies, Rachel

It’s almost a Trailer Tuesday post, because I’m here to tell you about a movie, but it’s only “almost” because there actually isn’t a trailer yet. Oops. But that’s because this news is as fresh as can be!

Cover from Syndetics Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews was recently made into a movie – had you heard? I hadn’t, until I heard it won two of the biggest prizes at this year’s Sundance festival! It won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the Dramatic category it was entered in. Pretty impressive! The last movie to win both these awards was Whiplash, and that movie had 5 Oscar nominations!

It might not be out for a while, considering there’s not even a teaser trailer available, but in the meantime you can reserve the book or search for cast interviews on Youtube.

Travel through time (and space?)

By admin

On Tuesday, 10 February, 2015

In Lists, Rachel, Sci Fi, Science!

Time travel is one of my absolute favourite plot tropes, and it can be handled very differently from story to story. Sometimes more serious, sometimes less so. It’s also interesting to see how different interpretations deal with time continuity, and what happens when the past (or future) is altered. Here are a few time-travel picks which I hope you’ll enjoy!

Syndetics book cover The here and now / Ann Brashares.
“Prenna and her doctor mom are not your average immigrants. No, they have immigrated to New York from the 2090s, a future of climate-change extremes and mosquito-borne plagues that wipe out entire families and civilizations. The few who have survived the plagues and the journey back to 2010 have been charged with two challenges: change the course of environmental history and assimilate into the culture without disclosing their origins or becoming intimate with the natives. Prenna knows her friendship with Ethan is red-flag behavior. When an elderly homeless man warns her that she and Ethan must prevent a murder on May 17, 2014 just days away she realizes she must defy the community and its counselors for civilization’s greater good.” (Booklist)

Syndetics book cover The 57 lives of Alex Wayfare / MG Buehrlen.
“For as long as Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Vivid visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for America, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair. It isn’t until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth; her visions aren’t really visions. Alex is a Descender — capable of traveling back in time to her past lives. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Alex to travel again. And they will stop at nothing to make this life, her fifty-seventh, her last.” (Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover Tempest / Julie Cross.
“The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover A thousand pieces of you / Claudia Gray.
“Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Timebound / Rysa Walker.
“When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence. Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows. Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover After Eden / Helen Douglas.
“Eden Anfield loves puzzles, so when mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school she’s hooked. On the face of it, he’s a typical American teenager. So why doesn’t he recognise pizza? And how come he hasn’t heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden the most, however, is the interest he’s taking in her. As Eden starts to fall in love with Ryan, she begins to unravel his secret. Her breakthrough comes one rainy afternoon when she stumbles across a book in Ryan’s bedroom – a biography of her best friend – written over fifty years in the future. Confronting Ryan, she discovers that he is there with one unbelievably important purpose … and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Steel / Carrie Vaughn.
“Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure. The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate’s life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover TimeRiders / Alex Scarrow.
“Liam O’Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026. Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, ‘Take my hand …’ But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren’t rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose—to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past. That’s why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world…” (Goodreads)

Where in the world?

By admin

On Tuesday, 3 February, 2015

In Books, Rachel

Reading gives you the ability to go everywhere without going anywhere. Here are a number of books set in far-flung countries so that you can go armchair travelling! Perhaps they will inspire you to go there IRL? Or if something horrendous happens in the book, it may put you off for life. Choose carefully…

Ireland:
Syndetics book cover Bog child / Siobhan Dowd.

“The year is 1981, and the Troubles are close to home for 18-year-old Fergus, whose brother, an IRA member, has chosen to participate in the Long Kesh prison hunger strike. While digging peat with his Uncle Tally, Fergus discovers the body of a girl who might have been there for a long, long time. This discovery is complicated by two things: the peat they were digging is on the wrong side of the Irish border, and the girl has a noose around her neck.” (Library Journal)

Switzerland:
Syndetics book cover This dark endeavor / Kenneth Oppel.

“In this prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic, Frankenstein, 16-year-old Victor Frankenstein begins a dark journey that will change his life forever. Victor’s twin, Konrad, has fallen ill, and no doctor is able to cure him. Unwilling to give up on his brother, Victor enlists his beautiful cousin Elizabeth and best friend Henry on a treacherous search for the ingredients to create the forbidden Elixir of Life. Impossible odds, dangerous alchemy and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn. Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love—and how much he is willing to sacrifice.” (Goodreads)

Denmark:
Syndetics book cover Nothing / Janne Teller ; translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken.

“When Pierre-Anthon realizes there is no meaning to life, the seventh-grader leaves his classroom, climbs a tree, and stays there. His classmates cannot make him come down, not even by pelting him with rocks. So to prove to Pierre-Anthon that life has meaning, the children decide to give up things of importance. The pile starts with the superficial—a fishing rod, a new pair of shoes. But as the sacrifices become more extreme, the students grow increasingly desperate to get Pierre-Anthon down, to justify their belief in meaning.” (Goodreads)

Iceland:
Syndetics book cover Thief eyes / Janni Lee Simner.

“After her mother mysteriously disappears, sixteen-year-old Haley convinces her father to take her to Iceland, where her mother was last seen. There, amidst the ancient fissures and crevices of that volcanic island, Haley meets gorgeous Ari, a boy with a dangerous side who appoints himself her protector. When Haley picks up a silver coin that entangles her in a spell cast by her ancestor Hallgerd, she discovers that Hallgerd’s spell and her mother’s disappearance are connected to a chain of events that could unleash terrifying powers and consume the world. Haley must find a way to contain the growing fires of the spell–and her growing attraction to Ari.” (Syndetics summary)

Ecuador:
Syndetics book cover The queen of water / Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango.

“Born in an Andean village in Ecuador, Virginia lives with her large family in a small, earthen-walled dwelling. In her village of indígenas, it is not uncommon to work in the fields all day, even as a child, or to be called a longa tonta—stupid Indian—by members of the ruling class of mestizos, or Spanish descendants. When seven-year-old Virginia is taken from her village to be a servant to a mestizo couple, she has no idea what the future holds.” (Goodreads)

Indonesia:
Syndetics book cover Sea / Heidi R. Kling.

“Still haunted by nightmares of her mother’s death, 15-year-old Sienna Jones travels to Indonesia with her father’s relief team to help tsunami orphans with their post traumatic stress disorder–something Sienna knows about. But the last thing she expects is to fall for Deni, a brooding Indonesian boy who lives at the orphanage. When Deni hears a rumor that his father may be alive, Sienna doesn’t think twice about running away with him to the epicenter of the disaster. Unfortunately, what they find there could break both their hearts.” (Adapted from Goodreads)

Canada:
Syndetics book cover Dust / Arthur Slade.

“Seven-year-old Matthew disappears one day on a walk into Horshoe, a dust bowl farm town in Depression-era Saskatchewan. Other children go missing just as a strange man named Abram Harsich appears in town. He dazzles the townspeople with the promises of a rainmaking machine. Only Matthew’s older brother Robert seems to be able to resist Abram’s spell, and to discover what happened to Matthew and the others.” (Goodreads)

Czech Republic:
Syndetics book cover Daughter of smoke & bone / Laini Taylor.

“An art student in Prague who was raised by demons, 17-year-old Karou has many questions about her past. The appearance of a gorgeous male angel to whom she feels connected adds to her confusion and propels her on a quest to find answers about her heritage, rescue her demon family, and understand where she belongs.” (School Library Journal)

There’s something about Hannah…

By admin

On Tuesday, 20 January, 2015

In Rachel, Top 10

This week’s roundup features protagonists all by the name of Hannah. If that’s you (and you like to live vicariously through books) then jackpot! It was quite fun to round these up, so I’d like to do more collections with different names. If you’d like me to do a feature using YOUR name, leave a comment below and I’ll see what I can come up with!

Syndetics book cover At the sign of the Sugared Plum / Mary Hooper.

“It is 1665 and Hannah is full of excitment at the prospect of moving to London to help her sister Sarah in her sweetmeats shop. But bubonic plague is taking hold of London and Hannah’s excitment soon turns to terror as the unstoppable plague spreads throughout the city. (adapted from Syndetics)
This book even includes recipes for seventeenth century sweetmeats!

Syndetics book cover Sometimes it happens / Lauren Barnholdt.

“This novel opens on the first day of Hannah’s senior year, but the story really starts on the last day of her junior year. That’s when Hannah not only gets dumped by her boyfriend, Ryan, but she also finds out her best friend, Ava, is going to be gone for the entire summer. But Ava’s boyfriend, Noah, is definitely around he snags Hannah a job at the diner where he works. Hannah and Noah move from coworkers, to friends….and one night, to something more. Now it’s back to school, where Hannah will see Ryan, Ava, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, Hannah will learn a lot about love, friendship…and herself.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover The protected / Claire Zorn.

“Hannah’s world is in pieces and she doesn’t need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn’t have problems? Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn’t afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that? In a family torn apart by grief and guilt, one girl’s struggle to come to terms with years of torment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.” (Back cover)

Syndetics book cover Paper valentine / Brenna Yovanoff.

“The sleepy, small-town community Hannah Wagnor grew up in used to feel safe, but now, during a record-breaking July heat wave, a serial killer is targeting young girls. Depressed since her friend Lillian’s death six months earlier, the 16-year-old goes through the motions of daily life, with Lillian’s ghost a constant presence at her side. As more bodies are discovered, Hannah begins to see more ghosts-those of the murdered girls. Investigating the deaths, she begins to wonder how much she really knows about Finny Boone, the cute bad boy she’s known forever but is only just beginning to understand.” (School Library Journal)

Syndetics book cover Zombie blondes / Brian James.

“From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong. A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school. The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale. But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town…” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Something, maybe / Elizabeth Scott.

“Everyone thinks their parents are embarrassing, but Hannah knows she’s got them all beat. Her dad made a fortune showcasing photos of pretty girls and his party lifestyle all over the Internet, and her mom was once one of her dad’s girlfriends and is now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of attention for way too long, Hannah has mastered the art of staying under the radar…and that’s just how she likes it. Of course, that doesn’t help her get noticed by her crush. Hannah’s sure that gorgeous, sensitive Josh is her soul mate. But trying to get him to notice her; wondering why she suddenly can’t stop thinking about another guy, Finn; and dealing with her parents make Hannah feel like she’s going crazy. Yet she’s determined to make things work out the way she wants—only what she wants may not be what she needs… (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Bunheads : a novel / by Sophie Flack.

“As a dancer with the ultra-prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company, nineteen-year-old Hannah Ward juggles intense rehearsals, dazzling performances and complicated backstage relationships. Up until now, Hannah has happily devoted her entire life to ballet. But when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, Hannah’s universe begins to change, and she must decide if she wants to compete against the other “bunheads” in the company for a star soloist spot or strike out on her own in the real world. Does she dare give up the gilded confines of the ballet for the freedoms of everyday life?” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Love by the morning star / Laura L. Sullivan.

“Mistaken for one another when they are sent to the grand English country estate of Starkers on the brink of World War II, Hannah, a distant relative hoping to be welcomed by the family, and Anna, sent to spy for the Nazis, both unexpectedly fall in love.” (Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover A respectable girl / Fleur Beale.

“The story of Hannah’s search for her own identity and for the truth about the mother she has never known. Her eruption into the life of an aristocratic English family causes major disturbances, and she needs all her stubborn independence to survive. Set in New Zealand and England.” (Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover Hannah / Kathryn Lasky.

“In 1899, a fifteen-year-old orphan named Hannah obtains employment as a servant in the home of one of Boston’s wealthiest families, where she meets a noted portrait painter who seems to know things about her that even she is not aware of, and when she accompanies the family to their summer home in Maine, she feels an undeniable pull to the sea.” (Syndetics)

Cool dogs!

By admin

On Tuesday, 13 January, 2015

In Books, Comics and Graphic Novels, cute animals awww, Rachel

Have you seen Cool Dog Group on Facebook? It’s a place to post pictures of dogs doing cool things, like riding a skateboard, wearing a cap, or just bein’ cute. It’s a closed group but it has 30k+ members, so you can request to join to view more cool dogs! While you wait for membership approval, here’s a list of great books featuring cool dogs (dogs are inherently cool anyway, don’t you think?)

Syndetics book cover The story of us / Deb Caletti.
“Eighteen-year-old Cricket’s mother has left a trail of broken relationships behind her, but this time she’s found a “good guy.” Cricket, however, fears that her mother won’t go through with her marriage plans. Indeed, the week leading up to the wedding, as family and friends arrive at a large coastal inn, is fraught with spoiled soon-to-be stepsisters, fighting dogs, and the sudden divorce of the groom’s parents. Complications arise for Cricket involving her own love life, her beloved dog Jupiter, and her mother’s reluctance to marry.” (adapted from Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover Notes from the dog / Gary Paulsen.
“Fifteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer he’s hoping for a job where he doesn’t have to talk to anyone except his pal Matthew. Then Johanna moves in next door. She’s 10 years older, cool, funny, and she treats Finn as an equal. Dylan loves her, too. Johanna’s dealing with breast cancer, and Matthew and Finn learn to care for her, emotionally and physically. When she hires Finn to create a garden, his gardening ideas backfire comically. But Johanna and the garden help Finn discover his talents for connecting with people.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Laika / Nick Abadzis.
“Laika was the abandoned puppy destined to become Earths first space traveler in the Soviets Sputnik program. This is her journey. Nick Abadzis masterfully blends fiction and fact in the intertwined stories of three compelling lives. Along with Laika, there is Korolev, once a political prisoner, now a driven engineer at the top of the Soviet space program, and Yelena, the lab technician responsible for Laika’s health and life.” (adapted from Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover The dust of 100 dogs / A.S. King.
“In the late 17th century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was slain and cursed with the dust of 100 dogs, dooming her to live 100 lives as a dog before returning to a human body–with her memories intact. When she finally returns to life as a human being and has only one thing on her mind–to recover the treasure she had buried in Jamaica three hundred years before.” (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Sorta like a rockstar : a novel / by Matthew Quick.
“Although seventeen-year-old Amber Appleton is homeless, living in a school bus with her unfit mother, she is a relentless optimist who visits the elderly at a nursing home, teaches English to Korean Catholic women with the use of rhythm and blues music, and befriends a solitary Vietnam veteran and his dog, but eventually she experiences one burden more than she can bear.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover My boyfriends’ dogs : the tales of Adam and Eve and Shirley / Dandi Daley Mackall
“On a stormy night in St. Louis, Bailey Daley finds refuge in an after-hours diner. Bailey, a girl with three dogs in tow, wearing a soaking-wet prom dress, obviously has a story to tell. See, she wants what every girl wants from her boyfriend: enthusiasm, loyalty, and unconditional love.” (Syndetics summary)

Syndetics book cover Stay with me / Paul Griffin.
“Fifteen-year-olds Mack, a high school drop-out but a genius with dogs, and Cece, who hopes to use her intelligence to avoid a life like her mother’s, meet and fall in love at the restaurant where they both work, but when Mack lands in prison he pushes Cece away and only a one-eared pit-bull can keep them together.” (Syndetics)

Short reads for the beach!

By admin

On Tuesday, 6 January, 2015

In Books, LGBTQ+, Lists, Rachel

Welcome to 2015 here on the Teen Blog! We hope you’ve had a fabulous holiday time & new year, maybe you’ve made some resolutions? If you have, let us know in the comments below! For now, we’ve gathered a few short’n’sweet treats for you, the perfect picks for chucking in your bag to read in a day on the beach. All these books are around 200 pages or less, but they all sound thrilling in their own way. We hope you can find something to suit your tastes, or perhaps a new direction in which to take your reading direction in 2015? Have fun!

Syndetics book cover Genesis / Bernard Beckett

“Anax thinks she knows history. Her grueling all-day Examination has just begun, and if she passes, she’ll be admitted into the Academy—the elite governing institution of her utopian society. But Anax is about to discover that for all her learning, the history she’s been taught isn’t the whole story. And the Academy isn’t what she believes it to be.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Dear Zoe, / Philip Beard

“When 15-year-old Tess DeNunzio loses her stepsister in a freak hit-and-run accident on September 11, 2001, she chronicles her family’s recovery in an epistolary novel that is a tribute to the power of love to heal. Tess struggles with her own ambivalent feelings of guilt. As the first-year anniversary of the Twin Towers collapse and Zoe’s death approaches, the teen dreads the day.” (Adapted from School Library Journal)

Syndetics book cover Miles from ordinary / Carol Lynch Williams

“Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother’s ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control…” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Au revoir, crazy European chick / Joe Schreiber.

“It’s prom night—and Perry just wants to stick to his own plan and finally play a much-anticipated gig with his band in the Big Apple. But when his mother makes him take Gobija Zaksauskas—their quiet, geeky Lithuanian exchange student—to the prom, he never expects that his ordinary high school guy life will soon turn on its head. Perry finds that Gobi is on a mission, and Perry has no other choice but to go along for a reckless ride through Manhattan’s concrete grid with a trained assassin in Dad’s red Jag.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Boy meets boy / David Levithan.

“When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover First day on earth / Cecil Castellucci.

“Mal, a high school loner who has all but withdrawn from the world, believes that aliens abducted him four years earlier in the California desert, where he disappeared for three days. And he wouldn’t mind if they came back for him. It’s easy to see why Mal would want to escape Earth: his mother has a drinking problem, his father abandoned them six years ago, and he’s ostracized and taunted at school. When Mal meets a strange man at a support group for alien abductees, Hooper surprises Mal by claiming to be an extraterrestrial. Is Hooper insane–or Mal’s best chance for getting off the planet?” (Publisher Weekly)

Syndetics book cover The espressologist : a novel / by Kristina Springer.

“Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out?” (adapted from Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Ten miles past normal / Frances O’Roark Dowell.

“Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much. It would be nice to go back to that old suburban life…or some grown up, high school version of it, complete with nice, normal boyfriends who wear crew neck sweaters and like social studies. So, what’s wrong with normal? Well, kind of everything.” (adapted from Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover The whale rider / Witi Ihimaera.

“Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather’s love and attention. But he’s focused on his duties as chief of Ngati Konohi in Whangara, on the East Coast-a tribe that claims descent from the legendary ‘whale rider’. In every generation since the whale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir-there’s only Kahu. She should be next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle she has a unique ally: the whale rider himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales. (Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover Alaska / Sue Saliba.

“When Mia follows her sister halfway across the world to Alaska, she discovers that love can be found in the most unexpected and beautiful of places. But can Mia find the courage to follow her heart in Alaska? And what if the one you love is not all that you wish them to be?” (Syndetics)

Librarians’ choices of 2014 – the best of the best!

By admin

On Tuesday, 16 December, 2014

In Grimm, Librarian's Choice, Lists, Rachel

Lots of neat books have been released in the past 12 months, and we’ve rounded up our very favourites of the bunch just for you. If you’re going to read anything from this year, give these a go.

Read right to the bottom for a chance to WIN!

Grimm:

Mortal Heart, Robin LaFevers – I have gone on a lot about the assassin nun books, but they are really good, honestly. In Mortal Heart Annith – who has taken a back seat in the previous two books – is desperately keen to prove herself as an assassin, but she’s foiled by the abbess’ plans for her to take over as the new convent seer. Annith must choose between being locked in a room in the convent for the rest of her life, or going against her vows and striking out on her own in search of the truth (which would you rather?).

I noticed my favourite book of last year was Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox, so I have a theme going now.

I also liked:

Blue lily, lily blue, Maggie Stiefvater – can’t say a lot about this book without ruining everything and spoiling things, except to say you should definitely read it, having first read The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves. Don’t let the title (which I’m not a huge fan of) put you off.

Rachel:

I too loved Blue Lily, Lily Blue and I highly, highly recommend The Raven Cycle series as a whole.

I also loved Noggin by John Corey Whaley which I picked up because I loved his first book Where Things Come Back. Noggin is about 16-year-old Travis Coates who dies, but is reanimated 5 years later with his cryogenically frozen head attached to a new body. Sounds goofy, but it’s really rather lovely and insightful.

A huge hit for me was Half Bad by Sally Green! I love a good unreliable narrator, and boy was Nathan unreliable. Nathan is a half-black, half-white (good/bad) witch, and is treated abysmally for it by everyone in the magical world. Largely because his black witch father is the most dark and terrible witch the world has ever known. And Nathan must find his father before his birthday, or he may lose his powers forever. It’s the first in a trilogy, and the next book, Half Wild, is due out in 2015.

Max:

I really enjoyed Atlantia by Ally Condie! Rio lives in the underwater city of Atlantia, but has always dreamed of leaving. But her sister makes a decision unexpectedly which leaves Rio stranded and forced to find a way to save Atlantia from destruction.

Although it didn’t come out this year, I also really enjoyed reading the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield.

Monty:

Once again, all predictably comics, not that I don’t read other stuff, really, y’know, books with print and all that, but these are some of my favourites from this year!

Book cover from Syndetics Silver Surfer 1: new dawn by Dan Slott

Gently pokes fun at the po-faced Silver Surfer we know and respect with whacked out illustration by talented iZombie and Madman illustrator Michael Allred . Maybe, we can actually enjoy his silver headed company now?

Afterlife with Archie by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

This particular episode of the Archie stable of stories convincingly combines Riverdale’s famous teens, grubby colours with noir shading and… Zombies. Maybe cashing in on the undead thing somewhat but much better than it sounds.

Book cover from Syndetics Daredevil volume 2 by Mark Waid

Mark Waid’s recent run on Daredevil has been like taking an uncomplicated step back in time. To when super heroes had best friends named Foggy, where Ant-man might guest star and fight for the brain of a dangerously sick DD and where danger and gloom might appear, but only fleetingly, to be cleverly resolved in an optimistic and rounded conclusion. Ah, old fashioned comic satisfaction.

Book cover from Syndetics FF Vol. 2: Family freakout by Matt Fraction

“As the kids in the FF start growing apart, their adult supervision seems to be having some issues of their own. And when Dr. Doom ascends and the Council of Dooms girds for battle, it’s the eve of a war between the Future Foundation and Latveriaa. But is it also the beginning of the end for the fractious FF?” (Syndetics)

Check out volume 1 if you haven’t already!

Book cover from Syndetics This one summer by Mariko Tamaki

Every summer Rose and her parents go to a beach house, and Rose gets to hang out there with her friend Windy. But this summer Rose’s parents won’t stop fighting, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other, because this summer won’t be like all the others.

Ligia:

Book cover from Syndetics I had a few favourites this year, including Minders by Michele Jaffe, Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano, The winners curse by Marie Rutkoski, The geography of you and me by Jennifer E. Smith & Nil by Lynne Matson.

Book cover from Syndetics Minders by Michele Jaffe

“Sadie Ames has been accepted to the prestigious Mind Corps Fellowship program, where she’ll spend six weeks as an observer inside the head of Ford, a troubled boy with a passion for the crumbling architecture of the inner city. There’s just one problem: Sadie’s fallen in love with him. Ford Winters is haunted by the murder of his older brother, James. As Sadie begins to think she knows him, Ford does something unthinkable. Now, back in her own body, Sadie must decide what is right and what is wrong… and how well she can really ever know someone…” (Syndetics)

Book cover from Syndetics The geography of you and me by Jennifer E. Smith

“Sparks fly when sixteen-year-old Lucy Patterson and seventeen-year-old Owen Buckley meet on an elevator rendered useless by a New York City blackout. Soon after, the two teenagers leave the city, but as they travel farther away from each other geographically, they stay connected emotionally, in this story set over the course of one year.” (Syndetics)

Book cover from Syndetics Nil by Lynne Matson

“On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days to escape, or you die. Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought… and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.” (Goodreads)

Book cover from Syndetics Raissa:

Although they didn’t come out in 2014, I really enjoyed the Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.

Book cover from Syndetics Raewyn:

Julie Kagawa is one of my favourite authors and I have just finished reading Talon (could one of your closest friends be a dragon in disguise?). I liked it and would probably say loved it, except that I had read a series by Sophie Jordan about the same subject and similar scenarios (Firelight series) so it already felt a little familiar. Both were very good though!

Book cover from Syndetics Ottilie:

It wasn’t released this year (in fact, it came out in 1989!) but I absolutely adored Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. It is so dreamy and fairy-tale-like, but so contemporary and doesn’t firmly cement itself in the 80s. The book has such a dreamy, hazy yet vibrant atmosphere and I lived in the haze of it for a few weeks after finishing it!

Debbie:

Book cover from Syndetics I just finished The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and I thought it was great! Plus, it’s being made into a movie soon, so I’m excited about that. I also enjoyed the Shadowfell series by Juliet Marillier — Shadowfell, Raven Flight and The Caller.

Book cover from Syndetics Belinda:

I really enjoyed Like No Other by Una LaMarche from this year. Set in Brooklyn, it’s about a comedy/drama about a disapproved-upon teenage romance between a Hasidic Jew girl and a Black boy set contemporarily. There is a history of race riots between the two communities which adds another layer beyond the religious conflict. Both main characters could be described as Manic Pixie Dream Girl/Boys. I’d highly recommend it!

Sylvia:

Book cover from Syndetics I Am Rebecca, by Fleur Beale was very good. It’s the follow up to her novel I Am Not Esther which came out 10 years ago.

“When she turns 14, Rebecca will find out who she is to marry. All the girls in her strict religious sect must be married just after their 16th birthday. Her twin sister Rachel is delighted when Saul, the boy she loves, asks to marry her. Malachi asks for Rebecca. She believes him to be a good and godly man. But will Rebecca find there is a dark side to the rules which have kept her safe? What does the future hold? Can the way ahead be so simple when the community is driven by secrets and hidden desires?” (Syndetics)

So that’s our roundup of 2014 favourites! It is by no means complete, just some of our faves that sprung to mind. We would love for you to share with us your favourite books of 2014, whether they were actually released this year or not. Let us know in the comments below! We will pick a commenter on this post to win an audiobook of Cassandra Clare’s City of Heavenly Fire so tell us your top picks!

It’s time for a summer romance

By admin

On Tuesday, 9 December, 2014

In Lists, Rachel

It’s officially summer and to kick off the season we’ve got some appropriately fluffy summer romance novels for you. If you want your heartstrings tugged – in summer! – you’ve come to the right place.

Syndetics book cover Along for the ride, Sarah Dessen

“It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents divorce, or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend the summer with her dad and his new family in a charming beach town. A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she has been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.” (Syndetics)

Syndetics book cover Twenty boy summer, Sarah Ockler

“According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.” (Goodreads)

Syndetics book cover Great, Sara Benincasa

“Naomi Rye usually dreads spending the summer with her socialite mother in East Hampton. This year is no different. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the teenagers who have been summering (a verb only the very rich use) together for years. But Naomi finds herself captivated by her mysterious next-door neighbor, Jacinta. But Jacinta’s carefully constructed world is hiding something huge, a secret that could undo everything. And Naomi must decide how far she is willing to be pulled into this web of lies and deception before she is unable to escape.

Based on beloved classic The Great Gatsby, Great has all the drama, glitz, and romance with a terrific modern (and scandalous) twist to enthrall readers.

Syndetics book cover One man guy, Michael Barakiva

“When it appears that Alek is going to fall off the Honor Track at school, the 14-year-old’s strict Armenian parents, for whom education is of paramount importance, insist he go to summer school. Little do they or he know that it will be a life-changing experience. For it is there that he meets Ethan, who epitomizes cool. To Alek’s amazement, the two become friends and then fall in love. But when Alek’s parents predictably find the two making out, they ground him and forbid him to see Ethan again. Surely, this can’t end well. Or can it?” (Booklist)

Syndetics book cover To all the boys I’ve loved before, Jenny Han

“Lara Jean writes plenty of love letters, but she never sends them. It’s just her way of moving on from a crush. When her secret box of letters goes missing and she discovers they’ve been mailed including one to her sister’s ex-boyfriend Lara Jean has to come face-to-face with her past and in the process learn more about her future.” (Booklist)

Syndetics book cover Teen idol, Meg Cabot

“When teenage heartthrob Luke Stryker shows up at a small-town Indiana high school to do research for a movie role, he persuades junior Jenny Greenley to use her considerable talents to try to change things at school for the better.” (Goodreads)

Pay for your fines with cans!

By admin

On Monday, 8 December, 2014

In Isn't that cool?, Rachel

From the 8th to 21st of December you can donate a 410g can of food at the library to have $3.00 taken off your overdue fines.

All will be donated to local food banks, so make sure the food is suitable for human consumption (so no cat food!) and the cans are not damaged or rusty.

You can donate as many cans as you like but once your applicable overdue fines have been cleared, no credit or cash will be due.

The amnesty only applies to fines, not to fees or charges, lost or damaged books or accounts already lodged with debt collection agencies

So let your fines help someone else this Christmas! You can help us help others (▰˘◡˘▰)

Show me your teeth!

By admin

On Tuesday, 18 November, 2014

In Classic novels, Comics and Graphic Novels, Lists, Rachel, zombies

Hello! Apologies for my absence over the last couple of weeks, I was busy getting some of my wisdom teeth taken out. I wouldn’t recommend it as a lifestyle choice, but it’s not so bad in the long run. To honour of my loss of wisdom (and teeth) I thought I would feature some toothy books, ranging from orthodontic problems to toothy beasties. Sink your teeth in!

Cover courtesy of Syndetics Smile, Raina Telgemeier

“Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of Syndetics White Fang, Jack London

“In the desolate, frozen wilds of northwest Canada, White Fang, a part dog, part wolf cub soon finds himself the sole survivor of a litter of five. In his lonely world, he soon learned to follow the harsh law of the North – kill or be killed. But nothing in his young life prepared him for the cruelty of the bully Beauty Smith, who buys White Fang from his Indian master and turns him into a vicious killer – a pit dog forced to fight for money. Will White Fang ever know the kindness of a gentle master or will he die a fierce deadly killer?” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of Syndetics Dracula, Bram Stoker

“Jonathan Harker is sent by his law firm to Castle Dracula to discuss business with Transylvania noble Count Dracula. His nightmare experience there is just the start of a macabre chain of events. Harker soon finds himself in a race against time to free his wife, Mina, and other souls who are in thrall to the evil count. Dracula must be destroyed at all costs…” (Syndetics summary)

Cover courtesy of Syndetics The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan

“In Mary’s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best, and the fence that protects her village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth must remain intact. After fence is breached, Mary’s world is thrown into chaos, and she must choose between her village and her future.” (Syndetics summary)

Cover courtesy of Syndetics Chomp, Carl Hiaasen

“Wahoo Cray lives in a zoo. His father is an animal wrangler, so he’s grown up with all manner of critters, but his father is the unpredictable one. When his dad takes a job with a reality TV show called “Expedition Survival!”, Wahoo figures he’ll have to do a bit of wrangling himself — to keep his dad from killing Derek Badger, the show’s boneheaded star, before the shoot is over. And Wahoo’s acquired a shadow named Tuna — a girl who’s sporting a shiner courtesy of her old man and needs a place to hide out. They’ve only been on location in the Everglades for a day before Derek gets bitten by a bat and goes missing in a storm. Search parties head out and promptly get lost themselves. And then Tuna’s dad shows up with a gun…” (Adapted from Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of Syndetics Swamplandia!, Karen Russell

“The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, its island home and gator-wrestling theme park, is swiftly being encroached upon by a competitor. To save her family, Ava must journey on her own to a perilous part of the swamp called the Underworld.” (Syndetics summary)

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Category: Rachel Page 1 of 4

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Pay for your fines with cans!

Show me your teeth!

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