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By: Monica Zepeda,
on 7/24/2016
Title: Eden West Author: Pete Hautman Publisher: Candlewick Publication Date: April 14, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-0763674182 320 pp. ARC provided by publisher This is a book that could be confused for dystopia at first glance. Jacob lives in the community of Nodd, home to the people known as the Grace. Their prophet, who has a penchant for young wives, says that the Grace will be spared when
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 6/26/2016
Hey everyone! Summertime is the perfect opportunity to catch up on the Teens' Top Ten nominees. Check out the video below for the 2016 nominees. Happy reading!
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 5/15/2016
Title: Secret Coders Author: Gene Luen Yang Illustrator: Mike Holmes Publisher: First Second Publication Date: September 29, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1626720756 96 pp. ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley Secret Coders is exactly the kind of book I love to booktalk, especially when promoting Summer Reading Club. It has a mystery, it has a diverse cast, it has basketball, it has a friendship
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 3/6/2016
Title: Undertow Author: Michael Buckley Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Publication Date: May 5, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-0544348257 384 pp. ARC provided by publisher Undertow by Michael Buckley is a Romeo/Juliet story about a human girl named Lyric and a sea prince named Fathom set in modern day New York. It's not subtle in its parallels to current immigration fears as the sea folk known
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 1/24/2016
Title: The Reluctant Assassin Author: Eoin Colfer Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield Publisher: Listening Library Publication Date: May 14, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-0804123358 Listening copy via Sync Eoin Colfer is most well known for the Artemis Fowl series, a series I tried and never really got into. But since the good people at Sync offered The Reluctant Assassin, I thought I'd give this series a
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 1/3/2016
Happy New Year! Those two fine looking cats are Elwood and Jake. Litter mates, trouble makers, and cutie pies. And what better way to celebrate the New Year than with some random cat videos! First, there's Cat + Monkey: Next, there's Dogs Annoying Cats with Their Friendship: Finally, some solid reasons on why You Should Get a Second Cat:
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 11/1/2015
Title: Trouble Is a Friend of Mine Author: Stephanie Tromly Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books Publication Date: August 4, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-0525428404 336 pp. ARC provided by publisher There are hi-jinks aplenty in this screwball mystery by Stephanie Tromly. Zoe is the new kid at school when she meets Digby, a weird, smart, completely impossible boy who drags her into an investigation of a
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 10/11/2015
Title: I Remember You Author: Cathleen Davitt Bell Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: February 10, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-0385754552 320 pp. ARC provided by publisher Juliet is a good student who has never had a boyfriend before. So when hockey player Lucas tells her he remembers their first kiss, she's not sure what to make of him. Cathleen Davitt Bell creates a premise
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 8/23/2015
It's that time of the year again! Voting has opened up for Teens' Top Ten nominees! Get the vote out to teens! Voting will close at the end of Teen Read Week, which is October 24th, so there's still time to catch up on the titles you haven't read yet. Teens can vote here. This year's nominees are: Alsaid, Adi. Let’s Get Lost. Harlequin Teen. Armentrout, Jennifer L. Don’t Look Back.
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 8/16/2015
Title: Night Film Author: Marisha Pessl Narrated by: Jake Weber Publisher: Random House Audio Publication Date: August 20, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-0307932655 Listening copy via local library Marisha Pessl's debut novel, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, was a hot read a few years ago. I read it and thought it was intelligent and intricately plotted, but overall a meh from me in terms of being
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 8/2/2015
Title: We Should Hang Out Sometime Author: Josh Sundquist Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication Date: December 23, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0316251020 336 pp. ARC provided by publisher Josh Sundquist is a Paralympian, motivational speaker, and YouTuber who's not so good with the ladies. This biography tells the tale of all the girls he's loved before (or at least crushed on
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 7/26/2015
Title: Exquisite Corpse Author: Penelope Bagieu Publisher: First Second Publication Date: May 5, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1626720824 128 pp. ARC provided via NetGalley Fun fact: "Exquisite Corpse" was a game invented by Surrealists where a piece (of art, of literature) was constructed by each participant adding to what the earlier participant had created. This French import by graphic novelist
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 7/12/2015
Title: Mort(e) Author: Robert Repino Publisher: Soho Press Publication Date: January 20, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1616954277 368 pp. ARC provided by publisher "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords." Kent Brockman Mort(e) by Robert Repino was an ARC I picked up at last summer's ALA Annual Conference and I finally found the time to read it. I was intrigued by its animal
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 7/5/2015
Title: The Time Machine Author: H.G. Wells Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi Publisher: Listening Library Publication Date: June 11, 2013 Listening copy via Sync H.G. Wells' The Time Machine is one of those science fiction classics that I just never got around to reading, so I thought listening to a free Sync copy would be a perfect way to finally get around to it. I've seen the Hollywood
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 6/21/2015
Title: Landline Author: Rainbow Rowell Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman Publisher: Macmillan Audio Publication Date: July 8, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-1427239327 Listening copy via public library Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park is still crazy popular, and maybe one day it'll be in the library long enough for me to check it out. In the meantime, I listened to the audiobook of Landline. Landline isn't YA,
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 6/14/2015
Title: Beautiful Music for Ugly Children Author: Kirstin Cronn-Mills Publisher: Flux Publication Date: October 8, 2012 ISBN-13: 978-0738732510 288 pp. Copy provided via publisher I picked up a copy of this title (signed by the author!) at the ALA Annual Conference last year, and though it's taken me awhile to get to it on my TBR pile, I am absolutely in love in with it. Beautiful Music for
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 5/24/2015
Title: Now That You're Here Author: Amy K. Nichols Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: December 9, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0385753890 304 pp. ARC provided by publisher Here's another book in the current parallel universes mini-trend, Now That You're Here by Amy K. Nichols. There's dual narration by Danny, a street artist in Phoenix who lands in his doppleganger's body
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 5/10/2015
It's that time of the year again, when the good people at Sync offer a weekly selection of YA audiobooks paired with classic titles. If you don't have OverDrive Media Console, you'll need to install if, but Sync offers a handy link to that on its website. Check out this year's offerings: May 7-14: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier May
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 5/3/2015
Title: A Thousand Pieces of You Author: Claudia Gray Publisher: HarperTeen Publication Date: November 4, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0062278968 368 pp. ARC provided by publisher A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray is the first in her new Firebird series, a rollicking, action-packed novel about love and revenge across parallel universes. Marguerite Caine is an artist in a family of scientists.
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 4/19/2015
Title: Sold Author: Patricia McCormick Narrated by: Justine Eyre Publisher: Tantor Audio Publication Date: November 26, 2012 Listening copy via Sync Sold by Patricia McCormick was a National Book Award finalist, a lyrical, heartbreaking story about Lakshmi, a thirteen-year-old girl who is sold by her stepfather into the sex trade. Justine Eyre does a phenomenal job narrating Lakshmi's story,
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 4/12/2015
YALLWEST StoryMob Books for sale Whew! The first ever YALLWEST books festival is over! Two days of YA madness with over 80 authors, a couple thousand attendees, and tons of books! I volunteered to help out on both days, so I didn't go to any of the panels. But that didn't mean I didn't get to meet people and have fun! Scrabble time I was assigned to the gaming area, playing
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 4/5/2015
Happy Easter, everyone! (or Passover) (or lazy Sunday) Enjoy the day and enjoy this video:
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 3/29/2015
Title: The Sculptor Author: Scott McCloud Publisher: First Second Publication Date: February 3, 2015 ISBN-13: 978-1596435735 496 pp. ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley Comic book authority Scott McCloud wrote and illustrated the graphic novel The Sculptor, his first work of fiction in over 20 years. The fact that it's already in development for a film should give you a clue that it's a
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 3/22/2015
Title: Wildlife Author: Fiona Wood Publisher: Poppy Publication Date: September 16, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-0316242097 400 pp. ARC provided by publisher Wildlife is Australian author Fiona Wood's US debut, and my love for Australian YA grows. Wildlife is a dual narration novel, with Sibylla telling one story and Lou telling another. Both live in the same dorm during a wilderness semester at
By: Monica Zepeda,
on 3/15/2015
Title: Soppy Author & Illustrator: Philippa Rice Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing Publication Date: December 2, 2014 ISBN-13: 978-1449461065 108 pp. ARC via NetGalley "Soppy" is something that's overly sentimental and it's a word used more in the UK than the States. So it makes sense that the writer/illustrator of Soppy, Philippa Rice, is from the UK. Soppy started out as a webcomic
