Summer Reading Update!

I've been doing more reading over the summer and I'm done my badge! Just in time too. We only have one more week to collect prizes.

I read SIX more books! (Links go to the print book versions, though I read most of these in ebook).

 Quickly, some one-sentence reviews! Stolen is intense and interesting. Isla and the Happily Ever After is a perfect rom com. The Reluctant Assassin wasn't my favourite Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl still has my heart). The Boy on Cinnamon Street was a sweet coming of age. The Half-Life of Molly Pierce was an interesting look at mental health. The Here and Now was one of my favourite dystopian time travel things that I've read in a while. Phenomenal.

I also voted in Top Novel which is a contest so I'm all done! YAY!

How are you guys doing? We still have lots of prizes out at the branch.

One more day to vote on Top Novel! Make it happen! 

Still winning at Summer Reading

Even though I've done a LOT on my badge, I still feel really behind because you guys are doing AMAZING.

I had someone come in on the weekend who was almost done!

But I'm not going to focus on that, I'm going to focus on ME! Here's what I did last week:

Two more tabs! Yay! I read three books:

I loved all of them (I like it when that happens). 

I also attended a program: Master Builders at Stoney Creek (okay, I ran the program but I got to help build too. It was super fun). 

It looks like I really need to get reading for two more prizes and of course, enter a contest (voting in Top Novel counts as a contest!!). 

Hope your Summer Reading is going swimmingly! 

Review: This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

When Ellie gets an email, clearly not meant for her, she replies and spurs a friendly email exchange between her and 'G', a teen who lives in California. What Ellie doesn't know is that 'G' is actually Graham Larkin, teen heartthrob and celeb. 

They form a deep friendship and when Graham has a chance to pick the location for his next movie, he picks Ellie's hometown. He just wants to see her, meet her, chat with the person who he gets along so well with online.

Of course, it's more complicated than that. Graham has paparazi following him always and Ellie wants to stay out of the limelight to protect a family secret. Can they make their relationship work offline?

This is What Happy Looks Like is more than wish-fulfillment sap. It's a novel that looks at human relationships and the lengths we'll go to protect the people we love. It has a cheesy Hollywood rom-com premise, but I actually really loved the characters and seeing their story unfold.

Fans of contemporary romance will love this one. Definitely recommended!

~ Kat

(Reviews are going to be paused during May + June while we get things up and running for summer reading. Readers will be once again invited to submit online reviews of what they're reading in July to win prizes).

Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Hello readers! I have the pleasure of reviewing for you today. I want to talk about a book I just finished, Mind Games by Kiersten White.

Mind Games reminded me a lot of my favourite Marvel team, X-Men. These two sisters have super powers - one is a seer (can see the future) and one has perfect instincts.

The girls attend a special school but unlike Charles Xavier's, this school is somewhat evil. The school wants to train the girls to assassinate world leaders and give them political gain. Yikes!

Fia, the one with perfect instincts, wants to leave, but she won't leave her sister Annie behind, particularly when Annie is blind and somewhat vulnerable.

Their story changes when Fia is sent to kill a boy and sort of falls for him instead. When she refuses to kill him, it sets a series of events in motion that not even Annie can predict.

This book is about intense siblings who will do anything for each other. There's a fair amount of action, which makes this a fairly quick read. Although there wasn't a ton of character development, I have a feeling that may come in later books because you guessed it - this is a trilogy!

If you like your paranormal books with an edge, check out Mind Games.

(tip: it's still on order in the catalogue, but you can scoop it up on e-book now here).

~ Kat

Best Books of 2011 - Kat's picks

I have compiled the best books that I read in 2011!*

*these are actually the best teen fiction that were published in 2011 that I read. I did read some fantastic adult fiction and some older teen fiction too, but they were left off this list. If you're curious you can always ask.

These are in no particular order, except vaguely in the order that I read them. Links go to the print copy but keep in mind that some of these also have e-books or audiobooks too.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis - part science fiction, part murder mystery, part coming-of-age, all awesome. I really liked the setting - a ship that's been in space for 250 years - and the ins and outs of how that might work. Really intriguing read.

Shine by Lauren Myracle - a heavier book about a hate crime in small town America. Beautifully written with fleshed out characters. If you're looking for something with a little bit of substance, this is for you.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray - beauty pageant contestants crash on an island and have to not only survive, but discover who is behind their crash. It's a witty, smart book that has lots of laugh out loud moments but lots of poignant moments too. 

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt - A boy moves to a new town and has to deal with trying to fit in and also deal with his dysfunctional family. Another book where I really loved the characters. Nobody is as they seem including the narrator, Doug. This felt like one of those books your teacher might make you read and at first you don't really want to like it but then you end up realizing that your teacher knows what they're talking about after all. Just a really, really good book. Don't let the kind-of-boring cover fool you.

Red Glove by Holly Black - I know you're all shocked to find this here. I only talk about this series every five seconds or so. It involves two of my favourite things - magic and organized crime. If you haven't read the first one in the series, White Cat, I urge you to do so immediately.

Divergent by Veronica Roth - I bought this on a whim at an airport and I'm so glad I did. It's a dystopian book set in a really interesting version of Chicago.The pacing was fast enough to keep me awake through my flight and the plot was enough to distract me once I got to my destination. I also have to say that I really loved the relationships in the book. The romance was perfect but I also really enjoyed the family and friend relationships too. If you've finished Mockingjay, pick this one up. 

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Scorpio Races takes place on an island where they race flesh-eating water horses every fall. This island itself feels so real that by the time you're done reading you'll feel like you've been there. I really loved the mythology behind these dangerous creatures and the two main characters who each had their own conflicts going on. It's different than her usual paranormal romance stuff, but in a good way.

Chime by Franny Billingsley - More magic but a historical setting this time. The main character is sure she should be hung because she has done awful things. As you read though, you realize that things aren't always as they seem. The characters in this book are extremely charming. Its wit and wordplay won me over. Recommended to readers who don't mind romance with their magic.

Death Cure by James Dashner - The last in the Maze Runner series. I don't think I quite loved this one as much as Scorch Trials but I did like it lots (obviously. It's on this list). It's really intense and we finally get some answers to the questions but at a fairly high cost. If you're looking for a good dystopian read, I definitely recommend this one.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - My review on Goodreads says one word: Perfection. If you are looking for something lighter after reading all the dystopian books (which, let's face it, are a bit of a downer), pick up Lola and the Boy Next Door. It has all the feel-good of a rom com with none of the annoying actresses. I even liked it better than the book before it, Anna and the French Kiss, though I recommend that one too.

PHEW! That was a lot of gushing about books. Now give me your favourites!

(also: make sure you have a good new year!)

Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

I knew I was going to love this book when I heard the premise - a plane full of pageant girls crashes on a desert island. How's that for a hook? Libba Bray could have made this a comedy or a survival drama or any other number of genres but instead she makes it a mash-up of a lot of different genres: part survival story that is sometimes hilarious and sometimes touching. It also involves some romance, action, government conspiracy and oh yeah, there's pirates.

I can't tell you too much about the plot without giving away it's amazingness but I can tell you that the girls crash on an island and have to survive. They do this with varying degrees of success while waiting for rescue. Soon though they realize that no one is coming to rescue them and that in fact someone might even want them dead. Someone who is on the island with them (cue suspenseful music).

The story is told in multiple points-of-view, from each of the survivors which was really effective because there are a lot of visible and invisible minorities in this book. From African American to transgender to hearing impaired, these girls are all really different and their narratives read that way. It could read like Bray pulled each identity out of a hat as a sort of exercise, but it doesn't. Each girl feels like an individual and sometimes bends stereotypes and sometimes fits within them.

My favourite parts though were the bits that happened between the narrative. The pageant is sponsored by The Corporation and between the story, there were commercials and ads for various shows and products put out by The Corporation. Bray's tongue-in-cheek humour had me laughing out loud (which was slightly awkward as I wasn't alone).

I definitely recommend Beauty Queens if you want a book that will make you laugh, but I also recommend it if you like books that make you think a little bit about the way the world is and how we can make it better.

~ Kat (regular teen reviews will resume next week with Sarah's fantastic review of The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong)