Monday, October 29, 2012

Game Day

Teen Gaming Day:
Saturday November 3, 2012!

Get your game on all day this Saturday (November 3) with Teen Gaming Day! We will have board games, card games, and puzzles throughout the Teen Area. There will be new games as well as old favorites. We'll also have the Wii set up in the Community Room if video gaming is more your thing. So bring a friend and your game face--and get ready for a day of fun!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

College Seminar This Thursday


Planning on attending college, but not sure where to start? Expert Sheryl Krasnow of College and Career Counseling Associates, Inc. can help. In the first of a two-part seminar, scheduled for Thursday, October 25, at 6:30 p.m., Ms. Krasnow will discuss planning strategies for the college bound. This helpful seminar will cover such topics as when to take the ACT or SAT, when to apply for college, the application process itself, and more. She will also reserve time for Q & A following the seminar.

Ms. Krasnow will return to OPL December 6 to discuss financial issues such as applying for aid and how to hunt down grants and scholarships.

Space for each seminar is limited, and registration is required. You may sign up online or at the Teen Reference Desk.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A Ghostly Killer. A Haunting Mystery

Evie has a secret special talent: She can tell you all your deepest, darkest secrets just by holding a personal object of yours. After she uses this ability to shame her small town's golden boy, Evie is shipped off to stay with her Uncle Will in New York City for a few months until things blow over. Evie thinks this sentence will be nothing but parties, shopping, and fun. Sure Uncle Will is a boring old bachelor who runs a creepy museum housing supernatural artifacts, but Evie can overlook this. Then a rash of ritual murders break out, and, because of his knowledge of the paranormal, Uncle Will is asked to assist in the investigation. Evie is thrown into the middle of the danger when she accidentally touches something belonging to one of the victims and learns the killings were committed by Naughty John Hobbes, a fanatically religious madman who was hanged for murder 50 years earlier. Naughty John is back from the grave to complete a deadly ritual said to bring on the apocalypse. Evie thinks she can use her powers to stop Naughty John from completing his agenda. But is she strong enough to end the evil that has been unleashed?

Weighing in at nearly 600 pages and dealing with some decidedly creepy topics, The Diviners is not something to pick up for light reading (literally or figuratively). But expert character development, detailed settings, and exciting plot twists make this one a quintessential page turner. You won't be able to put down! In a word, it's awesome! True, the ending leaves several loose ends, but The Diviners is the first in a planned trilogy. So if you like it, there's more to come. --AJB

Friday, October 19, 2012

A Ghost Story

Diana and her little brother Georgie live near the creepy (and possibly haunted) Old Willis Place and follow a strict set of rules they must obey no matter what: They're not allowed inside the old house, they must not leave the grounds, they're not allowed to speak to anyone who might visit (not that anyone would), and they must never, ever disturb mean old Miss. Willis. Then a new groundskeeper and his teenage daughter arrive on the scene, and Diana sees the chance to have something she hasn't had in a long time: A friend. She'd break the rules for that. But things aren't as easy as they would seem. Why? Read and find out. There's a twist. --AJB

Thursday, October 18, 2012

High Seas Adventure

Hal and his brotherband are back for their third adventure in The Hunters. This exciting and highly-anticipated installment to the new series by John Flanagan (author of the popular Ranger's Apprentice series) finds the boys in hot persuit of the pirate Zavac, who stole a priceless Skandian artifact. The brotherband are mighty warriors, but, ultimately, it is Hal who will save the day.

Look for The Hunters on the New Series Book Shelf at the entrance to the Teen Area. --AJB

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Love Can Be Scary

Jackson is dead, and Ava can't let go of him. When she's asleep, he's all she dreams of. But soon he intrudes her waking life as well: She catching glimpses of him in the corner of her eye and could swear she hears him talking to her inside her head. The reader soon learns the accident that caused Jackson's demise was Ava's fault--or, at least, she thinks it's her fault. So is Jackson's ghost really back to torment Ava? Or is it just a manifestation of the guilt she feels? Either way, Ava must find a way to free herself and move on.

Although the cover image makes I Heart You, You Haunt Me appear to be a fluffy paranormal romance, this is not actually the case. This novel, written entirely in free verse, is the dark story of a teen attempting to cope with the death someone close to her. Kind of creepy, though, and definitely seasonally appropriate. --AJB

Sunday, October 14, 2012

What if...?

Camden Pike has been devastated since his girlfriend, Viv, died in a car accident two months ago.  She was the only good thing about his life.  When Camden makes a visit to the site of the accident he sees something like an apparition, but it's not Viv.  The apparition is Nina and she's not a ghost.  She is actually from an alternate universe.  One he can access by slipping through a window.  One where things seem the same as this world, but everyone is actually very different.  Cam just wants to see Viv again.  But Viv in the alternate universe is not like the Viv Cam remembers from his world.  Nina is hiding some secrets as well.  Not only that but the window allowing him to go back and forth from one world to another is quickly closing.  Cam has to decide to stay with the different Viv in the alternate universe or live without her in his own. 

Emily Hainsworth's debut novel, Through to You, is very enjoyable.  It has just the right amount of romance, mystery and intrigue to keep you hooked until the end. - KR

Friday, October 12, 2012

Cool Comic Crossover

For those of you who are fans of crossover fiction (fan fic or otherwise), this one's sure to please. This mash-up of Sci-Fi Awesomeness pairs Doctor Who with the cast of Star Trek The Next Generation to battle the most evil and dastardly of all alien bad guys, The Borg! Will the Doctor and the crew of the Enterprise, with their powers combined, be able to defeat the Borg menace? Or will they, like everyone else, be assimilated?

Find out!

--AJB

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Braaaains... I mean, Boooooks!

Saturday October 13 is
World Zombie Day!  

Celebrate these flesh-hungry undead by visiting OPL's Teen Area and devouring one (or more) of our Zombified Reads (see the display above the fiction shelf or grab a booklist bookmark). Why? What other creature values brains above all other qualities or attributes?

In Michael Ford's Z, a teen plays a futuristic game where he hunts zombies--or is it really just a game?  In Jonathan Mayberry's Benny Imura trilogy, a group of teens must survive a zombie-infested wasteland if they hope to find a better life. In Courtney Summer's This Is Not A Test, a group of teens is trapped in their high school during the zombie apocalypse. Daniel Water's Passing Strange paints a more humorous view of the undead, as does Ehrich Van Lowe's Never Slow Dance With a Zombie. And don't forget Zombies vs. Unicorns, a short story anthology that attempts to answer the age old question of which mythical creature is the most awesome.

Whatever kind of Zombie book you want, whether it's horrifying or humorous, we've got it!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Who're You Gonna Call?


Southeast Michigan Ghost Hunters
Monday October 15 @ 7 p.m.

Looking for a spooky good time this October? Join the Southeast Michigan Ghost Hunting Society, the area's oldest paranormal organization, for a seasonably appropriate presentation featuring some of the state's most haunted places. Experieice photos, videos, and audio of actual paranormal activity! The program will be Monday October 15 @ 7 p.m. in OPL's community room.

In it's 16 years of existance, the SMGHS has conducted over 200 investigations statewide, including: a dental office, soroity house, Durand train depot, and the Purple Rose Theater.

Registration is required for this program. Sign up online or at one of OPL's reference desks. We'll see you there...IF you're not afraid....