Teens' Top Ten

Every year in the libraryland we celebrate Teen Read Week, an annual encouragement to teens to read for fun. This year the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) announced the winners of Teens' Top Ten to kick off the week. What is Teens' Top Ten you ask? A select group of teens nominate their favorite books from the last year. Then in April YALSA releases the nominees so teens can read them over the summer. Then in August and September teens vote online for their overall favorites.



This year's winner is Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel.
The first book in her Infernal Devices series is set in Victorian London. Tessa follows her brother to London after he mysteriously stops communicating to her and her search leads her into London's supernatural underworld. This series is the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series.

To be perfectly honest, I tried to read this book. I really wanted to like it. I really really did. I love the whole steampunk/supernatural elements. I just could not finish it. I kept putting it aside for another book and then another book and then... You get the picture. Maybe it's time for me to try it again--especially because the sequel is coming out soon (Clockwork Prince 12/2011)!


So the rest of the Top ten titles are below. Which ones were your favorites? What book missed the mark for you or is missing from this list?

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Matched by Ally Condie

Angel: A Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Congratulations to Cassandra Clare and the other honorees!

L.K. Madigan

This month has not been a good month for literature. First, Brian Jacques (author of the Redwall series) passed away, then Perry Moore and now L.K. Madigan.

Madigan wrote two teen novels. Her first, Flash Burnout, was the 2010 William C. Morris YA Debut Award winner.

And her newest novel, Mermaid's Mirror, takes on mermaids in the real world. Lena has always been drawn to the ocean. Is it because of her ex-surfer father or is it because of the glimpse of a mermaid's tail she saw in the cove?

With all of the losses we've had this month in teen literature, let's celebrate their works by reading and passing them on to our friends!

Nothing by Janne Teller

There are books that people should read to challenge their way of thinking, to stretch their literary range. This was one for me. The Printz award honor recipient also won the Danish Cultural Ministry Prize for best youth book in 2001. When Pierre Anton left school after stating that nothing means anything, he began taunted his former classmates on their way to school. In return, they decide to find meaning in giving up things with meaning. It begins innocuously enough, the narrator has to give up her coveted green sandals, but it soon escalates. Innocence, a Jesus statue, prayer mat, a dead baby brother, et cetera.


Horrific, but powerful. I had to turn away from the book several times in order to stomach some of the scenes, but I had to know how it would all turn out.


If you're looking for a book to stretch you philosophically and can appreciate realistic fiction books, then you should pick this one up and give it a try. I'll be really honest--I'm glad I read it and it won't leave me for a long time, but I don't know if I'll be able to re-read it any time in the near future.

Printz Winner: Ship Breaker

With as many of the teen librarians who have already read this book, I am amazed that no one blogged about it already. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi was this year's Printz Award Winner. In case you don't know, the Printz Award is given to the best written book published for teens the previous year. It's selected by a committee of librarians. It's the teens' version of the Newbery Award.


So this year it's this book that won the award:

Nailer is a scavenger working on ripping cooper wiring out of old oil tankers. This would fall into the category of "Jobs you really don't want." Imagine crawling through the walls of a ship with the only light being LED paint painted on your face and as you sweat, the paint comes off. Claustrophobic, much?


After a city-killer storm, he discovers a swank's clipper (Rich person boat) and thinks he's got himself a Lucky Strike, but then he sees Nita, the swank girl who owns the boat. She's still alive and promises that her people will reward him richly if he saves her. But to save her, he has to go against his past, his father, and a whole lot of big scary guys. If he killed her, well, pardon the pun, he'd make a killing. What would you do?


Full of action, environmental destruction all around, and a cast of interesting characters. Quite a good book if I do say so myself.

The Book Version of the Oscars

Okay, so we don't get all dressed up and have a red carpet to walk down, but the Monday morning of the ALA Midwinter Conference is the morning that the big announcements are made. It's the morning that we all wait with anticipation to find out who won the Printz, Newbery, Caldecott, and other book related awards. Since this is the teen book blog, I'll start with the Printz award. This award is given to the book that "exemplifies literary excellence." It must be written and published for teens in the US the previous year (2008). This year's winner was quite a surprise to me. I didn't go into the program thinking that a particular book was a sure thing unlike a few years ago when Looking for Alaska by John Green won. I was pretty sure that I knew one or two of the honor titles though.

This year's Printz Award goes to... (drum roll, please) Jellicoe Road by Melina Marvetta. Seeing as I haven't read a new book except for reviewing purposes this year, I haven't read it yet. But here's the synopsis the library has for the novel. Abandoned by her drug-addicted mother at the age of eleven, high school student Taylor Markham struggles with her identity and family history at a boarding school in Australia. So now I'm going to be number 6 on the holds list for this book, unless I scrounge up a copy I got at ALA Annual this past summer...

Now the Printz committee, consisting of 9 librarians across the nation, also select honor books. This year's honor books (which I got one right!)were:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Nation by Terry Pratchett

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

There were plenty other awards announced at this program. For the full list of winners check out the YALSA website--especially the Morris Award which was awarded for the first time this year and is for the best debut book.

Moving away from teen stuff for a moment, I'd also like to mention the Newbery Award. This is the award most people are aware of--best literary book for children 8-14 years of age. For the past few months, the Newbery award has come under fire for choosing books that are liked by librarians and adults, but not children. Part of me thinks that they may have chosen this year's winner to counter-act this debate, but for whatever reason they decided to give the award to a favorite writer of both children and adults alike and I couldn't be happier.

The winner of the John Newbery Award is Neil Gaiman for his novel The Graveyard Book. Congratulations, Mr. Gaiman! We were very excited to hear your name announced as the winner. If you want to hear his story of his own reaction, check out his blog. By the way, if you don't follow his blog, I highly suggest you start! It's great.

Anyway, I suppose those are the major announcements you readers would be most interested in. In the upcoming days, I'll be blogging about the different selection lists that YALSA committee members created at the midwinter conference, so there will be plenty more reading options to come!

The Mock Printz Results

Today we held our Mock Printz discussion and after about three hours of conversation and thoughtful debate our winner is . . . drum roll, please. . .

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Not a comforting novel by any means, but a brilliant one for sure.

We also chose three honors books, which were:

Paper Towns by John Green
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

For a full list of the books we nominated and discussed, go to www.glendaleaz.com/library/mock and scroll down to the Printz list.

The Printz Award

On Monday, I went to the Printz Award reception. There the honorees and winner of the Printz Award presented their acceptance speeches. A variety of book genres and accents were represented with the winners. The honorees were from New Zealand, Australia, and two from America (one with a Southern accent). The winner was from the United Kingdom. The honorees were a nonfiction title, a fantasy, a black comedy, and a realistic fiction book. The winner was a survival story. What a variety! There's something for everyone in this year's list of winners!

The first honoree of the evening was Judith Clarke. She was honored for her book, One Whole and Perfect Day. This book focuses on families. Lily has an eccentric family and when preparing for her grandfather's 80th birthday celebration, she just wants them to be normal for one day. But of course, that's really too much to ask for! Ms. Clarke was unable to attend the reception, but she sent a video that I hope will be available later on for other people to view.

The fantasy winner was Elizabeth Knox for her second book in the Dreamhunter Duet called Dreamquake. This New Zealander has a fabulous accent. Seriously, I just wanted to listen to her talk nonstop! I don't know many people who have read this book or the first one in the series, but hopefully this award will grab some people's attention! This fantasy delves into dream worlds which has always fascinated me...

The next author who won a Printz honor award was Stephanie Hemphill. She won for Your Own, Syvlia. The author writes a wonderful nonfiction book about the life of the famous and tragic poet, Sylvia Plath. And she does it in verse. When Ms. Hemphill spoke she began her speech in verse which made me want to listen to her so much more! Karen wrote about this book when it first came out, so after you read this post, make sure to read Karen's take on this book! I have a soft spot for Sylvia Plath, so I'm always happy that there are writers who love her too.

The final honor book was awarded to A.M. Jenkins for Repossessed. Out of all the books that won this evening, this is the title I was most excited about. Repossessed is the type of book that no one really ever thinks has a chance to win a literary award (or an Oscar if it was a movie for that matter). Funny books simply aren't taken as seriously as those realistic fiction titles. Ms. Jenkins' last three books have had a supernatural slant to them --ghost story, vampires, and this one, fallen angels. Kiernan is a demon--working in the depths of hell, day in, day out for years--so he leaves hell. A vacation of sorts and inhabits the body of a 17 year old boy and learns all the little things about life. Karen also wrote about this one, so go check out her thoughts!

The winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for 2008 was Geraldine McCaughrean for White Darkness. This survival story is set in Antarctica as teenager, Symone, discovers that the man she thought was her uncle is obsessed. Karen wrote about this one too. Karen finished this book and nominated it for our Mock Printz award and told me that this was the book that was going to win. Some years we really have a good as to what book will win or at least get an honor. This year, I don't know of a single mock Printz group that called it. Except Karen. That's pretty impressive. Karen reads a lot and loves literary books, so if you're looking for book suggestions on that level--check out her posts. Not that the rest of us aren't as good as Karen! I don't want you (or her) to think that. We don't need to feed Karen's ego! ;)

Anyway, those were the winners that were announced in January. But I just heard their acceptance speeches last night at the ALA conference. I was told that they were going to be putting the acceptance speeches on YALSA's website at www.ala.org/yalsa. So keep an eye on that site and hopefully they'll be up soon!

American Library Association Annual Conference

So I'm currently at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Anaheim. I'm always exhausted when I get back from a conference, but this time it's been a little different. I think I've grown used to going on 4-6 hours of sleep instead of my usual 8-10; being gone from 8 am until midnight or later each day; and tyring to remember all the meetings I'm supposed to attend. When I first began participating in the Young Adult Library Association (YALSA), I was able to attend author signings, professional development programs, and meetings about the best books written for teens. This year I have only been able to attend my assigned committees (intellectual freedom --three of them; and popular paperbacks for young adults). But I have been able to meet loads of authors at dinners and receptions!

I adore meeting authors and hear them speak. Their passion about writing and their books make me want to go out and read them even more! Plus, I get their books signed for people...

So I thought I'd mention some of the authors I met this time around.

Probably my favorite was Neal Shusterman. When I first heard of his new book Unwind, I immediately was reminded of the argument my mother would say whenever we were fighting. "It's not too late to abort you!" This book is set after the second Civil War. Before the age of reason--thirteen, life is precious and untouchable. But those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others. Unwind follows three teens who aer trying not to be unwound. With my mom's threat in my mind, I find this book fascinatingly creepy. Mr. Shusterman was very kind and listened to people gush to him about his writing and signed my book with a personalization!

At the same dinner, I spoke about Ellen Hopkins' books' popularity with our teens in Phoenix. I am always amazed that teens will read not only these massive tomes of books, but also about such gritty and edgy topics in VERSE! But they do and they love her honesty in the books. Her newest book, Identical, delves into the topic of sexual abuse. The library hasn't ordered this yet, but look for this fall.

At another reception, I met Melissa de la Cruz. You know, the lady who writes the massively popular Blue Bloods series! She was nothing like i imagined her to be. A teen asked me to look for an advanced copy of book three in the series. I am sorry to say that they only had a preview of an excerpt of it. I did get it so that the teen would be able to have at least that!

The last author I'm going to mention in this post is the winner of the Margaret Edwards Award. This award is for the life time achievement of writing for young adults (you know, teens!). This year's winner is Orson Scott Card. I was really interested in what he would talk about since he doesn't really like to discuss his books as well as the fact that there was some controversy over having him as the winner. His book Ender's Game is one of the best coming of age science fiction story I've ever had the opportunity to read. But besides that, he is an extremely gracious man. I spoke with him when I had a book signed by him. I had him sign it for my nephew who is a teen. He and his father read the series together and over Thanksgiving, he told his grandfather that he thought he would enjoy them. So my father-in-law asks me for the whole series so he can discuss them with my nephew. Here is three generations reading the same book and each finding valuable things within it to discuss with one another. How amazing is that! I'd love to hear about more experiences like that. I love how books can reach different aged readers!

So, there were some of the authors I met at the conference. I also received many advanced copies of books that I think people are going to love! But since I'm going to be on vacation soon, Karen will most likely beat me to reading those!

Flight

I’m a reading fiend these days. (Okay, I am a reading find everyday). No sooner had I finished Taken by Edward Bloor, than I raced through Flight by Sherman Alexie. It’s not that surprising that I read the book so quickly, considering it’s less than 200 pages, and the narrator, a teenage boy, talks fast and bluntly. The voice reminded me of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in some ways—another Indian teenager speaking in first person about his life—but this kid, known as “Zits” for the terrible acne he suffers, is much angrier, much less hopeful about his life, much bleaker in his outlook in general. And he has little reason not to be this way.

Zits has been bounced from one foster family to another, from one group home to another, and from one juvenile jail cell to another. He’s angry and he’s got a violent streak and the adults in his life have constantly let him down. He’s the perfect mark for a jailhouse friend who calls himself “Justice.” Justice feeds on the anger and the rage. Justice quickly becomes Zits’s best friend, takes him to the abandoned building where they squat for awhile, and trains Zits to shoot. When he can handle a weapon, Zits goes into a bank, armed with a paint gun and a real gun, and opens fire. But a security guard returns fire, hitting Zits in the back of the head. In the moment Zits falls to the floor, knowing he’s dead, he suddenly careens through space and time, “flying” without control or will into another person’s body. As time goes on, Zits winds up in series of other people’s bodies, experiencing their emotions, remembering their memories and living their lives. In the course of these travels, he learns much about violence, war, guilt and humanity.

This book was published for adults and the author has said that the reason Flight is adult rather than teen is due to the violence of the story and the fact that Zits ends up in adult bodies most of the time. I was curious to see whether or not I agreed with his assessment and I did not. (Yes, I dare to disagree with the author!) In the end, I see what Alexie was getting at, but honestly, given the breadth of subject matter, issues, and violence in teen novels, I don’t see any reason why this book couldn’t be considered teen. If anything, it’s on the border between the two age groups, just like teens themselves are on the border between childhood and adulthood. Yes, there is violence, but it isn’t gratuitous. Yes, Zits winds up in adult bodies. But he is always partially himself within those bodies, and the story is told in his voice, in language that feels very“teen.” So, this book may be technically “adult” but it has considerable teen appeal. Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) gives out Alex awards each year. This is a list of adult titles with big teen appeal. I was surprised that Flight didn’t make the cut. Then I realized that it wound up on YALSA’s Best Books for Teens list instead. See, even YALSA thinks it’s teen, Mr. Alexie.

But let’s not quibble about age designations. Let’s talk about what a good book this was. Though it's harder to love Zits than it is to love Junior (of The Absolutely True Diary), I did love Zits by the story’s end. Zits is compelling, and his story is compelling. Alexie has a way of making the reader keep turning the pages. I also really enjoyed the supernatural or mystical aspect of the story--who wouldn't be interested in the concept of riding shotgun in another person's consciousness--and I loved that Zits wound up in both Indian bodies and white bodies, as well as finding himself in historical eras that really tested his blossoming sense of morality. I kept wondering: Which body would Zits inhabit next? What would he learn from each “flight” into another human’s consciousness? Why was this happening to him? Was he in Purgatory? Hell? And would Zits ever have a chance to undo the damage he had done, to others and to his own life?

The Printz Winner

Yes! The White Darkness has won the Michael L. Printz award this year! Scroll down a few entries and you will see my extremely enthusiastic blog about this incredible book. I am so pleased to see it get the credit it is due. I wrote previously that I thought The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian would snag the award (which is the highest American honor for teen literature, just in case ya didn't know) but after I read The White Darkness, I changed my mind. Go read it!

I am also thrilled to see that two other books I blogged about won honors: Your Own, Sylvia and Repossessed.

The two other honors I have not yet read. They are Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox and One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke.

Go forth and read!

My First Post!

Better Late than Never! Having worked as a Youth and Teen Librarian with Glendale for nearly 9 months, I am finally contributing to Book Obsession.

Next week the ALSC Youth Media Awards discussions will take place in Chicago and the winners will be announced on January 14th. Most of us don't get to attend the real thing, so last week a bunch of youth and teen librarians from the valley got together to hold Mock Caldecott, Newberry, and Printz discussions. Karen was part of the Mock Printz discussion group (YA books) and I was part of the Mock Newberry discussion (Youth Books). I thought I would take a minute to talk about the books that my group decided were the very best in youth literature from 2007.

I know what your thinking, why talk Newberry on a teen literature blog? Well... It is not unusual for a teen book or a book with teen appeal to receive the Newberry Medal or Honor. For example, Criss-Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins won the Newberry in 2006. In our discussion it was easy to see that most of the front runners this year would appeal to an older audience. Of the 3 books we chose for our Mock Newberry awards, one was written for teens and can be found in the teen section, and the other 2, though in the Youth Department, have teenagers for main characters and discuss situations that are pretty intense. They are worth looking at.

Our Mock Newberry winner is Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This book is just beautiful all around. Written in free verse from the perspective of Kek, a teenage boy from Sudan. He has come to the United States as a refugee from the slaughter in his country. Having lost almost everything that he knew, loved, and understood Kek comes to the American Midwest to stay with his Aunt and Cousin, also recent refugees. A depressed cow aids Kek's transition into his new world. Coming from a long line of Cattle Herdsman, Kek is able to hold onto a piece of his own identity through his love for the old cow he meets on his first day in America. Kek is thrown into a world completely alien to him(apart from the cow). He's never seen snow, gone to school, shopped at a grocery store, or used a dishwasher and yet while still trying to cope with the loss of his family, Kek adapts to his new world. The story is, as you must have guessed, very sad but it is also completely hopeful and ends on a high note. If this one doesn't at least get a Newberry Honor I will be miffed!



Okay, the next one on my list is Blackbringer by a new fantasy author named Laini Taylor. This one was written for teens and is shelved in the teen department. I know there are lots of people out there who cringe at the thought of another fairy book, but I am not one of them. Faeries in Blackbringer are not of the cutesy Disney variety, nor are they the slightly sinister slightly sexy faeries of Tithe by Holly Black (also a good read). Magpie and the other faeries of Dreamdark are a somewhere in the middle. Magpie, is a young faerie (by faerie standards anyway) who travels around recapturing devils that have been set loose by clueless and curious humans (Unfortunately devils were imprisoned in bottle, and the genie story is reeking havoc). An open bottle with the seal of one of the world's creators has been found, and the race is on to discover what deep dark sinister demon was important enough to be sealed in that bottle, and how he can be stopped before his darkness devours the living world. The plot is complex but fast paced and the characters are well developed. But what really will attract fantasy readers, aren't the faeries so much as the intricate world that Taylor created. The world is both geographically and politically complex, it has a real sense of history, it is full of the wonder and oddness one expects from a fantasy world, and I felt like I was there. I don't know that it will really win any awards (fantasies seldom do), but it's a winner in my book. Oh, and you'll love the cigar smoking crows!



Last but certainly not least is When I Crossed No-Bob by Margaret McMullan. Addy O'Donnell is a 12 year old girl in the post civil war south. A true Hillbilly from a violent and inbred family, Addy is in desperate straights. Dirt poor, half starved, and abandoned at a wedding she wasn't even invited to, Addy finds herself at the mercy of a newly wed couple who might be the first decent people she has ever had a relationship with. Mr. Frank a farmer and school teacher is dubious about an O'Donnell's ability to make anything out of herself but her loyalty, intelligence, and willingness to work wins him over in the end. Just when Addy is actually happy for the first time in her life, horror hits her world. While Addy watches helplessly, the Ku Klux Klan attacks an African American Church, worse still her own family might be involved. Still reeling from the sadness of this event, her father, turns back up to claim her and drag her back to the No-Bob, the land of O'Donnells, where she is sure to be abused, neglected, and married off to a cousin. Fiercely loyal Addy is now torn, who should she be loyal to? As the events of this book progress, Addy is faced with difficult decisions that she handles with ingenuity and integrity. This work of historical fiction is deeply moving, and incredibly interesting, bring to light a part of our nation's past that we seldom discuss or remember.

Eisner Nominees -- Part 2

W00t! Back to back blog posts! Soon the crown and glittery scepter of the blog queen will be mine, all MINE!

Anyway, I want to talk some more about the Eisner award nominees -- this time, I think I'll tackle some of the other categories.

In the Best Reality Based Work category, we see some of the same books that showed up in the Best Graphic Album -- New caterogy. Since I've already talked about Fun Home and I Love Led Zeppelin, I won't talk about them here. Two of these books really surprised me -- and they're my favorites.

Brian Fries' mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking. The cancer had metastasized to her brain, leaving her with a less than 5% chance of survival. Brian started a web comic to document his mom's journey. What I liked about this book is how it's not at all what you think it's going to be about. Instead of a book about death and saying goodbye, it winds up being about life and hope. Fries has a slightly cartoony art style, which does a great job of documenting the changes, both physical and mental, in his mom and family.

Stagger Lee is a song, he's also a person, and a legend. In 1895, a man named Lee Sheldon shot his friend, Billy Lyons, in an argument that started with politics and ended in a fight over a Stetson hat. Both men were probably drunk. The fight got turned into a folk song that has been recorded by everybody from Muddy Waters to Pat Boone to Beck. Stagger Lee by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix imagines how the fight might have happened, and brings to life some of the personalities involved. The most interesting parts of this book, to me anyway, was when McCulloch and Hendrix illustrate different versions of the song, showing how it changes when it's sung by a man or a woman, an African-American or a Caucasian. Hendrix's illustrations are soft-edged, but realistic, and they really help to set the turn of the century mood. I usually don't like historical fiction, and historical fiction graphic novels are no exception, but this really held my attention.

I would love to tell you about Project X: Nissin Cup Noodle, the last nominee in this category -- but I haven't read it. I've had it on Inter-library Loan request for 3 months now, and still haven't gotten it in. Only 19 libraries own it, that I can find, so, it's not that popular. Maybe Kristin can enlighten us.

I was going to talk about the Best US Edition of Foreign Material -- Japan and Best Graphic Album—Reprint nominees, but this post is too long already, so those will have to wait for my next post.

And, so, I move one step closer to total blog dominance. Bwahhhhahhhhahahah-hahahahahahah!

Fun nonfiction reads

So it's taken me longer to write my post on nonfiction books that mage the popular paperbacks list. So sue me--I've been catching up on all my graphic novel reads.... I'm not a real fan of nonfiction, but through reading for this committee I've learned that there are a lot of fun books out there. I prefer the narrative to be as close to novel-like as possible--or I like the browsable goofy nonfiction. So out the 20-something titles that made the list, here were some highlighted titles.

Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese is a wealth of information about the online hoaxes in the world. Did you hear about the camel spider in Iraq? How about the one where the you can see the foot of the baby in the womb? This book investigates what's real and fake about them and a whole lot more. Besides, how could you not want to read a book called Hippo eats Dwarf?!

Another title similar in the browsability of Hippo is The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases you probably Already Have by Dennis DiClaudio. This hilarious guide goes through 100 diseases that are horrifying and true. It is in the humor section of nonfiction, so please don't take this as medical advice!

The other nonfiction I want to highlight are more narrative in structure, as they are memoirs. The thing about memoirs is that while they are on authors' lives, they may or may not be remembering everything quite correctly. There may be some embellishments of the truth. But these particular ones are pretty cool. We have drunken binge, suicide a la gasoline, and a rape survivor. What more could you ask for?

Smashed by Koren Zailckas is not the best written memoir out there, but her story of binge drinking froma ge 14 to twenty-something struck a chord with me. As I read this, I kept thinking, "I know this girl. I know her." She was many of my friends in high school and particularly college. This is a powerful book on a major issue facing many teens today--if alcohol is the only way you get self-esteem, how long will it help you before it hurts you.?Reading this book will show you that it doesn't take long at all.

So that memoir has done in the dumps, then this one will perk you right up! I'm kidding. As a teen I always had this morbid curiousity. It was horrible really. I always wondered what method people would choose to kill themselves. I never thought of this one. The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon is the author's account of his suicide attempt at age 14 and his recovery of said attempt. Runyon came home from school one day, doused his robe in gasoline, put it on, and lit it on fire. Holy hell. That's exactly what I thought, holy hell. And he survived. The rest of the book is all about his painful recovery--both physically and emotionally. Powerful stuff this book is. Seriously powerful.

And finally, Lucky by Alice Sebold. I'm a big fan of the author. I loved Lovely Bones--cried like a baby in parts. Very cathartic. If you liked Bones, then you need to read her story of her rape as a college freshman. The story goes through her rape, the capture of her rapist, and the trial, where she is a superb witness. Not very cathartic. Almost told without emotion, you can really tell that Ms. Sebold distanced herself emotionally from her writing. It's almost the complete opposite of Lovely Bones, but is still an extremely engaging memoir.

So that's about it for me now. This year's PPYA lists are going to be about Sex, contemporary fantasy, sports, and families. So you'll be hearing about those books from me! Nominations start this week, so if you have a book you think fits one of these categories, nominate it! This helps us out so much!

I <3 John Green!

So... remember Looking for Alaska? The 2006 Printz Award winner? A really, really good book that a lot of librarians (Susan included) got all gushy about?


The author of that book, John Green, is something of a rock star among librarians. First off, he's wicked cute, in a nerdy-preppy sort of way. Second, he's really, really funny. Third, he likes to fill out surveys on his webpage and MySpace to procrastinate, so you get to find out a lot about him, which librarians, who need to know everything, really like.


Although I wouldn't thought it was possible, John Green has become an even bigger celebrity in the library world than before. To begin with, his second book, An Abundance of Katherines was named a 2007 Printz Honor Book.


Colin Singleton is a former child prodigy who really wants two things: First, Colin wants a "Eureka" moment. Colin has been told all his life that he is destined for greatness. But as he got older, he realized that not all prodigies grow up to be geniuses. Some, wind up just plain normal -- something that Colin despises. To make himself stand out, he needs a "Eureka", a revolutionary discovery.


The other thing that Colin wants is a girl named Katherine to love him. Beginning when he was 8, Colin has had 19 girlfriends -- all named Katherine. The most recent, Katherine XIX, broke up with him on the night he graduated from high school, leaving him feeling like something had torn out a part of him.


It's only when his best friend, Hassan, takes Colin on a therapeutic road-trip, and the two wind up in Gutshot, Tennessee to visit the grave of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand does Colin have his Eureka moment -- The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which will mathematically determine the future of romantic relationships.


How an Austrian archduke got buried in Tennessee, how the Theorem works and what Colin will do with a girl who's not named Katherine are all questions that make An Abundance of Katherines a great, funny, and sort of sweet read.


As if winning a major library award two years running isn't enough, John Green has also started a really cool video project. He and his brother Hank have agreed not to communicate by text for an entire year. So, no e-mail, snail mail, IM's, text messages or anything else that uses the written word. Instead, they send each other video blogs, which you can watch at the Brotherhood 2.0 website. You can see John getting "the call" about his Printz honor if you watch the January 22nd blog, but I recommend the February 5th blog, where John waxes his chin (don't ask). Just a warning, both of these blogs contain, ahem, "language".

Popular Paperbacks--Religion

So as you know, if you've been reading this blog for awhile, I've been working on the popular paperbacks committee for the Young Adult Library Association for the past year. Our work is done! You can find the complete lists here.

There were four themes all together: Humor, Creativity, Nonfiction, and Religion. The last two were the committees I read for. Altogether I read about 100 books and we narrowed the lists down to 25 titles a piece. So I thought I'd share some of my favorites from the religion list.

The Book of Fred by Abby Bardi is about Mary Fred, a cult member who is forced to leave her cult and enter the child protection services. Can Mary meld her cult faith with the secular world around her? Isn't that a great cover? I don't know why I love it so much--maybe because it's quirky... This title seems dense, but it has a lot of humorous scenes, and the belief that Mary fred has is a little bizarre as well.

Godless by Pete Hautman in which Jason creates a new religion--centering on the town's water tower. This award-winning book looks at the fundamental issue of faith. There's a great line about why Christian fiction and nonfiction is only read by Christians. Jason tells his dad that you have to believe and have faith in the material before there is any meaning.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Littman--Aimed for a young teen, but many will find this freakin' hilarious. To be more like her best friend, Justine gives up being Jewish for Lent. Seriously, she does. She even hides in her closet to give confession. But then her bubbie (yiddish for Grandma) dies and she thinks God is punishing her.

Kapilavastu by Osamu Tezuka--the graphic novel series that tells the life of Siddhartha, the prince who became Buddha.So those were my favorites for religion. I'm pretty sure I already talked about this one, so just read it!

Those were my favorites on the list, but there were so many more great reads. There's chick lit, a mystery, historical fiction, nonfiction, and others. So check out the list!

My next post will be on the Nonfiction favorites!

ALA Conference

So I'm here in Seattle at the American Library Association. In between meetings, I get to go to the vendors booths talking to the publishers and picking up galley copies of the Spring and Summer releases. There are some really great books coming out--including a new Holly Black book (Don't worry Karen--I got the galley of it!). I get to see all my friends in the Graphic novel pavillion (A big row of GN publishers all together talking up their products). I got a great piece from Dark Horse: A limited hardback signed edition of A tale of One bad rat. Pretty sweet....

But the highlight of this conference for me is when I get my butt out of bed way too early for my liking and attend the ALA Media Award announcement ceremony. This is it: when all the big literary awards are announced for youth and teen services. The best part of the ceremony is the announcement of the Printz award, an award given for literary merit for teen literature.

This year's honor books are: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson; An Abundance of Katherines by John Green; Surrender by Sonya Hartnett; and The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

This last was a surprise, since I totally thought Book Thief was going to win for sure. In fact, there was no doubt in my mind that it would win.

I was blown away by the announcement of the winner. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. A graphic novel!!! (The summary: "Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture.")

I am so impressed by the Printz committee for awarding this deserving graphic novel the highest prize in teen literature. Maybe now some teachers and parents will see that there are a lot to value in graphic novels.

So congratulations to the honor and winners of this year's Printz. I can't wait for the Annual conference in June to hear the acceptance speeches!

2006 Maricopa County Mock Printz Awards

Every year, librarians around the valley get together and hold a Mock Award discussion. We have three categories--Mock Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz. The Mock Printz Award goes to the best book written for teens in the previous year. Librarians met and discussed eleven titles and then voted, naming Looking for Alaska by John Green this year's winner. We named Invisible by Pete Hautman, Inexcusable by Chris Lynch, and Poison by Chris Wooding honor books.

These books were our guesses at what the real Printz committee will be deciding next week. For more information about the "real" Printz award, check out this website: www.ala.org/yalsa/printz.

And if any of you are looking for some good books to read, then check out the eleven titles that we discussed:
All Rivers Flow to the Sea by Alison McGhee
The Diary of Pelly D by L. J. Adlington
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
Full Service by Will Weaver
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Invisible by Pete Hautman
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Poison by Chris Wooding
A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

Each one is a great read in its own right. All are available at the Glendale Public Libraries.

Looking for Alaska

I know I am a little behind the times on talking about this book - we got our library copies in May, and it has been talked about on all of my listservs lately. It's on the library's mockPrintz list - go to www.tempe.gov/library/mock.htm if you want to see the other titles. We're voting on those January 17th, by the way.

Anyway, all of this to say that I just finished Looking for Alaska by John Green. I will say that books that have a school setting are some of my favorites (loved Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas, for example), so I had a feeling I would like this book from the beginning.

Miles Harter is a high school junior who doesn't really have any friends in his Florida town. When he is given the chance to go to Culver Creek, the Alabama boarding school where his father was a student, he jumps at it. Miles is fascinated with the last words of famous people, and one of his favorite last phrases comes from the French author Rabelais, who said "I go to seek a Great Perhaps". Miles wants to seek the Great Perhaps before he dies, so he's willing to try something new.

When he gets to Culver Creek, Miles is immediately submerged into a whole new world. He is welcomed into his roommate's group of friends, and begins to learn to subvert authority with them. He tries to experience as many things as possible in his effort to seek the Great Perhaps, including drinking, smoking and love. He begins to fall in love with the enigmatic (that's mysterious to you) Alaska Young, who is troubled and funny and a prankster of the highest degree. She is beautiful and fun to be around, and she makes Pudge (Miles' new nickname) feel happy to be with her - most of the time. Alaska is also moody and can be frustrating. Miles spends the whole novel looking for the true Alaska, and I'm not sure he ever knows her.
But this book isn't just about Pudge's love for Alaska. The book is split into two parts - Before and After. The before section counts down in days (seventy-six days before) and the after section counts forward in days (nine days after). It is in the event that splits the book that Pudge really begins to feel part of the Great Perhaps. And it isn't Alaska that he turns to for help, but his friends. This book has all of the quirky friends you could ever want, and it is really about celebrating those friendships.

I thought this book was really great - as I mentioned above, I am a big fan of school books (why didn't my parents let me go to boarding school???), and this book has all of the best and worst things about school. One of the pranks involves blue hair dye in someone's hair gel, and someone else has their shoes peed on. But it also has some of the other things I like in a good book - great friends and a little bit of love. I'd recommend it. But Karen and maybe Kristin, I know you ladies have read this book too - want to comment?? I'd like to hear what you think of it, and whether you think it might win the Printz.