DPL Teens

The American Library Association announced the winners of the Youth Media Awards this week.  Here are some of the top YA picks.  If you haven’t picked them up yet, place a reserve today!

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:  In Darkness by Nick Lake

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:  Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:  Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon written by Steve Sheinkin

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:  Seraphina written by Rachel Hartman

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults:  The Fault in Our Stars produced by Brilliance Audio, the book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.

Ciao Readers! Guess what? 2013 is full of book to film adaptations, and I really want to be able to wear that obnoxiously smug I-already-know-the-ending-haha smile while trolling through the theater looking for my seat. Nothing revs up a library book’s reserve list like an upcoming movie, so I’m putting my holds on now so I will have plenty of time to develop my negative opinions of the film’s casting. Here are the movies that I’m super curious about:

Beautiful Creatures
by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

In theaters Feb. 2013

I have always drooled a bit over this Young Adult series’ beautifully lettered covers, but the Sixteen year old Southern supernatural psychic story never really sparked for me. Until I met the author, Margaret Stohl, over the summer and she was absolutely spectacular. (And yes, I am wearing my obnoxiously smug I-have-met-the-author-haha smile right now…)

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare

In theaters Aug. 2013

This series is a must-read for all fans of supernatural romances. Demons? Check. Demon-Hunters? Check. Girl who can see Demons, but who is not a Demon-hunter and therefore the Demon-hunters are kinda freaked out by her and one of the them acts like he hates her, but really likes her? Check. Why would I not read this book?

Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card

In theaters Nov. 2013

Ok, promise to stay with me: this is a classic science fiction story about a six-year-old genius who is drafted by the government to play some anti-gravity games and then trained to lead the earth’s military in destroying aliens that look like giant bugs and by the way there is absolutely zero romance. AND I LOVE IT.

This year Banned Books Week runs September 30th through October 6th.  Celebrate your freedom to read by checking out a banned or challenged YA book during this next week!  DPL has plenty of  titles to choose from at each of its three locations.  For more info on Banned Books Week, including listings of some of the most challenged or banned books of all time, check out the ALA website.

One of the best ways to celebrate this year might be to check out and read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and then go see it on the big screen opening night on October 5th.  Don’t forget to read it first!  In the meantime, enjoy the preview:

Did you know that you can preview an excerpt of the highly anticipated sequel to Cory Doctorow’s YA novel Little Brother?  Wait, what?  There’s a sequel?!   Totally.  Click here to read the first few chapters of Homeland.  It’s super awesome.  You’ll be hooked.  It’s gonna be soooo difficult to wait until the February release date to devour the rest of the pages.  Rawr.  The good news is that still gives you plenty of time to read Little Brother if you haven’t already.  Or reread it.  Then read it again.  Then make your friends and their friends read it, too.  Gah!!!  Little Brother is definitely one of our top picks of all the YA books out there.  And Cory Doctorow is definitely one of our top fave authors.  Double gah!!!!  Is it February yet?  Ok, almost.  Homeland?  Soon, soon, soon…ish.  Tiny rawrs.

Happy Weekend!

swoon. Isn’t that just the sweetest?

Fall will be here before you know it.  If you’re looking for something not quite as fun as the picture above, but still pretty fun, you can count on DPL.  Yesterday we previewed the regular programs we have lined up for the upcoming season.  Today you can check out the details on upcoming special events for tweens and teens:

September’s Special Events

Cemetery Tours – Join us at the Fairmount Cemetery on Saturday, Sept. 8th at 2:00 p.m. to hear strange stories about the fascinating people buried there and learn how to find secrets in a cemetery.  FREE!  Registration is required.

Spook Walk – Saturday, Sept. 15th at 2:00 p.m. at the Main St. Library.  Don’t be afraid; the Davenport Library wants to take you on a Spook Walk!  Join us for some paranormal activity.  You will visit over half a dozen sites in town that are rumored to be haunted.  This walk is approximately 2 miles, so comfortable walking shoes and a bottle of water are recommended.  FREE!  Registration is required.

October’s Special Events

Teen Anime Fest – Saturday, October 13th from 12:00-3:00 p.m. at the Figge Art Museum.  Enjoy an afternoon of anime and manga in various formats.  Cosplay contest, art contest, Japanese language class, candy sushi, drinks, and more!  Manga and anime merchandise also available for purchase.  $5 admission charge includes snacks and drinks.  No registration required.

Quidditch World Cup – Saturday, October 13th at 6:00 p.m. at the Eastern Avenue Branch Library.  Grab a broomstick and compete with other teens in the Quidditch World Cup!  Participants will be sorted into teams for competition.  Equipment and rules will be provided.  FREE!  Registration required for players and spectators.

Cemetery Tours – Join us at the Fairmount Cemetery on Friday, October 26th at 7:00 p.m. or on  Saturday, October 27th at 2:00 p.m. to hear strange stories about the fascinating people buried there and learn how to find secrets in a cemetery.  FREE!  Registration is required.

Teen Costume Party – Tuesday, October 30th at 5:00 p.m. at the Fairmount St. Library.  Celebrate the season at this teens only costume party.  Have fun with creepy games and activities.  Plus, enjoy scary snacks and drinks.  FREE!  Registration is required.

Call DPL at 563-326-7832 to register or find out more details on these or any of our upcoming programs.

Now that the school year is underway you might find you need some extra help along the way.  Check out titles like these found in our YA Non-fiction sections. 

The Teen Science Fair Sourcebook by Tanya M. Vickers

Danica McKellar’s cool math books like Math Doesn’t Suck; Kiss My Math; Hot X: Algebra Exposed; and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape

In 2007, Danica released her first book, Math Doesn’t Suck (ages 9-12). Presenting math lessons in the style of a teen magazine, this groundbreaking book became an instant success, making Amazon’s top 100 books of 2007, and earning Danica the title of “Person of the Week” on ABC World News. Her next books, Kiss My Math (pre-algebra, for ages 11-13) and Hot X:  Algebra Exposed (ages 13-15 and up) followed suit on the New York Times bestseller list, and now she is proud to have over 500,000 copies in print being used by students, parents, and teachers alike.  –From the author’s website.

The Smart Aleck’s Guide to American History by Adam Selzer

Do you know America? No, I mean, do you REALLY know America? Would you recognize John Adams in a lineup? Can you identify any presidents between Lincoln and Roosevelt?  Hmmm. I thought so.

Well, you really need this book.  Not only will it improve your sorry historical knowledge, it will crack you up, and give you material to throw your teachers off-balance for entire class periods. Identify their lies! Point out their half-truths! And possibly, just possibly, gain some extra credit for yourself.  –From the Trade Paperback edition

Remember you can always stop in the library if you need to use a computer or are just looking for a quiet place to study.  Also, the terrific DPL Librarians can help point you in the right direction for all your research needs, too.  Have a great school year everybody!