Tag Archives: teen

Teen Fall Reads

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Despite working at the library and being a lover of books and reading, I often find myself in reading slumps.  Nothing sounds good, interesting, or worth my time.  That’s when I usually turn to my friends and colleagues for book recommendations – or I take a look at one of our library lists!

If you’re a teen looking for your next favorite read, or an adult interested in dipping your toe in teen literature, TeenHQ definitely has suggestions including a new display wall currently featuring “Fall Reads 2017.”  Our guide includes 18 new or highly recommended books to add to your to-be-read list including:

 

Roar by Cora Carmack

As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s groomed to be the perfect queen.  She’s intelligent and brave and honorable.  But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.  To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom.

 

 

Waste of Space by Gina Damico

Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space.  The cast knows everything about drama – and nothing about the fact that the production is fake.

 

 

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Teenaged soldier Noemi and an enemy robot, Abel, who is programmed to obey her commands, set out on an interstellar quest to save her home planet, Earthy colony Genesis.

 

 

Front Lines by Michael Grant

1942, World War II.  The most terrible war in human history.. Millions are dead; millions more are still to die.  The green, untested American army is going up against eh greatest fighting force ever assembled – the armed forces of Nazi, Germany.  But something has changed.  A court decision makes females subject to the draft and eligible for service.  So in this World War II, women and girls fight, too.

 

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand

On the eve of her marriage to a stranger, sixteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey is swept up in a conspiracy to usurp the throne from her cousin.

 

 

 

Hearts & Other Body Parts by Ira Bloom

Esme, Katy, and Ronnie Silver hail from a long line of witches, but their sisterly bond is broken when two very different boys enter their lives.

 

Happy reading!

 

Review: Turtles All the Way Down

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Turtles All the Way Down
by John Green
4 stars

Synopsis from Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

I did not let this book sit unopened very long. Green hooked me, and I got caught up in Aza’s life, wondering about her romance with her old childhood friend Davis and whether she would solve the mystery of the disappearance of Davis’s father. Since I am an Indianapolis native myself, I love the references to White River, Pogue’s Run, 465, and the Applebee’s at 86th and Ditch. (Very few people could make me want to eat at Applebee’s, but John Green may have done it.)

Green writes about his character’s issues with anxiety and obsessive compulsion with the kindness of a healthy friend who understands what it’s like to live in an unhealthy mind. I find the illustration that Green uses very fitting- that dealing with severe anxiety is like trying to find your way through complete darkness, but typically the flashlight of sanity can come back on and light the way. And so it is with this book – we get awash in Aza’s downward spiral of anxiety only to get brought back up by the pull of the story of her life. And also unexpectedly find out a fair amount about tuataras at the same time.

 

Read-alikes

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Review: Genuine Fraud

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Genuine Fraud
by E. Lockhart
4 stars

Teen author E. Lockhart is known for her suspenseful twists, thrilling plots, and often unreliable narrators.  I still get the feels when I think about her best-selling 2014 novel, We Were Liars. It was fast-paced, unpredictable, and heartbreaking.  Her newest teen novel, Genuine Fraud, is most of these things. The novel starts out with an obviously unreliable narrator, Jule, lounging in a Mexican resort. Unobservant readers might not realize that the story starts out with Chapter 18 as the plot moves backwards in time. Step by step you discover more about Jule, her seemingly glamorous life, her perfect best friend, and the boy she regrets leaving behind.

I had a little trouble connecting with Jule. Her character was a little lacking, and I’m still left wondering about her motivation and upbringing. Because of this I didn’t feel the heartbreak and grief I experienced when reading We Were Liars. However, I was still captivated by the story, pulled along by Lockhart’s twists and turns, and of course blown away by the mystery’s big reveal. I totally didn’t see that coming!

Read-alikes

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang

Introducing TeenHQ

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I’ve learned a lot over the last 10 years working with teens. I’ve learned that they are always hungry; that playing the board game Sorry! can initiate passionate competition; and that beneath angst and hormones are intelligent, curious, hilarious individuals who see the world in creative ways.

I’ve also learned that each school year is different – different students, different cultural trends, and different educational focus – each of which bring unique opportunities for us to serve. This school year brought us an unexpected challenge. What do you do when the middle school that was once right next door moves a couple of miles away?

You take a long look in the mirror, have a serious conversation about mission and values, and refocus to meet that challenge.

And so we introduce to you…

TeenHQ is a new approach to teen services at Greenwood Public Library. The space is accessible during library hours, and all ages are welcome to browse our teen, manga, and graphic novel collections. Teen Services staff will also be hosting programming in TeenHQ that offers opportunities for teens to explore the world around them, build new skills, and socialize with friends. Programs will now be hosted in the evening and weekends to accommodate busy school schedules. Check out The Scoop or Library’s events calendar for upcoming events.

We’re also introducing The Hangout @ TeenHQ – a TEENS ONLY time and space for teens in the community to feel safe and comfortable just hanging out, listening to music, studying, reading, playing a game, or watching a movie (to name just a few activities).

The Hangout is 1-5pm Monday – Friday. Our hours are designed to welcome both homeschool and public school students into the space. Teen Services staff will be available for supervision, book recommendations, homework help, game playing, and general helpfulness during The Hangout hours.

And a final exciting change – the Library’s Teen Advisory Board will now and forever be known as the Teen Volunteer Corp.

The Teen Volunteer Corp was created by the Teen Services Department as a program designed to offer leadership opportunities for teens in Greenwood. Corp members assist and support the Teen Services Department by brainstorming, promoting, and volunteering at programs, submitting reviews for the library’s social media, and helping make TeenHQ a welcoming space. There are so many reasons to join, but in case your teen needs some persuading…they can earn service hours for school, network with other teens in the community, and request AWESOME scholarship letters and job references from the Teen Services staff.

Whew. That’s a lot of changes, but we are super excited to begin this new chapter of serving teens in Greenwood. And to kick off all of the fun, we are hosting an Open House on Thursday, October 12th from 1-7pm to celebrate! We’ll have all of our activities out and available to explore, and we’ll provide some light refreshments and a raffle prize to bribe you into coming.

Please visit TeenHQ if you have any questions, program suggestions, or need help finding your next favorite book. We’re ready to serve!

Review: We Were Liars

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We Were Liars
by E. Lockhart
4 stars

I read this book a while ago, but I have been thinking about it since it was included in a BookRiot list of “10 YA Books that Will Destroy You (And You’ll Love It)”…which, depending on your taste may or may not be a ringing endorsement. We Were Liars is the story of Cadence and her 3 friends/cousins. They all come from a wealthy family and spend their summers on an island near Cape Cod. During Cadence’s 15th summer, she is in an accident and the resulting head injury causes memory loss. 2 years later, she is preparing to head back to the island for the summer. However no one in her family is willing to talk about how she got hurt or what happened that summer.

I loved that Cadence was an unreliable narrator. Not even she knows what really happened. As a reader, you stumble along with her as she tries to put the pieces together as the story jumps between the past and the present. The family around her either doesn’t want to tell her anything, or they have been advised not to. It is beautifully written and the ending hit me like an emotional punch to the chest.

Fair warning – you might cry, I did.

Read-alikes

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout