The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
Teen Zone New Fiction Main Level– COLLINS

The United States of America no longer exists; it has been devastated by war, fire, drought, and famine. Panem is the new country. Panem is separated into the Capitol and twelve districts. There used to be a 13th district but the people of the district rebelled and the Capitol erased them. Once a year to show how in control they are the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl (ages 12-17) to compete in the Hunger Games. There are 24 contestants and only one winner. In District 12 Katniss volunteers to take the place of her sister Prim and Peeta is chosen as the boy. Each moment of The Games is televised for everyone to watch. The winner of The Games gets a house to live in with all the amenities; running water hot and cold, and enough food and money every month to last a lifetime. Katniss and Peeta form a bond that can never be broken as they struggle and fight to win The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins pens a brilliant trilogy about strength, courage, and desire. If you are intrigued by book one, check out book two, Catching Fire and due out in Fall of 2010 is the conclusion, Mockingjay.



Catching Fire
Teen Zone New Fiction Main Level– COLLINS


Release: Fall of 2010

Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen

Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best
Picture Book Shelves - Lower Level - BES

Sally Jean Sprockett loves to ride bikes from a very young age. At first, she is in a baby seat behind her mother. Soon she has her very own tricycle. Sally Jean loves to honk her horn and wave to people as she watches familiar springtime sights of caterpillars, birds, and lawn mowers. Eventually she nicknames herself “The Bicycle Queen” because she can “pop wheelies,” “touch the sky,” and fix her friends’ bicycles. It seems like Sally Jean will always be happy with her bike “Flash” until she turns 8 years old. Now she is too big for “Flash.” What is a girl to do?

Told in lilting rhyme with a repetitive text, Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best is the perfect story for young listeners. They will love to see that as Sally Jean changes, her bike "Flash" adjusts right along with her. The beautiful ink-and-watercolor illustrations by Christine Davenier match the delightful story perfectly. Further, the pictures convey just the right springtime freshness that makes this the perfect read for the next couple of months.

Rex Libris

Rex Libris: I, Librarian by James Turner
Adult Graphic Novels – Main Level - REX

Some libraries have gone soft, allowing talking, hanging out, even tolerating overdue books. Not at Middleton Public Library, where Rex Libris and Circe are in charge. Middleton may sound average, but it has rare books from all over the universe, and is situated on a convergence of ley lines that allows fictional characters to wander around the library from time to time. Hard-hitting sesquipedalian librarian Rex Libris is on the job, preventing evil samurai from destroying the library and journeying to outer space (assisted by his gun-happy chickadee) to retrieve overdue books from space emperors. I have read more than once that comic books use higher vocabulary than regular fiction, but this uses the highest proportion of erudite words I have ever seen in a non-scholarly text. It’s also highly self-aware, with editor’s notes from a fake editor at the beginning of each issue (several bound together in the book) and the occasional nonsensical intrusion from the editor, which Rex must take a break from the story to protest before the story can continue. The one downside is that the book has such dense and tiny text (was it shrunk down to fit the paperback?) that it took focus and holding the book up close to read. Still, this is good adventuring for book-lovers with a sense of humor.

After You

After You by Julie Buxbaum
Adult New Book Display-Main Level – BUXBAUM

The unthinkable happened; Lucy Stafford was murdered walking her eight year old daughter to school. Lucy and Sophie were walking along the tree lined streets of Knotting Hill in the morning on the way to school when a man came out of nowhere and brutally stabbed Lucy. Ellie Lerner and Lucy have been best friends since they were 4 years old. When Ellie heard what happened she dropped everything in Boston and took off for London to be with her goddaughter, Sophie and Lucy’s husband, Greg.

In the short time after the accident Sophie had stopped talking all together and Greg started working more and drinking, completely forgetting that he has a daughter at home who needed him. Ellie was there to try and pick up the pieces of their shattered life. Ellie is desperate to help Sophie in any way she can. Together Ellie and Sophie started reading The Secret Garden. As time went on and the two found comfort in the book things gradually got better for Sophie and worse for Ellie. As Ellie tried to pick up the pieces that Lucy left behind she learned terrible secrets about her. The longer Ellie stayed in London the more her marriage and life in Boston started falling apart to the point where it might be unfixable. Ellie learns that she needs to face the problems in her marriage as well as the betrayal that Lucy caused her husband and daughter. Through this heart wrenching journey Ellie learns a lot about herself and Lucy and has finally come to terms with what she wants.

Dignifying Science

Dignifying Science: Stories about Women Scientists by Jim Ottaviani et al
Teen Zone Nonfiction – Main Level – 500.82

Jim Ottaviani is a very nice local comic book writer and librarian who focuses on science titles. This one came out after a similar book featuring male scientists. I recently saw him at a panel discussion where he talked about all the research he does for his books, putting in days and years of reading to find the small true details that will bring the story to life. This book features stories about lesser-known women scientists who nonetheless made great contributions to science and technology. Each short story is both interesting and packs in a lot of information about its subject. Each is illustrated by a different female comic book artist – I recognized Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Lea Hernandez (Birds of Prey, Killer Princesses), and Linda Medley (Castle Waiting). Featured scientists include Hedy Lamarr, Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin, Barbara McClintock and Birute Galdikas, with prologue and epilogue featuring Marie Sklodovska Curie. These are stories of women passionate and enthusiastic about their fields, even as they are often encouraged to go into different fields, their contributions unrecognized while their male colleagues receive Nobel prizes. Copious end-notes include explanations, sources, and recommended books for further reading. This could be enjoyed by upper elementary children up through adults, though it’s shelved in teen here.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by William Kamkwamba
New Book Shelves - Upper Level 621.312 K

Also available in Large print

A teenager in Malawi built a windmill from scraps to create electricity for his home and his village. This is a hopeful story of ingenuity and progress! It inspires the reader to find ways to improve their own envirnoment and those around them. The exciting aspect of this book is that a teenager with only scraps for resources managed to change the lives of an entire village. Imagine what we can do with the resources available to us!

Beach Blondes

Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate
Teen Zone Fiction-Main Level – APPLEGATE

Just in time for spring break, Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate is the perfect vacation read. Summer Smith is originally from Bloomington, Minnesota but she is spending the summer in Crab Claw Key, Florida. She is very excited to hang out with her cousin Diana and have a fun in the sun summer. Things do not go exactly as planned. First off Summer meets a lady on the plane who reads tarot cards. She told Summer that she will meet three guys; a dangerous one, a mysterious one, and the right one. Summer did meet three guys; Adam the rich and powerful Senator’s son and Diana’s ex-boyfriend, Diver the drifter that has been sleeping on the roof of Diana’s stilt house, and Seth the one with the girlfriend. They all have a hand in changing her life forever. Diana was not as excited about Summer spending 3 months at her house. Summer still had the time of her life but there were a few bumps along the way. Summer was ready for non stop fun but is she ready for working, a crazy friend names Marquez, and three guys who all want her attention? This is a perfect beach/vacation/lazy read. Easy and fun to read and you can’t help but want be in the Florida Keys with the entire gang! If you want more of Summer’s life check out:

Spring Break Reunion (Summer visits the Keys again during Spring Break)










Tan Lines by Katherine Applegate
    Teen Zone Fiction-Main Level – APPLEGATE