American Library Association announces 2012 Youth Media Award winners | American Libraries Magazine

American Library Association announces 2012 Youth Media Award winners American Libraries Magazine

Pay special attention to the Michael L. Printz and the Alex awards for teen reads.  What have you guys read off of the list?  I loved Scorpio Races!

Anna Dressed in Blood Review by Jacqui

There have been love stories between humans and vampires, and there have been love stories between humans and werewolves, but where are the love stories between humans and ghosts?  For all of you that have been waiting for a human and ghost love connection, your prayers have been answered!   The new book Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake takes the reader into the world of Cas Lowood, a teenage boy who moves around the country finding and killing murderous ghosts.  Cas and his mother move to a new town to find the so-called ghost, Anna dressed in Blood.  When Cas eventually comes face to face with Anna and tries to kill her, Anna’s strength overcomes him, but for some reason she spares his life.  Cas teams up with a local witch and the homecoming queen to help uncover the truth about Anna’s mysterious death, but they find out more than they ever could imagine.  The book takes many twists and turns, leaving the reader wanting more.  There is mix of romance, horror, gore, and humor throughout the book that keeps you entertained and horrified at the same time.  This book is for anyone who likes the supernatural and enjoys a bit of romance thrown in the mix.  If you end up really enjoying the book, you are in luck; Kendare Blake is coming out with a sequel that will be released sometime this year!   

Friday the 13th!

Superstitions

A superstition is a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, or proceeding. It is also an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious, especially in connection with religion. The word, as we know it, is most commonly associated with the second definition. There are lots of superstitions out there, but to name a few of the common ones they are:

Friday the 13th (Bad luck associated with Judas being the 13th member at the Last Supper and Jesus being crucified on a friday.)

Breaking a mirror (7 years bad luck)

Finding a Horseshoe (Good luck, but make sure you pick it up with your right hand!)

Opening an umbrella inside (Bad luck will "rain" on you.)

Knocking on wood (Knock on wood 3 times after mentioning good fortune or the evil spirits will ruin things for you.)

Tossing spilled salt over your left shoulder (By doing this, you are driving away the evil spirits lurking around to cause to misfortune.)

Black cats (It's bad luck if you cross one of these because they are associated with evil witches.)

Again, these are just a few of the superstitions out there, but there are quite a few books about superstitions available for adults and children. Some that we have here at the library are:

Dictionary of Superstitions by: Iona Archibald Opie

A Treasury of American Superstitions by: Claudia De Lys

Blue Monday and Friday the 13th by: Lila Perl

Jinxed: Baseball superstitions from around the Major Leagues by: Ken Leiker

So, what do you think? Are you superstitious?

BONUS: Did you know the official term for fear of Friday the 13th is paraskevidekatriaphobia?

Bleach by Kubo Noriaki

I am currently going through a graphic novel phase. This has got me obsessed with the manga Bleach. If you don't know what manga is, it is basically Japanese graphic novels. My friend Staci recommended the series to me and now I can't stop. This series is the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper—a death personification kind of like a Grim Reaper—from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife. There are two different types of souls. There are regular souls that still look like humans. Then there are Hollows, that look like monsters and are evil. The hollows attack other good spirits and humans to eat their souls. This series is action packed and has a good plot. Plus, there is still humor in them. Sometimes I even catch myself laughing out loud from these books. Anyone will be able to finish these in a small amount of time since they still are basically pictures. The only downside to these is the characters all have Japanese names so it's kind of hard to pronounce. I would recommend these graphic novels to anyone who wants something to read that is short, adventurous and funny. - Alyson

Prove That Teens Use (and Love) Libraries

Prove That Teens Use (and Love) Libraries

Clockwork Angel - A Review

I FINALLY got around to reading the book Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, which my friend recommended to me. It’s been sitting on my overcrowded bookshelf for awhile, annoyed that it wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. It definitely should have been read sooner, because it was such a guilty pleasure. I usually despise any romance books, especially when I finally read one and the main character dies at the very end without any warning, breaking my soul into a million different pieces, leaving me weeping on the floor, and tempting me to find the author and murder him with no remorse (One Day by David Nicholls). Seriously…I can’t even think about that book without shaking with rage. ANYWAYS, the book Clockwork Angel combines one perfect thing, steampunk, and one questionable thing…romance, and puts it together in one book. For everyone who has no clue what steampunk is, which is almost everyone except horribly geeky people like me, it’s a sub-genre of fantasy/science fiction that combines the Victorian era and mixes it with steam power, aka, complicated mechanical machines. It’s amazing. I’m not going to lay out the plot or anything, but the main character, Tessa, has an interesting ability that allows her to change shape. After various events she arrives at the London institute, and gets to meet the shadowhunters. These are, as described in the book, ridiculously gorgeous people who protect mundanes (normal people) and are actually angels. Yada yada yada, and you get to Will and Jem. They are two shadowhunters that somehow BOTH like Tessa. How does this happen?! Geez…if I had a nickel for every time two guys fought over me…I would have exactly ZERO nickels. Even though this is highly unlikely, this love triangle is so addicting. Both of them are very unique and engrossing. That’s why I have just started the second book in the series and am 123 pages in. Who will win the young maiden's heart?! - Staci