New Books for June - Part 4

The End of Fun by Sean McGinty

Science Fiction 

Seventeen-year-old Aaron is hooked on FUN, a new augmented reality experience that is as addictive as it is FUN. But when he sets off on a treasure hunt, left by his late grandfather, Aaron must navigate the real world and discover what it means to connect--after the game is over.

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

Contemporary Fiction 

Nanette O'Hare, a star student and athlete, is given a mysterious out-of-print cult classic novel by her beloved teacher that sparks the rebel within her, but as she befriends the reclusive author and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that sometimes rebellion comes at a high price.

Fairy Tail vol 31 by Hiro Mashima

Manga (Japanese Graphic Novel) 

Seven years have passed, and without its most powerful wizards Fairy Tail has become the laughingstock of the magical world! Even after returning, Natsu, Erza, Makarov and the others quickly realize that restoring Fairy Tail's good name will be tougher than they imagined. New and far more powerful guilds have arisen, and the upcoming Grand Magic Games might be Fairy Tail's only chance at redemption. But how do you make up for seven years away in just a few days?

Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs

Science Fiction 

Elena Martinez has hidden her eidetic memory all her life--or so she thinks. When powerful tech giant Aether Corporation selects her for a top-secret project, she can't say no. All she has to do is participate in a trip to the future to bring back data, and she'll be set for life. Elena joins a team of four other teens with special skills, including Adam, a science prodigy with his own reason for being there. But when the time travelers arrive thirty years in the future, something goes wrong and they break the only rule they were given: do not look into their own fates. Now they have twenty-four hours to get back to the present and find a way to stop a seemingly inevitable future from unfolding. With time running out and deadly secrets uncovered, Elena must use her eidetic memory, street smarts, and a growing trust in Adam to save her new friends and herself.

Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout

Action/Adventure 

Three underprivileged young prodigies from across the world with incredible skills in technology and engineering team up to become the heroes the world never knew they could be.

The Rest of Your Summer Reading ~ August New Books (part 4)

The Leveller by Julia Durango

The Leveller #1

Action/Adventure 

Nixy Bauer, a sixteen-year-old self-made video-game bounty hunter, gets in over her head when she attempts to rescue a game developer's son from a virtual trap.

Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen

Contemporary Fiction 

Regan Flay is on the cusp of achieving her control-freak mother's "plan" for high school success--cheerleading, student council, the Honor Society--until her life gets turned horribly, horribly upside down. Every bitchy text. Every bitchy email. Every lie, manipulation, and insult she's ever said have been printed out and taped to all the lockers in school. Now Regan has gone from popular princess to total pariah. The only person who even speaks to her is her former best friend's hot but socially miscreant brother, Nolan Letner. Nolan thinks he knows what Regan's going through, but what nobody knows is that Regan isn't really Little Miss Perfect. In fact, she's barely holding it together under her mom's pressure. But the consequences of Regan's fall from grace are only just beginning. Once the chain reaction starts, no one will remain untouched... especially Regan Flay.

Like It Never Happened by Emily Adrian

Contemporary fiction 

As one of The Essential Five theater students at her alternative high school, Rebecca Rivers is preparing to become an actress and enjoying junior year with the perfect boyfriend until life-changing rumors threaten everything.

Lost by S. A. Bodeen

Shipwreck Island #2

Action/Adventure 

Sarah Robinson and her family are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. Their food is running out, and their fear is escalating-there is no sign of rescue. The mysterious girl they found unconscious at the beach is healing, and what she tells them about the strange island and especially about someone called the Keeper has the family on edge. When Sarah's dad and Marco's younger brother go missing, the mystery becomes dangerous. Now, it's a matter of life and death. Now, the family is truly lost.

New Books for June...Finally! (Part 6)

Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto by David Kushner

Nonfiction 

The book explains how British prep school brothers Sam and Dan Houser took their dream of fame, fortune, and the glamor of American pop culture and transformed it into a worldwide videogame blockbuster. Written by David Kushner, author of Masters of Doom and a top journalist on gaming, and drawn from over ten years of interviews and research, including firsthand knowledge of Grand Theft Auto's creators and detractors. Offers inside details on key episodes in the development of the series, including the financial turmoil of Rockstar games, the infamous "Hot Coffee" sex minigame incident, and more.

Legend: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu

Graphic Novel 

Teens June, a military prodigy born into wealth, and Day, a criminal from the slums, are brought together and face plague, war, and a powerful, common enemy.

Lion Heart by A. C. Gaughen

Historical Fiction 

After escaping Prince John's clutches and longing to return to Rob in Nottingham, Scarlet learns that King Richard's life is in jeopardy and accepts Eleanor of Aquitaine's demand that Scarlet spy for her and help bring Richard home safe.

Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond

Action/Adventure 

Lois Lane is the new girl at East Metropolis High, and her instinct to ask questions brings her and her online friend, Smallville Guy, into conflict with some bullying video gamers called the Warheads, who are being used in a dangerous virtual reality experiment.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

Contemporary Fiction 

After enduring his father's suicide, his own suicide attempt, broken friendships, and more in the Bronx projects, Aaron Soto, sixteen, is already considering the Leteo Institute's memory-alteration procedure when his new friendship with Thomas turns to unrequited love.

Thanks for the New Books! ~ November New Books Part 6

Harley Quinn vol. 1

The sensational series that gave Harley Quinn her own New 52 spotlight is collected in hardcover for the first time, from the star-studded #0 issue to issue #8! Don’t miss Harley’s big move to Coney Island as she becomes a roller derby queen – all while she carries on in her criminal career!

How Rude! The Teen Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out by Alex Packer

How Rude! is all-encompassing how-to guide to the manners you need to know. It's a comprehensive compendium of commonsense advice on issues that matter to you. And it's a riot to read.

How to Fall by Jane Casey

When sixteen-year-old Jess Tennant's mother takes her to spend the summer in the tiny English town where she grew up, people look at Jess as if they have seen a ghost due to her resemblance to her cousin Freya, who died shortly before Jess arrived and to whom Jess feels a strange connection.

I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister by Amelie Sarn

Eighteen-year-old Sohane loves no one more than her beautiful, carefree younger sister, Djelila. And she hates no one as much. The two have always shared everything. But now, Djelila is embracing her life as a secular teen, and Sohane is becoming more religious. Every choice has a price. When Sohane starts wearing a head scarf, her school insists that she remove it or she'll be expelled. Meanwhile, Djelila is repeatedly harassed by neighborhood bullies for not following Muslim customs. Sohane can't help thinking that Djelila deserves what she gets. She never could have imagined just how far things would go. I love I hate I miss my sister. In the year following Djelila's tragic death, Sohane struggles with her feelings of loss and guilt, revealing a complex relationship between two sisters, each girl's path to self-discovery, and the consequences they face for being true to themselves. 

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang

Anda loves Coarsegold Online, the massively-multiplayer role playing game that she spends most of her free time on. It's a place where she can be a leader, a fighter, a hero. It's a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. But things become a lot more complicated when Anda befriends a gold farmer -- a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries with money to burn. This behavior is strictly against the rules in Coarsegold, but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person's real livelihood is at stake.

The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan

Stranded in Honolulu when a strange cloud causes a worldwide electronics failure, sixteen-year-old Leilani and her father must make their way home to Hilo amid escalating perils, including her severe epilepsy.

New Books for October ~ Part 3

Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs--at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using captivating photos and compelling first person accounts, award-winning author Candace Fleming ( Amelia Lost ; The Lincolns ) deftly maneuvers between the imperial family's extravagant lives and the plight of Russia's poor masses, making this an utterly mesmerizing read as well as a perfect resource.

Jessamin has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets the gorgeous, enigmatic Finn, who introduces her to the secret world of Albion's nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn't--power, money, status. and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, and the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess them. Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits, can stop him.

When the boy she likes at school disappoints her, fourteen-year-old Thea connects with a fellow player of the online game, Skadi, but although he claims to love her she becomes more and more uncomfortable with him and having to cover up their relationship.

In alternating chapters, eighteen-year-old Darcy Patel navigates the New York City publishing world and Lizzie, the heroine of Darcy's novel, slips into the "Afterworld" to survive a terrorist attack and becomes a spirit guide, as both face many challenges and both fall in love.

Lillian Firestone is Chinese, but the kids in her 1951 Kansas City high school can't separate her from the North Koreans that America is at war with. Sick of the racism she faces at school and frustrated that her adoptive white family just sees it as 'teasing,' Lily begins to search for her birth mother.

Super Smash Bros Brawl League

Starting next week, September 11th, the library will be hosting a Super Smash Bros. Brawl League at the library.

Participants will meet every Thursday from 4-5 p.m. to play the game on the library’s Nintendo Wii.

This program does not require registration but is limited to ages 12-18.

Participants at the first few meetings will agree on the rules and limitations of the league.

There will be a final tournament in December for the Fall league, with a prize of a $25.00 gift card to Gamestop.

Winner of our last tournament in March, Jared Anderson

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Tournament only a week away!

Hey YAs,

Next Saturday from 2:00-4:00 we are having a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament at the library.  There will be snacks and drinks to keep up your gaming energy.  Prove that you are the *BEST* SSBB player!

Ages 12 to 18
Please register by coming in to the library, calling (860-349-9544), emailing Ms. Gardiner, or signing up here on the blog by clicking the events tab up top. 

Mario Kart CHAMPION

So, it's official.  The Durham Public Library Mario Kart Wii Champion is...

Philip!
Congrats Philip!

Here are a few pictures from the tournament.  Yes, I know they are dark and blurry.  Oh well!

Reminder: Mario Kart Tournament on Wednesday!

Don't forget, we're having a Mario Kart Wii Tournament on Wednesday from 4:30-6:30.  Winner gets a $25 giftcard to GameStop!  Sign up soon!

Dont read today**~ Play a video game!

It's National Video Game Day, everyone!  So don't read, play a video game!**  As you may know we have a collection of circulating video games here at the library now for you to check out and play at home.  We have Wii and XBox games.

Don't have a Wii or an XBox?  Then you need to check out my favorite online video games!  My favorite site to play video games on is Kongregate.com - I love earning achievements!  On this site (if you sign up, you don't have to sign up to play) you can earn points and level up your profile by earning achievements on games. Here are some of my favorite games on Kong...

1. Bloons Tower Defense 1 2 3 4 5  - (click on each number to go to that edition of the game) I love tower defense games and the Bloons line are some of the best and cleanest looking ones.  You'll spend hours getting all these achievements.  5 is the newest one and I'm still earning some of my own for that one.

2. Link-a-Pix Vol 1 Vol 2 - I love logic games like these.  Good brain exercise!

3. Upgrade Complete 1 2 - Upgrading is fun too and in Upgrade Complete that's pretty much the point of the whole game.  Also good if you like shooters, but fun if you don't too.  (I hate shooters, but I like this!)
4. Pandemic 2 - I love books about sicknesses and plagues and apparently I love games with them too.  This game is hard to beat completely (it took me several weeks to get that last achievement) and has given me a whole new appreciation for Madagascar...haha.  You'll get it when you play.

5. Elements - If you like card games then you need to try out Elements.  Hands down the best online card game I've played.  And I love going back to this and playing more even when I already got all the achievements.  They occasionally add new cards too.





There are SO MANY MORE games I love on there, its hard to just talk about a few.  But go and discover games you like for yourself.  Maybe start out today with some of my faves, then find ones that you love.  Feel free to comment and tell me your favorite video games too, console, handheld, PC, online, or otherwise!

**Just kidding.  You can read today too!

New books for August are very mysterious! (Part 1)

So, the mystery books have been VERY popular lately, so I decided to order some extra mystery books this month.  Enjoy!

Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde

Check the Catalog

Fourteen-year-old Grace must find a way to get her older sister out of a princess-filled virtual reality RPG (role playing game)--before it is too late.

 My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve

Check the Catalog

Before the start of World War II, ten-year-old Ziska Mangold, who has Jewish ancestors but has been raised as a Protestant, is taken out of Nazi Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains, to live in London with a Jewish family, where she learns about Judaism and endures the hardships of war while attempting to keep in touch with her parents, who are trying to survive in Holland.

Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas

Check the Catalog

When a virus deadly to adults infects their high school, brothers David and Will and the other students soon break into gangs that fight each other for survival and the hope of escaping their quarantine.

Dear Blue Sky by Mary Sullivan

Check the Catalog

Ever since her brother Sef left for Iraq, Cassie has felt like her life is falling apart. Her parents are fighting over her brother having gone to war. Her smart, beautiful sister is messing up. Her little brother, who has Down syndrome, is pretending he's a Marine. And her best friend no longer has time for her. In her loneliness Cassie turns to a surprising source of comfort: Blue Sky, an Iraqi girl she meets through her blog. The girls begin a correspondence and Cassie learns that when Blue Sky says "I want my life back," she means something profound, as she can no longer venture out in her destroyed city. Cassie takes strength from Blue Sky's courage and is inspired to stop running away from the pain, and to reclaim her life.

 The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

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Just before her sixteenth birthday, Brie Eagan literally dies of a broken heart when her boyfriend tells her he does not love her, and she then must go through the five stages of grief, while watching her friends and family try to cope with her death, before her faith in love is restored and she can move on to the afterlife.

Have you been to Wii Wednesdays yet?

Wii Wednesdays are a blast, let me tell you.  We play video games, chat, and have a snack.  And it happens every Wednesday from 3-4!  The game we play the most often is Mario Kart, but we have more!

So why not come by next week?  Open to kids and teens ages 12 to 18.  No registration required!

New books for September! part 2

The Robot by Paul E. Watson

Check the Catalog

When unpopular freshman Gabe Messner and his best friend Dover crack the code to the forbidden laboratory of Gabe's father, they unwittingly unleash T.R.I.N.A., a beautiful blonde robot programmed with a mission that the two boys must put to a stop.

 Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Check the Catalog

Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night and at first she thinks that she's still being punished for complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway.  But what unfolds is far worse...the sister of the Moroi Queen is in danger and Sydney is called upon to be her guardian...in a human boarding school in California.

My Big Mouth: 10 Songs I Wrote that Almost Got Me Killed by Peter Hannan

Check the Catalog

When Davis Delaware moves to a new school after the death of his mother, he immediately gets on the wrong side of Gerald, the school bully, when he creates a band called The Amazing Dweebs along with Molly, the girl he has a crush on--who also happens to be Gerald's girlfriend.

 Edda by Conor Kostick

Check the Catalog

In the virtual world of Edda, ruler Scanthax decides he wants to invade another virtual world, embroiling the universes of Edda, Saga, and Epic in war, with only three teenagers to try to restore peace.

The Hidden Coronet by Catherine Fisher

Check the Catalog

Sixteen-year-old Raffi and Master Galen continue to evade the Watch as they seek the Coronet, a potent ancient relic that could be their only hope for defeating the power that is destroying Anara.