Steelheart is our winner!

Congratulations to Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson which was our Top Novel winner this year!

If you haven't read it, it's a really intense sci-fi thriller that has some similarities to superhero stories but this time the ones with the powers are the enemy. I loved it and all the twists and turns the plot had. I would definitely recommend it!

Top Novel - final!

We are down to our top two novels!!

 vs 

Can't believe we're down to our last two books!! You will have TWO WEEKS to vote and we will announce our winner Friday August 22! 

VOTE HERE! 

Goodbye Eye of Minds!

What?! James Dashner gone? You guys are breaking my heart! Kidding (I would be heartbroken no matter what at this point).

Steelheart had 40.5% of the votes! Will it win it all? Or can Panic overcome it? It's up to you!

You can vote for the top three here.

Goodbye Sea of Shadows!

Shocked that Kelley Armstrong has been voted off! I actually really liked that book, but it took a little while to get going. If you gave up on it, go back and read it! It gets really good!

Here's the break down of this week's votes:

We're down to four contenders left! When I closed the poll, Panic and Steelheart were TIED for the first! Who will it be?

You can vote HERE!

Goodbye Geography of You & Me

Wow, super bummed about Geography of You and Me being voted off! I felt like it was a realistic look at how long distance relationships are a lot of work and don't always work out (and how sometimes, against all odds, they do).

We still have five books left though, so let's focus on the next five books!

Steelheart and Panic have been in the lead so far but I have a feeling that you're going to fall in love with These Broken Stars and it's going to shoot to the front! 

You can vote and place holds on the titles HERE (scroll down for voting). 

Voting is LIVE!

You can now VOTE for the Top Novel titles!! Voting will be until next Friday and you can vote every hour if you choose to. Any early predictions?

VOTE HERE! 

Highlight: Eye of Minds by James Dashner

This book probably needs no introduction, but just in case...

First line: Michael spoke against the wind, to a girl named Tanya.

What's the deal: In the future, virtual reality games have really advanced to the point where whatever happens to you in the game happens to you in real life (ie. you eat in the game, your body gets nourished in real life). The only exception of course is death. If you die in the game you wake up in the real world. Or at least you do until a series of murders has police stumped. Michael and his two hacker friends are called in by the game company to figure out who is killing off gamers before it's too late.

Pick it up because:

• you loved Maze Runner
• fast-paced action 
• really makes you think

read it in: print | e-book | audiobook | e-audiobook

Highlight: These Broken Stars

You should definitely pick up These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman!

First line  paragraph: Nothing about this room is real. If this were a party at home, the music would draw your eye to human musicians in the corner. Candles and soft lamps would light the room, and the wooden tables would be made of actual trees. People would be listening to each other, instead of checking to see who's watching them.

What's the deal: Basically a rich girl collides with a military boy aboard a huge ship (think Titanic). When the ship inevitably crashes, they end up in an escape pod together and have to survive aboard the planet to which they crash. Only, they're not the only ones on the planet (dun dun dun!!!).

Pick it up because:

• snarky romance
• characters you'll love
• a great eery mystery type atmosphere

read it in: print | audiobook | e-audiobook

Highlight: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Today's Top Novel pick is Panic by Lauren Oliver!

First line: The water was so cold it took Heather's breath away as she fought past the kids crowding the beach and standing in the shallows, waving towels and handmade signs, cheering and calling up to the remaining jumpers. 

What's the deal: In a small town, teens pool money together as a sort of prize fund. To win the money ($50,000) you have to face your biggest fears and do crazy stuff. It's sort of like a real life Hunger Games but the stakes are just as high. 

Pick it up because:

• amazing writing
• intriguing plot twists 
• so. much. tension!!!

read it in print | audiobook | e-book | e-audio

read an excerpt here! 

Highlight: The Geography of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Next Top Novel pick: The Geography of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith

First line: On the first day of September the world went dark.


What's the deal: Lucy and Owen meet cute in an elevator in New York City during a black out. It's not love at first sight or anything but they have an undeniable connection. When Lucy finds out she's moving to London and Owen's family moves to California, they struggle to find ways to stay in touch. Can love conquer geography?


Pick it up because...

• real characters with real dialogue
• fun settings that make you feel like you're traveling
• swoony romance 

available in: print | e-book

(bonus: read the first couple chapters here!)

Highlight: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Next Top Novel pick: Steelheart

First line: I've seen Steelheart bleed.

What's the deal: In the future, people acquire super powers. Of course with great power comes great responsibility and these people are not responsible! They are corrupt and kind of awful and end up taking over cities. A small group of humans team up to try and defeat them, but can they succeed without any powers?!

Pick it up because... 

• seriously cool futuristic Chicago setting (same city as Divergent is set in, FYI)
• action packed with an awesome car chase
• lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing

available in: print | audiobook | e-book 

Highlight: Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong

I'm going to talk a little about the Top Novel picks and why you should pick them up and give them a shot.

First up: Sea of Shadows

First line: After three days of tramping across endless lava fields, Ronan quickened his steps at the sight of the forest. 

What's the deal: Okay it takes place in a village in which there is a forest of the dead (!!!) outside. Two sisters are tasked with keeping the dead in the forest and making sure they move onto the after life and don't terrorize the village. One evening though something attacks the village and before the sisters know it they're separated. Their only hope is to make it to the emperor to warn him, only their quest will not be an easy one.

Pick it up because... 

• magic!
• scary monsters
• awesome sisters with cool powers

available in: print | audiobook | e-book

5TH WAVE!

We have our winner!! The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey was chosen by YOU as our Top Novel winner for this year! 

Thank you sincerely for all your votes. You made it a very exciting competition right to the end. If you hadn't had a chance to read 5th Wave yet, you can place a hold here or pick it up on express.

YALSA Top Ten!

You can now vote on the top 10 young adult books of the year. The Young Adult Library association compiles them and this year there are 28 titles in the running. See the video below of all the titles.

And vote here!

Also, only one more day to vote for the Top Novel books! Who will it be??!!

Okay wow. Scarlet is gone.

You guys! Scarlet is gone. It was literally one vote difference between the three titles. It was RIDICULOUS. So, while Scarlet may not have won this round, she's still a winner in our hearts!

(Can you tell I'm really bummed? I would have been sad no matter what though. I really love our top three books).

You can still give Scarlet some love by placing a hold or recommending this book to a friend.

We're down to our TOP TWO! You'll have two weeks to vote this time so make it count!

Bye bye Prophecy!

You have voted and Prophecy has been voted off this week. I'm really pleased that it lasted this long and that it found some fans. It's a really fun fantasy novel with a demon slayer, for those who haven't read it. You can of course place it on hold here.

So we have three books left!

• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer 
• 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
• This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Three very different books! Two are futuristic, two have a lot of romance (but not the same two), and all three are great great books! 

I hope you give them all a read in the next few days and vote accordingly! 

Goodbye Clockwork Princess!

I can't believe Clockwork Princess got voted off!!!

Are you guys tired of love triangles? More into science fiction this year? Whatever the reason, she's gone!

We only have four books to choose from now!

• 5th Wave
• This is What Happy Looks Like
• Scarlet
• Prophecy

You can place your new votes here! It's been really close with 5th Wave and Scarlet chasing the lead. 

Goodbye Kelley Armstrong!

Wow, really shocked that The Rising bit the dust this early! What's the deal with that?!

Either way, we still have 5 books left and you can vote here!

Scarlet was in the lead in the last round. Could it be another win for Marissa Meyer?

What about Clockwork Princess and 5th Wave that were tied for second place? It's anyone's game at this point!

Voting!

I'm happy to report that you can now vote right on our website - www.hpl.ca/teens! Click on the Top Novel link and the voting is now embedded. Fancy!

You can also click the link on the righthand side of the page.

Voting seems to work on my iPhone, so hopefully it will work on whatever mobile device you're carrying around or tablet too.

So far Clockwork Princess is winning! Next Friday we'll close voting and start a new poll with the top five picks. Fingers crossed for my favourites!

I'm hoping to highlight some awesome teen summer programs over the blog this summer so stay tuned!

Hamilton's Next Top Novel

I am really really excited about this year's books! I have no idea who is going to come out on top. My unofficial polls at various schools have lead me to conclusions, but it's up to YOU.

Ready?

Set...

Vote!


(you can vote once an hour, so spread the love and tell your friends!)