New Books for April 2016 (part 5)

Identity Crisis by Melissa Schorr

Contemporary Fiction 

Who does she think she is? Annalise audacious freshman-year hookup with Cooper Franklin has a trio of friends thirsting for revenge. So they catfish Annalise by creating the perfect virtual guy, with Noelle playing along reluctantly only because her lifelong crush, Cooper, is in love with Annalise. As Annalise falls for it, even buying tickets for the concert of the year for her and her mythical new guy, Noelle feels more and more guilty. Then, the whole thing blows up and Annalise faces her betrayers. But when Annalise forgives, the reunited friends learn that adults even famous adults can be even more bogus than teenagers.

The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Graphic Novel 

The threat of Mortmain's Infernal Devices looms as the Shadowhunters race to work out a way to counteract the mechanical monsters. Meanwhile, plans for Tessa's marriage to Jem are underway, despite her fiancé's failing health and the unresolved feelings between her and Will. When Tessa is captured, Will must leave his comrade behind to save the woman they both love... But with the final missing piece—Tessa herself—in Mortmain's possession, can anything stop his plot for revenge?

It's a Wonderful Death by Sarah Schmitt

Paranormal 

Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She'll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be? But with each changing moment, RJ's life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Contemporary Fiction 

Four superfan friends devotion to their favorite boy band has darkly comical and murderous results! Okay, so just know from the start that it wasn't supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near The Ruperts, our favorite boy band. We didn't mean to kidnap one of the guys. It kind of, sort of happened that way. But now he's tied up in our hotel room. And the worst part of all, it's Rupert P. All four members of The Ruperts might have the same first name but they couldn't be more different. And Rupert P. is the biggest flop out of the whole group. We didn't mean to hold hostage a member of The Ruperts, I swear. At least, I didn't. We are fans. Okay, superfans who spend all of our free time tweeting about the boys and updating our fan tumblrs. But so what, that's what you do when you love a group so much it hurt s. How did it get this far? Who knows. I mean midterms are coming up. I really do not have time to go to hell.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Paranormal 

It's been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn't lead her in treacherous directions... Making things even more complicated, Julian's brother Mark--who was captured by the faeries five years ago--has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind--and they need the Shadowhunters' help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn't recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it? 

April Books bring May...more books! (April new books part 3)

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Fantasy

In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and to make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king.

The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi

Action/Adventure

When a radical band of teen activists claim that Alix's powerful father covers up wrongdoing by corporations that knowingly allow innocent victims to die in order to make enormous profits from unsafe products, she must decide if she will blow the whistle on his misdeeds.

Dragonball 3-in-1 vol 5 by Akira Toriyama

Graphic Novel

King Piccolo is all set for world domination, but first he needs to gather the seven Dragon Balls together to restore his youth. Goku and his friends are fighting to stop Piccolo, but things are looking grim for the good guys as Piccolo picks them off one by one. Their only hope is a martial arts move known as the “Mafū-Ba,” a technique so powerful that it killed the last person who used it. But that won’t stop Kame-Sen’nin and Tenshinhan from trying it, even if it means forfeiting their own lives in the process!

 

Fairy Tail volumes 15 & 16 by Hiro Mashima

Graphic Novel

Volume 15: Laxus' protectors have all been defeated, but he still remains one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, and his Thunderous Palace is threatening to rain down death and destruction on the innocent people of Magnolia!  Can the two dragon slayers, Natsu and Gajeel, manage to keep from fighting each other enough to stop him?

Volume 16: The dark guilds have allied, and the only thing that Fairy Tail can do to stop them is to ally with three other guilds and try to take on the most powerful wizards in the underworld.  But the dark guild wizards won't wait for our heroes to make the first move!  This volume begins the epic Nirvana storyline!

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Contemporary Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles her senior year in high school as she copes with her friend Cindy's pregnancy, friend Sebastian's coming out, her father's meth habit, her own cravings for food and cute boys, and especially, the poetry that helps forge her identity.

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

New books to spend the holidays with~ (Part 2)

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

In 1889 London young women are turning up dead, and Evaline Stoker, relative of Bram, and Mina Holmes, niece of Sherlock, are summoned to investigate the clue of the not-so-ancient Egyptian scarabs--but where does a time traveler fit in?

Mystic by Alyson Noel

Since coming to Enchantment, New Mexico everything in Daire Santos life has changed. And not all for the better. While she's come to accept and embrace her new powers as a Soul Seeker, Daire struggles with the responsibility she holds navigating between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Inhuman by Kat Falls 

Beyond the Titan wall lies the Feral Zone, and the only people who break quarantine and venture there are the "fetches", who are paid exorbitant sums to bring back items that were left behind when the wall went up--but Delaney McEvoy's father is there and she is being forced to find him and bring him back.

 Maximum Ride: The Manga vol 4 by James Patterson

Despite their initial hesitation, living with Anne has softened the Flock, so Max is keenly aware that it's time to leave. With Thanksgiving so near, though, all of them want to stay, at least until they've had their first ever Thanksgiving turkey! But danger is on the horizon as Jeb's plan advances, and while the Flock's new school seems normal and safe, secrets are hidden beneath its prestigious facade...

The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Journeying in the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase discovers that his nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

~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! ;)

April showers bring May...books :) (Part 1)

Here are the new books for May...lots of highly anticipated releases this month.  Enjoy!

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine

Check the Catalog

In Last Breath, the rain brought a new and dire threat to Morganville and its vampires... their ancient enemies, the draug. Now, the vampires are fighting a losing war, and it will fall to the residents of the Glass House: Michael, Eve, Shane and Claire, to take the fight to an enemy who threatens to destroy the town, forever.
Lovers of Morganville, rejoice: Black Dawn takes the intrigue, romance and nail-biting suspense of the series to its highest level yet!

 Destined by Aprilynne Pike

Check the Catalog

Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful'and deadly'of all, and Klea plans to use her to help conquer and destroy Avalon. But Klea's reach extends far beyond one wild Winter faerie. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares to face what may be Avalon's final days, in the stunning conclusion to the Wings series.

 **Out May 8**

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Check the Catalog

When Jace vanishes with Sebastian, Clary and the Shadowhunters struggle to piece together their shattered world and Clary infiltrates the group planning the world's destruction.

 **Out May 8**

Naruto vol. 56 by Masashi Kishimoto

Check the Catalog

Naruto and the Allied Shinobi Forces battle Kabuto's hordes of reanimated ninja soldiers.  In the process, they come face-to-face with old friends brought back from the dead...plus enemies and weapons more fearsome than any they could have imagined!

Void by Rhiannon Lassiter

Check the Catalog

The CPS, a secret government agency, is on a mission to seek and destroy the Hex - human mutants with supercomputer minds. They are young. They look like normal teens. They must never be allowed to grow up. But the CPS hasn't discovered Raven. Soon they will feel her power and know her rage. Raven and her brother, Wraith, must use Raven’s Hex powers and Wraith’s street skills to save first their long-lost sister, and then the entire Hex community. But before they start, Raven must overcome her mantra: work alone and think only of herself. Even then the challenges don't stop as they must crack the top-secret and high-tech security of the CPS, ally with a political-terrorist group, and then ultimately take down the evil European Federation.

 

New books for October (Part 3)

Tighter by Adele Griffin

Check the Catalog

Based on Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw," tells the story of Jamie Atkinson's summer spent as a nanny in a small Rhode Island beach town, where she begins to fear that the estate may be haunted, especially after she learns of two deaths that occurred there the previous summer.

 Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Check the Catalog

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of pickpocket orphans in London. 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. 

 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Check the Catalog

Seventeen-year-old Mara cannot remember the accident that took the lives of three of her friends but, after moving from Rhode Island to Florida, finding love with Noah, and more deaths, she realizes uncovering something buried in her memory might save her family and her future.

 Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Check the Catalog

When her boyfriend is killed in a car accident, high school student Wren Darby uses her hidden powers to bring him back from the dead, never imagining the consequences that will result from her decision.

 You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis

Check the Catalog

Teenaged Luna, who lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side with her movie director father, tries to piece together the death of her mother with the seven unheard messages left on her forgotten cell phone.