April Books bring May...more books! (April new books part 5)

Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

Contemporary Fiction

Brilliant fifteen-year-old Josie has a knack for languages, but her sister's engagement has Josie grappling with the nature of true love, her feelings for her best friend Stu, and how anyone can be truly herself, or truly in love, in a social language that is not her own.

Made for You by Melissa Marr

Paranormal

Southern small town darling Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital with the frightening ability to see through the eyes of the victims of a serial killer, and realizes that she, too, is a target of the depraved stalker.

Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Contemporary Fiction

When she learns that her mother is sick in Ohio, Mim confronts her demons on a thousand-mile odyssey from Mississippi that redefines her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

The Number 7 by Jessica Lidh

Historical Fiction

When sixteen-year-old Louisa moves from North Carolina to her father's childhood home in Pennsylvania, a phone call from the grave brings a buried family secret to life.

The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch

Fantasy

Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.

Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at all—not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames and sears a dark mark into his skin.

Scarred now as an oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.

Teen Book Club April - Wicked Lovely

The Teen Book Club met tonight to discuss Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance.

Here are the discussion questions we used:

1. What did you think of the book?  General thoughts?
2. Did you have a favorite character?  Favorite scene or part?
3. How did Donia feel about Keenan?  What makes her feel that way?
4. How does Aislinn feel about her grandmother's way of dealing with the faeries?  Does Ash follow her example?  If she had chosen different, how might things have turned out differently?
5. How does Keenan feel about Seth?  What does he do about him, and why?
6. With such a terrible risk attached to it, why would any of Keenan's chosen girls choose to take up the staff?  What made his Summer Girls refuse?  Do you think you would have done it?
7. What do you think will happen in the future for Keenan, Donia, Ash, and Seth?
8. What did you think of the portrayal of faeries in this book?
9. What did you think of the writing style?
10. Ratings and final thoughts!

Here are our ratings!

Melanie - 6/10 - The beginning was slow going, but the plot line was very interesting.
Catherine - 6.5/10 - A little slow, but a fun read.
MissG - 7.5/10 - A modern fairy story with classic elements, vivid descriptions, and memorable characters.

For May we are reading...

Having been recently dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy Colin sets off on a road trip with his best friend to try to find some new direction in life while also trying to create a mathematical formula to explain his relationships.

Discussion, snack, and preview of the new books for June on Wednesday, May 28th 6:00-7:00pm

~International Fairy Day~

That's right, today is International Fairy Day!  Today believers in fairies of all ages will be celebrating the stories and magic of fairies/faeries/fair folk/the fae/little ones/etc!  In legends fairies are described as smart, mischievous, and magical, casting spells and flying.  They live in "Tir na nog," the land of eternal youth and sighting of fairies most often occur during Beltane (April30-May1), Mid Summer's Eve (June 21-June 25), and All Hallow's Eve (Halloween). 

International Fairy Day is a great day to build a fairy house or read a fairy book.  Click the link to learn about fairy houses or read below to see the fairy books for teens we have here at Durham Public Library.

Ash by Malinda Lo - In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress whom she loves.

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin - Phoebe, a member of the wealthy Rothschilds family, befriends Mallory, an awkward new girl in school, and the two become as close as sisters, but Phoebe does not know that Mallory is a faerie, sent to the human world to trap the ordinary human girl into fulfilling a promise made by her ancestor Mayer to the queen of the faeries.

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton - The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. They survive by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood--Tiki's blood. (book 2 = The Torn War and book 3 = The Seven Year King)

Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan - Troubled by family problems, Henry finds his life taking a whole new dimension when he and his friend, old Mr. Fogarty, become involved with Prince Pyrgus Malvae who has been sent from the faerie world in order to escape the treacherous Faeries of the Night. (books 2-5 are: The Purple Emperor, The Ruler of the Realm, Faerie Lord and Faeman Quest)

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby - High schooler Emma is devastated to learn that she may not follow in her mother's footsteps as a dragon slayer, but with an unlikely band of allies she discovers that she may, indeed, be more adept at slaying giant killer fairies.

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier - In a world in which everyone has a personal fairy who tends to one aspect of daily life, fourteen-year-old Charlie decides she does not want hers--a parking fairy--and embarks on a series of misadventures designed to rid herself of the invisible sprite and replace it with a better one, like her friend Rochelle's shopping fairy.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - Meghan Chase has a secret destiny--one she could never have imagined...Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school...or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth--that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. (books 2-4 are The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight)

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore - A wealthy sorcerer's invitation to sing with his automaton leads seventeen-year-old Nimira, whose family's disgrace brought her from a palace to poverty, into political intrigue, enchantments, and a friendship with a fairy prince who needs her help. (Sequel is Magic Under Stone)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White - When a dark prophecy begins to come true, sixteen-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend. (Books 2 and 3 are Supernaturally and Endlessly)

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr - Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance. (books 2-5 are: Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, Radiant Shadows, and Darkest Mercy)

Wings by Aprilynne Pike - When a plant blooms out of fifteen-year-old Laurel's back, it leads her to discover the fact that she is a faerie and that she has a crucial role to play in keeping the world safe from the encroaching enemy trolls. (books 2-4 are Spells, Illusions, and Destiny)

I have already read The Iron King, the whole Paranormalcy series, and the whole Wings series.  the Wings series is my favorite so far.  Tonight I think I will go home with Magic Under Glass ... so I hope you didn't want that one! ;)

Halloween Books - Witches!

A witch costume was always my go to costume when I was a teenager.  It's easy, but very customizable too!  To get you in the mood for the holiday, here are a list of books with witches~

When Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she is exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

Born into a family of witches, seventeen-year-old Tamsin is raised believing that she alone lacks a magical "Talent," but when her beautiful and powerful sister is taken by an age-old rival of the family in an attempt to change the balance of power, Tamsin discovers her true destiny.

A centuries-long war between daimons and witches sets the stage for three teens caught up in a deadly struggle for power and autonomy in the exotic and otherworldly Carnival of Souls, the mercantile center of the daimon dimension

When the owner of a candy shop molds magical treats that instill confidence, bravery, and passion, eighteen-year-old Gretchen's haunted childhood memories of her twin sister's abduction by a witch-like monster begin to fade until girls start vanishing at the annual chocolate festival.

Prompted by her love for the seemingly-doomed Sebastian, sixteen-year-old Evie Johnson returns for another term at the strangely sinister Wyldcliffe Abbey School where she and two close friends try to develop and combine their newly-discovered powers to save Sebastian and themselves from the encroaching forces of evil.

When prep school newcomer Emma Conner meets the rich, charming Brendan Salinger, she is instantly attracted to him, but strange visions of her past lives begin warning her to stay away or face a cursed prophecy that she will die.

Cassie is drawn into the Secret Circle, a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for three hundred years, and when she falls hopelessly in love with the leader's boyfriend, she is tempted to use dark powers.

Sixteen-year-old Lexi, who lives on an enchanted moor at the edge of the village of Near, must solve the mystery when, the day after a mysterious boy appears in town, children start disappearing.

In an alternate New England of 1900, where the Brotherhood dominates and controls society, sixteen-year-old Cate Cahill has struggled since her mother's death to keep secret that she and her younger sisters are witches, but when a governess arrives from the Sisterhood, everything changes.

Living in New York City with her mother and her younger sister, Miri, fourteen-year-old Rachel tries to persuade Miri, who has recently become a witch, to help her become popular at school and to try to stop their divorced father's wedding.

A girl finds herself running through the forest at the edge of a village with no memory of anything, even her own name, and later learns that she might be twelve-year-old Isabelle, believed to be stolen by a witch six years before.

Graphic Novels~

Schools may lock up for the night, but class is in session for an entirely different set of students. In the Nightschool, vampires, werewolves, and weirns (a particular breed of witches) learn the fundamentals of everything from calculus to spell casting. Alex is a young weirn whose education has always been handled through homeschooling, but circumstances seem to be drawing her closer to the Nightschool. Will Alex manage to weather the dark forces gathering?

Nonfiction~

A volume of spells and Wiccan lore, including such spells as "Contact someone who has died," "Getting your crush to fall for you," and "Make colleges beg for you."

Forget flying broomsticks, this book unveils the real workings of the Wiccan Craft. Gwinevere Rain, a practitioner since she was 14, shares her insights and experiences as she illuminates the true practice of Wicca. Confessions of a Teenage Witch reveals such essentials as how to: set up a sacred altar, form a personal circle casting, celebrate Wiccan holidays and harness the full power of the moon.

Embracing both the spiritual and the practical, Wicca for Beginners is a primer on the philosophies, culture, and beliefs behind the religion, without losing the mystery that draws many students to want to learn. Detailing practices such as grounding, raising energy, visualization, and meditation, this book offers exercises for core techniques before launching into more complicated rituals and spellwork.

Movie Monday: Wicked Lovely

Hey guys and gals, it's time for another Movie Monday!  This week...

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty--especially if they learn of her Sight--and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost--regardless of her plans or desires. Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, her life; everything .

The beginning of a very popular series, so I'm sure some of you have read it!  Here's what I know about the movie:

The screenplay (script) has been written, but not much else is happening.  Booooo.  Oh well.  I'll let you know when there's more to know!

New Books: Oct. 2012 (Part 4)

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Check the Catalog

Seventeen-year-old Evie O'Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from small-town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of occult-based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, into the thick of the investigation.

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson

Check the Catalog

Tandy Angel is, along with her brothers, a suspect in their parents' murder but having grown up under Malcolm and Maud Angel's perfectionist demands, Tandy decides she must clear the family name no matter what.

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Check the Catalog

Hero. Foreigner. Queen. Elisa, at the age of seventeen, is all three. And all three draw enemies. Faced with assassins, court politics, and the threat of civil war, Elisa despairs of being the ruler her people need. Her only hope is the Godstone. She must master its power once and for all. She finds clues hidden in a long forgotten--and forbidden--scripture. Accompanied by a one-eyed warrior, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa takes a leap of faith and crosses an ocean in search of the ultimate source of the Godstone's power. 

 Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught

Check the Catalog

A mentally ill teenager who rides the "short bus" to school investigates the sudden disappearance of his best friend.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Check the Catalog

A centuries-long war between daimons and witches sets the stage for three teens caught up in a deadly struggle for power and autonomy in the exotic and otherworldly Carnival of Souls, the mercantile center of the daimon dimension.