Top 10 Announced!

Each year, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) asks teens across the country to vote on their favorite recently-released books. Voting takes place between mid-August and the end of Teen Read Week in October. This year, 28 books were nominated and more than 32,000 votes cast.
 

The official 2013 Teens' Top 10 are:

1. Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

2. The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen

3. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

4. Pushing the Limits, by Katie McGarry

5. Poison Princess, by Kresley Cole

6. The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater

7. Crewel, by Gennifer Albin

8. Every Day, by David Levithan

9. Kill Me Softly, by Sarah Cross

10. Butter, by Erin Jade Lange

 

Oxford Public Library owns all these awesome books. If you haven't read them yet, we recommend you do! --AJB 

Halloween Movie: Alien v. Predator

Don't feel like Trick or Treating but still up for a scare or two? Stop by the Teen Area on Halloween night for a special screening of the extraterrestrial thriller Alien v. Predator: A team of archaeologists begins an Antarctic excavation of an underground pyramid and, in the process, wakes an Alien queen. Predators are there too, and they're using the Aliens in as part of an ancient initiation ritual. Much chaos follows...

 

The movie starts @ 6:30 p.m.

 

There will be a random drawing for a cool prize following the movie.

Unraveling Isobel

It's bad enough Isobel's widowed mother remarries so soon after her father's death. But now Isobel has to leave her friends and her entire life behind and move into her new stepfather's creepy island mansion. Oh yeah, and did we mention her new stepbrother is a jerk? All those problems seem small when Isobel begins to be haunted the ghost of a young girl shortly after arriving at her new home. Gossip on the streets hints that the recent drownings of her stepfather's first wife and young daughter may not have been accidental. Curious, Isobel probes deeper into these mysteries--and uncovers evidence linking these deaths to her stepfather! Is Isobel onto the truth or is she really as crazy as her stepfather would have everyone believe? (after all, her father was crazy...and everyone knows mental illness can be hereditary) Worse, is she the next victim?

Unraveling Isobel is a nicely creepy story and an entertaining mystery. There's even a touch of romance. A great choice for Halloween Reading. --AJB

The Girls of YA

When it comes to strong female characters in YA books, names like Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen probably come to mind. But what about Meg Murry, Scout Finch, or Anne Shirley? "Who are they?" you ask. Check out this Flavorwire article to find out about them...and about other heroines of classic YA Literature. 

Places to Read

So you've finally got your hands on that book you've been waiting forever to read. Whether it's the concluding volume to a trilogy you've loved so far, a stand-alone you've heard a lot about, a book that's about to be made into a movie, or an old favorite, the fact remains the same: You finally have THAT BOOK! 

But just as important as having a great book is finding that perfect place to read it. Check out this flavorwire article featuring some of the most unique, most book-friendly chairs we've ever seen. 

p.s #12 is our favorite!

Super Graphic

Do you like Superheroes? How about charts? Tim Leong's Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe combines the best of both worlds for a fun and informative guide to all things superhero (and super villain). From the book's nearly 20 different types of brightly-colored graphs and charts, you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about superheroes and their evil villain counterparts. And some of the knowledge is pretty obscure:

For example: Why is Donatello (of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fame) always getting teased by his shelled companions? What is the difference between Cosplay and Crossplay? How did DC Comics determine the fate of Robin in 1988? And which Marvel Comic superhero (or super villain) is the strongest, smartest, and fastest. 

See... Aren't you glad you checked this book out?

Percy Jackson Read Alike

The empty shelf is evidence: Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" books have been experiencing a renewal in popularity lately. This is thanks in part to the "Sea of Monsters" movie and the recent release of "The House of Hades," the newest addition to the "Heroes of Olympus" series. As librarians, we love when books are so heavily circulated (means we're doing something right) except for one thing: Sometimes, there aren't enough of a certain book to satisfy demand. Of course we can always place a hold on our copy the coveted book or procure a copy from another library... But what if the patron wants something "now"?

Bummer, right?

Not really. Fortunately, there's a pretty good solution to this dilemma: The Read-Alike. 

In this case, I'd like to recommend Michael Scott's "Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel" series (Yes, this is the same Nicolas Flamel mentioned in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Beginning with "The Alchemyst," this exciting six-book series boasts just as much magic, mythology, and excitement as Percy Jackson. The series follow the adventures of mortal twins Sophie and Josh Newman as they travel through time and space, assisting Nicolas Flamel in trying to retrieve a magical book stolen by the diabolical Dr. John Dee. If they don't retrieve it in time, the world (and everything and everyone in it) will be destroyed. Once you start this series, you won't be able to put it down! --AJB