Avalon High by Meg Cabot

I decided to get out from under my rock and read a Meg Cabot book…what took me so long??? The Princess Diary books never really appealed to me so I decided to read Avalon High and I really liked it! The story is about a girl named Elaine who moves away from home for a year to a new town and a new school where she meets an exciting group of friends. People in her new town are strangely familiar for some reason…find out who these people really are when you read Avalon High!

True Colors Series

We just received 11 titles in the True Colors series by Melody Carlson. I put the books out on the table and they were all checked out in less than 2 hours! I had one student read one in a single night and she was back the next day looking for another. I was able to read about 1/3 of Burnt Orange; Color me Wasted before I had to hand it over to a student who wanted it but I really liked what I was able to get out of it.

Melody Carlson is a Christian author without being preachy and is able to write about teenagers without sounding too adult. She deals with important teen issues in her books and through her characters shows how difficult situations can turn into positive learning experiences.

If you’ve read any of these titles share which ones are your favorite and what you like about it. Are there other series out there like this that we should get for the library?

Reader’s Advisory

Need help finding a book? Try some of these Reader’s Advisory sites and book lists for some ideas – keep in mind that these are books for young adults (middle and high) so we may have some titles, but not all titles are appropriate for our middle school library (but it doesn’t hurt to ask me if you see something that looks good!):

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2008 – http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/08bbya.cfm

Other YALSA lists – http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm#booklists

Reader’s Robot – provides many different ways to find books you’ll like – choose a genre and click “search”. You can choose “Young Adult” and add some keywords – http://www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/rr.html

OCLC Fiction Finder – many genres also offer teen choices – http://fictionfinder.oclc.org/WebZ/html/kor/browse.html?sessionid=01-37655-394800093

NoveList and Fiction Connection from the Greenville County Public Library System – scroll down to find the purple NoveList icon or the Fiction Connection icon – you must have a Greenville County Public Library card and PIN number to use these services (they are paid subscriptions) http://www.greenvillelibrary.org/index.php/Reader-Favorites-Indiv/Reader-Favorites.html

Story Code – you have to create an account for this site, so be sure to ask your parents for permission first, kiddies. You tell the site what you’ve read and what you think about those books, answer some questions and the site gives you suggestions. - http://www.storycode.com/

ATN Reading Lists Wiki – http://atn-reading-lists.wikispaces.com/Read+Alikes

Hilarious Twilight Video

A media specialist shared this awesome video on our state association ning – hilarious!

Teen Read Week – Stories with Bite!

Celebrate Teen Read Week with us October 12 – 18, 2008. This year’s theme is “Books with Bite”! Do you have a story about a bite? Real or imagined, tell us about snake bites, dog bites, bug bites, shark bites, vampire bites - share them with us here and stop by for a prize after your response has been posted. Don’t forget to come by to check out our collection of books about things that bite!

Teen Read Week – Share a Great Recipe!

Celebrate Teen Read Week with us October 12 – 18, 2008. This year’s theme is “Books with Bite”! Share your favorite recipe with us here and stop by for a prize after your response has been posted. Don’t forget to check out our selection of cookbooks when you have a few minutes.

Teen Read Week – What’s Your Favorite Scary Book?

Celebrate Teen Read Week with us October 12 – 18, 2008. This year’s theme is “Books with Bite”! Share your favorite scary book with us here and stop by for a prize after your response has been posted. All contributions should be about books that are appropriate for middle school students to read, you must include the name of the book and the first and last names of the author, tell us 3 things you liked about the book and why everyone should read this book. Don’t forget to write in complete sentences and check your spelling! Be sure to come by and check out our “Scary Book Table”!

Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People, by Albert Marrin, illustrated by C.B. Mordan

Oh Rats! is a great non-fiction book all about rats. Some of the topics covered in this book include rat history, rat ancestors and relatives, relationships between rats and people, eating rats, ways rats bother humans, how to get rid of rats, diseases that rats can carry, rats as pets and rats that help people. Did you know that a single pair of rats could produce up to 359 million descendants within three years? Did you know that rats’ teeth grow an average of five inches each year and they can use them to chew through concrete and steel? If you would like a really interesting and really short book, you should read Oh Rats!

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

I put off reading this book for a really long time because I thought it was going to be a “sad dog book”, but actually it was more of an action-packed adventure story! Willie’s uncle gave him the best dog ever, Cracker. Unfortunately, Willie’s family is not allowed to keep a dog in their apartment and they decide to give Cracker to the U.S. Army to serve in the Vietnam War as a bomb-sniffing dog.

In the Army Cracker is paired with her handler, Rick. Rick wants to do something more with his life than just run his family’s hardware store, so when he turns 17 he convinced his dad to sign for him to join the army to serve in the Vietnam War. Rick becomes a dog handler and quickly bonds with Cracker and knows that Cracker will be the best dog in Vietnam. You’ll be on the edge of your seat when you read about the amazing missions that Cracker and Rick are sent on. This is a must read for dog lovers and action lovers!

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

One of Mrs. Kicker’s favorite books is Alabama Moon by Watt Key, so I knew that I had to read it. This is the story of Moon Blake, a ten year-old who grew-up in the wilderness with his Pap until Moon was ten years old. Pap taught Moon how to live off the land – they planted and hunted their own food and made their own clothes. Pap was very distrustful of the government after returning from the Vietnam War and passed along his fear of the government to Moon. When Pap died of a broken leg because he refused to see a doctor, an acquaintance turned Moon over to authorities. You’ll be on the edge of your seat following Moon’s adventures escaping from the police and the boys’ home and finally figuring out where he belongs.