Teen Read Week Preview

Teen Read Week, October 14-20, will be upon us in a matter of weeks and we here at FPL have a lot of creepy awesome  programs going on to entice teens to come into the library.

If you don't know what Teen Read Week is, it is an initiative by the American Library Association to get teens into their local libraries to check out all the great books, resources, programs and more that libraries have to offer.  Each year has a different theme and this year's theme is "It Came from the Library". Which means that we at FPL are focusing on one of our favorite creepy, ghoulish things in the library - zombies!

We have a ton of cool things to do during the week of October 14-20 (and not all are zombie-related, in case you might be anti-zombie (gasp!)).  Stop in the library anytime during that week and play some Zombie Trivia, try to guess the number of body parts in the jar or make an Origami Yoda or Darth Paper.

Beginning September 28, you can enter our Cereal Box Creatures of the Night contest.  Create a creature out of a cereal box and recycled materials - it can be a vampire, werewolf, zombie, or anything you can imagine.  Bring it to the library with an index card with your name, phone number, school, grade and age. Judging will be based on creativity, neatness, artistry and use of recycled materials. Prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries. Entries must be received by October 14.

On Tuesday, October 16 at 6:30, you can learn the Thriller dance here at the library!  Three professional hip-hop dancers from FreeStyle Dance studio will be here to teach you the Thriller dance and make you one rockin' zombie.

Then on Wednesday, October 17 from 6-8, come and get your make-up done; zombie make-up that is!  Professional face painter, Amanda Cohen, will be here to zombify you.  Once you have your zombie on, you can head to our photo booth to take some ghoulish pictures.  While you wait there will be zombie crafts and delectible zombie treats.

Registration is required for the Thriller and Zombie Make-up programs.  Call the library today at 425-8214 to reserve your spot!

We hope to see YOU at the Franklin Public Library for this year's Teen Read Week!

Miss Keri

School Days, School Days....

School has started here in Franklin and FPL is here to help!  We hope that you will utilize all the wonderful resources that we have to offer to make this school year a successful one.

Here are just a few of the great resources we offer for teens here at FPL:

• Looking for that classic you have to read by next Monday? If we don't have the book on our shelves, go online and check out our eBook selection here: http://dbooks.wplc.info/55EF413B-5881-450A-89CC-C48A7A45AC35/10/355/en/Default.htm. Our eBooks work with most eReaders.  For instructions on how to check out and download an eBook from the library, go here: http://countycat.mcfls.org/screens/overdrive.html

• Whether you are looking for information on the Russian Revolution, biographical resources for Mahatma Ghandi, research on climate change, practice tests and tips for your AP tests and more, FPL has an abundance of free databases that you can access right from home with your library card!  Check out all the great, free research databases here: http://www.mcfls.org/dbs/database.asp?LibraryID=3&subject=

• If you can't find the information you are looking for in our databases, check out the Homework Help page on the Teen Zone website, which has resources for all your homework needs.  Go to http://www.franklinpubliclibrary.org/ and click on "Teen Zone" then click on "Homework Help".

• If you are starting to think about colleges or if you have to fulfill volunteer hours for a school or church club and need some ideas for volunteer opportunities, check out the Resources page on the Teen Zone for some great websites that can help! Go to http://www.franklinpubliclibrary.org/ and click on "Teen Zone" then click on "Resources".

And of course, there are always knowledgeable librarians on staff here at FPL to help you find the information you are looking for!  Please come and ask us for help!  We always love to help you find the perfect book, journal or newspaper article for your research paper.  Stop by FPL today to make your school day a success!


Miss Keri

Book Review: The Butterfly Clues

I have been catching up on some of my reading this summer and just finished another great teen book.  The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison features a female protagonist with a serious case of OCD and an assortment of other issues.

We first meet Lo as she is wandering around the Neverland neighborhood of Cleveland, a worn out ghetto riddled with crime and shady characters. A gunshot rings out and the bullet lodges itself in the building across from her. Lo hides in terror and then flees, rushing to get back to the bus so she can once again return to her safe suburban home on the outskirts of Cleveland.

The next day she is haunted by what she experienced the night before and learns that a young woman was murdered in the area she had been in.  This sets Lo on the hunt for the killer and on a roller coaster ride of new experiences, emotions and first love.

Ellison has created a character in Lo that is at once endearing and incredibly annoying.  Her spot-on habits of a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder make you want to scream, "STOP THAT!!!" at the page, when she can't stop tapping her leg three times and saying "banana" at every doorway or when she compulsively steals an umbrella right out of an old lady's bag on the bus. But with all her quirks, you learn to love Lo and understand her idiosyncrasies.  She feels the incessant pull to solve the murder of this girl she has never met in order to deal with her own self-inflicted torment over her brother's death a year ago that she was not able to prevent.

A great cast of characters, an intriguing mystery and a bit of romance make The Butterfly Clues a must-read for the end of the summer.


Miss Keri

Book Review: Blood Red Road

For those of you looking for a great read to finish out your summer, check out Blood Red Road by Moira Young.  The first book in a planned trilogy, Blood Red Road has a lot to offer fans of all types of genres, whether it is suspense, science fiction or adventure. Set in a bleak future world where cities as we know them are deserted, hulking heaps of rusted metal, rain is scarce and twins Saba and Lugh and their little sister Emmi live out in the country with their father.  When a massive dust storm blows in, their world falls apart.  Their father is killed and five men on horseback come riding in and kidnap Lugh.

Saba's determination, strength and endurance of pain and suffering make her a most awesome heroine.  If you are looking for a Katniss Everdeen-like character, you will find her in Saba.  She embarks on a journey to find Lugh that takes her into the deceptively-named Hopetown, where she becomes a cage-fighter and earns the moniker, "Angel of Death". She learns that the man who calls himself king of the region was behind Lugh's kidnapping and intends on killing him as a sacrifice to prolong his own life and reign as King.  Saba only has a short time to find Lugh and free him from the maniacal king's grasp.

There is suspense, action and beautifully drawn characters, some you will love and some you will downright hate, in this thrilling book.  There is even a touch of romance when Jack, a fellow cage fighter, helps Saba to navigate the unfamiliar terrain she has to travel in order to find her brother.

Check out Blood Red Road today at the Franklin Public Library!


Miss Keri

Let's Talk About...Music

Here in Milwaukee, the world's largest music festival, Summerfest, just wrapped up its 11-day stretch.  There were a ton of great bands who played this year, and here at FPL, we have a great selection of CDs by many of those bands and more. Here are just some of my picks from performers at Summerfest this year:

The Avett Brothers -
http://countycat.mcfls.org/search~S1?/aavett+brothers/aavett+brothers/1%2C1%2C9%2CB/frameset&FF=aavett+brothers&5%2C%2C9

Common -
http://countycat.mcfls.org/search~S11?/acommon/acommon/1%2C2%2C14%2CB/exact&FF=acommon+musician&1%2C13%2C

Lupe Fiasco -
http://countycat.mcfls.org/search~S11/?searchtype=a&searcharg=fiasco+lupe&searchscope=11&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=acommon

Fun! -
http://countycat.mcfls.org/search~S11?/afun/afun/1%2C25%2C122%2CB/frameset&FF=afun+rock+group&1%2C1%2C/indexsort=-

Death Cab For Cutie -
http://countycat.mcfls.org/search~S11/?searchtype=a&searcharg=death+cab+for+cutie&searchscope=11&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=acommon

Check out these great artists and more next time you are in the library!

Miss Keri

Fun Contest for Teen Read Week

I know that the summer just seems to have started, but here is a cool contest to get you thinking about Teen Read Week, which happens this October 14-20.

The Library as Incubator Project is holding an art contest which began June 21st and runs through September 30th.  The "It Came From a Book" art contest is really simple.  Read a book and then create a work of art inspired by that book.  Submission rules can be found here. Prizes include a $50.00 Amazon gift card, signed books from popular teen authors and more! All entries will be posted on an online gallery during Teen Read Week on The Library as Incubator's website.Votes will be collected at this time and the winners will be announced the following week.

If you want like to be creative and are inspired by the great books you read, check out this contest and have your voice heard through your art!

Miss Keri

Summer Reading is Well Underway!!

If you haven't been to the library yet this summer, you have definitely missed out on some cool programs, but luckily, there are a lot of programs yet to come this summer!

There was some very cool crayon art made the first week of summer reading.  Although some of the techniques to achieving that art ended up being a bust (hot glue guns = disaster) and others took a very long time (hair dryers = patience), the teen artists ended up coming up with some really creative and funky crayon art.

This past Tuesday was Murder Mystery Night and we had 36 teen sleuths try to solve the mysterious death of Emily Thornton here at the library.  I have been here for almost 5 years and this is the largest turnout I have had for a teen program!  The mystery was finally solved and all of our sleuths received a prize.

We still have a lot of cool programs coming up that you can still register for.  The Read-a-thon is this Tuesday, June 26 from 10:30-4:30.  Come in your comfy clothes and bring your pillows for a day of reading!  We will have raffle prize drawings and snacks.  The best part is, you can use this time to read for the Teen Reading Club!

What's the Teen Reading Club you ask?  It's so easy, it should be illegal.  Come into the library and pick up a Teen Summer Reading log from the Information or Children's Desk. Write down the title and author of the books that you read (they must be at your reading level) and then come back to the library to check-in!  Receive coupons and raffle slips for what you read. Some of the cool prizes we have this year are gift cards to Dave & Busters, Stonefire Pizza, Target and more!

So head over to the Franklin Public Library and get your reading on!!!!


Miss Keri

I'm in the Mood for...Brains: Great Zombie Books to Get You Pumped for Summer Reading

The Teen Summer Reading Program starts in a little under 3 weeks and I am getting ready by reading as many zombie books as I can! With the theme this year of "Own the Night", I want to make sure that I am ready for the Zombie Apocalypse. Here are just some of the zombie books we have available at the Franklin Public Library. A few of these are in the adult section and I would recommend to teens who are in high school or older only due to more mature content.

Z by Thomas Michael Ford - In the year 2032, after a virus that turned people into zombies has been eradicated, Josh is invited to join an underground gaming society, where the gamers hunt zombies and the action is more dangerous than it seems. (Young Adult Fiction - YA FORD)

World War Z by Max Brooks - An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of dozens of survivors who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival. (Adult Fiction - PB BROOKS)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love with a human, in this original debut novel. R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn't enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead. Not just another zombie novel, this is funny, scary, and deeply moving. (Adult Fiction - F MARION)

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Marberry - In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter. (Young Adult Fiction - YA MARBER)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead. (Young Adult Fiction - YA RYAN)

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick - Alex, a resourceful seventeen-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan and Ellie, an angry eight-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses. (Young Adult Fiction - YA BICK)

Zombies Vs. Unicorns edited by Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black - Twelve short stories by a variety of authors seek to answer the question of whether zombies are better than unicorns. (Young Adult Fiction - YA ZOMBIE)

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks - The Zombie Survival Guide is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now. Fully illustrated and exhaustively comprehensive, this book covers everything you need to know, including how to understand zombie physiology and behavior, the most effective defense tactics and weaponry, ways to outfit your home for a long siege, and how to survive and adapt in any territory or terrain.(Adult Non-fiction e-book)

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters - When dead teenagers who have come back to life start showing up at her high school, Phoebe, a goth girl, becomes interested in the phenomenon, and when she starts dating a "living impaired" boy, they encounter prejudice, fear, and hatred. (Young Adult Fiction - YA WATERS)

The Walking Dead Book 1 by Robert Kirkman - Police officer Rick Grimes is shot on the job and wakes up a month later to find that the world that he knows is gone. Zombies have taken over and are killing and eating those who are still alive. He sets out toward Atlanta in the hope that his family is still alive and endures many horrors along the way.(Adult Fiction - GRAPHIC NOVEL KIRKMA BK1)






What are your favorite zombie books?

Miss Keri

Summer is Not Far Away....

Tomorrow is May 1st and its time to start thinking Summer Reading!  The Teen Summer Reading Program this year begins on June 11 and goes through July 27.  This year's theme is Own the Night.

The Teen Reading Club will be be for teens going into grades 6-12 this year.  In the past, it was only for 9-12 grades.  It is super easy to join; just come in on June 11 or after and pick up a reading log from the Information Desk. Record the title and author of each book you read and check-in with your log anytime between June 18 and July 27 to receive great coupons for free swag at local businesses and events and raffle slips to enter drawings for prizes like Visa, Target, GameStop, Dave and Busters and Chipotle gift cards and more!

There are a lot of great programs going on at the library for teens this summer, too.  My personal favorite is the Zombie Party.  I can't wait to dress up like a zombie and geek out on zombie crafts, trivia, food and more! We also have a Murder Mystery Night, where you are the actors in a bloody murder at the library and you have to figure out who-dunnit! Another great program that will be a ton of fun is the Fashion Nightmare challenge.  You have to come up with the worst possible outfit you can (including hair, make-up and accessories of course!) and strut your stuff down the runway and the judges will determine who wins the worst designer prize.

There is a lot going on for teens this summer at the Franklin Public Library, check out our events board on the Teen Zone homepage for a link to the Summer Reading flyer for information on all the programs and details on registration.

http://www.franklinpubliclibrary.org/

Miss Keri

Hunger Games Movie = Awesome

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

If you haven't seen the movie yet, wait to read this post because there will be spoilers.

I went and saw the Hunger Games this past weekend and I loved it. Jennifer Lawrence was a great Katniss and despite my initial reservations about Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, I ended up really liking him.

I think the movie did a great job of sticking pretty closely to the book, although there were some obvious deletions due to time. The characters of Madge and the Avoxes never show up in the movie and Peeta's leg seems to have miraculously healed. The background info on Katniss' life and life in the District was only briefly covered and I am curious to see how this will reflect on the subsequent movies, where the rebellion is so crucial. Maybe they will use flashbacks to fill in the holes.

I also felt that they skimmed over the burgeoning relationship between Peeta and Katniss in the days before the Hunger Games and I would have liked to see that fleshed out more, so it didn't feel as though her feelings for him started in the arena.

I thought the movie captured the fear and violence of the Arena without showing a lot of blood and guts. I know that the producers wanted a PG-13 rating and had to tone down the violence from the book, however, I think that the characters themselves showed the violence through either the cruelty with which they fought (Careers) or the desperation and fear (everyone else).

Overall, I really liked the movie and can't believe I have to wait until November 2013 to see Catching Fire!

What did you think of the movie? Did you notice any other differences from the book? Share your comments below!

Miss Keri

Could the Hunger Games Movie Get Any Better? Yes, Yes It Can.

I am a huge Hunger Games fan and I have been anxiously awaiting the movie release ever since it went into production, but the big bonus to the movie is the AMAZING soundtrack. Produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett, the complete track list was released a couple of weeks ago. Check it out at:
http://music-mix.ew.com/2012/02/17/hunger-games-soundtrack-official-tracklist-taylor-swift/

The soundtrack leans heavily on indie bands who have an Americana/folk/rock feel to them, such as the Low Anthem, the Civil Wars and The Decemberists, as well as country acts, like Swift, Miranda Lambert and the Punch Brothers.  This type of music expertly and heartrendingly captures the struggle, bravery and at times, weakness, of Katniss in Panem and the Hunger Games.

If you haven't heard of many of the bands on the soundtrack, check out some of their albums at the library and familiarize yourself with them; trust me, you won't be sorry.

Arcade Fire

The Decemberists

The Low Anthem

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Civil Wars

Neko Case

Punch Brothers

Secret Sisters

Enjoy!

A Few Great Reads From the Beginning of 2012

I know I just posted my favorite books of 2011, but here at FPL, we are always getting new YA books in, so I am constantly adding to my list of must-reads. Here are just a few titles that I can't wait to read.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A re-telling of your classic Cinderella tale, only this time Cinder is a cyborg and a massive plague has ravaged the earth. Can she find out the secrets from her past in order to help save this damaged world? Will she and her prince be allowed to be together? Gritty and futuristic, this is a Cinderella story for the sci-fi lover.

A Sword in Her Hand by Jean-Claude Van Rijckechem
Marguerite is lucky to be alive, even though her father loathes her existence. As the Count of Flanders, he expected Marguerite to be a boy, and because she was not, is trying to get rid of her by forcing her into an arranged marriage with a man she despises.But Marguerite has learned a lot about survival growing up in harsh and bloody Medieval times. Will she be able to escape a wretched fate and gain her freedom?  A great read for those who love historical fiction and kick-butt heroines.

Ashfall by Mike Mullin
A Yellowstone supervolcano takes out half of America when it erupts and Alex, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, must flee his destroyed city to find his family, who were traveling towards Pennsylvania at the time of the eruption.  Food is scarce and along the way he meets Darla and her mother and they take him in.  But when tragedy strikes, Alex and Darla have to rely on each other and their skills to find safety and what is left of society.

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Willa barely remembers her father; he has not been in her life for years.  She lives in a happy home with her step family and things seems to be going great, until her estranged father murders his wife and children and is now coming for Willa and her mother. Scary and suspenseful, this is definitely one book you do not want to miss this year.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Get your tissues ready, because this is sure to be a tearjerker. Hazel and Gus meet in a cancer support group and their lives are about to be turned upside down.  Hazel's cancer is terminal and she is afraid to love Gus, just to end up being the person who destroys his life when she inevitably dies. But Gus will not give up on Hazel and they take a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam, where they find more than the answers they came there for.

Winter Town by Stephen Emond
Evan and Lucy have been friends since they can remember, but they only see each other when Lucy visits during winter break. At 17, Lucy is dealing with a tough home life and is following a destructive path. Evan, however, seems to have the perfect life and is headed to the Ivy League.  When their friendship turns into more, will it be able to withstand their distance?

Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Schecter
Steeped in Egyptian and Roman history, this book follows the life of Cleopatra VIII Selene, the only daughter of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony.  Cleopatra Selene was a happy child until the age of seven when she lost her mother and her father killed himself.  Things really heat up when Octavianus attacks the kingdom and Cleopatra and her brothers are shipped off to Rome.  This story is rife with adventure and intrigue and at the center of it all, Cleopatra is a strong and determined heroine.

Death Watch: The Undertaken Trilogy by Ari Berk
Silas and his mother are left alone when his mortician father does not return from work one evening. They have no choice but to return to his father's hometown and move in with his uncle.  But Silas learns that his father was no ordinary mortician, but an Undertaker who brings peace to the dead stuck in the Shadowlands. While looking through his father's old belongings he finds a clock, a Death Watch, that allows its owner to see the dead. A great mix of fantasy and mystery, this first installment in the trilogy is sure to suck you in.

In Darkness by Nick Lake
This story combines the recent history of the 2010 Haitian earthquake with the 18th-century revolution in Haiti that helped the country gain their freedom from France.  Shorty, a poor gang member from the slums of Haiti is trapped in a hospital during the quake.  He experiences evermore vivid visions as he grows weaker and weaker from his bullet wound.  His visions of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Haitian revolutionary, combine with his recollections of life in the slums of Haiti.  It is a brutal and honest depiction of the struggle of the people of this tiny, but proud country.



Please share the books you are excited about that are coming out this year!

Miss Keri

Cool Contests for Teens

I have come across some really great contests for kids and teens lately and wanted to share them with you. Some of them involve prizes or scholarships, and some are just for fun!

First off,  I want to highlight Franklin Public Library's own Comic Creation Contest, beginning February 6 for teens in grades 6-12. Using the website http://www.bitstrips.com/, create up to three comics to enter into the contest.  All entries must be received by 5pm on March 10.  The top three comics will recieve a prize and all entries will be displayed in the library. Click on the link for all the details.

Here's your chance to make your case for your favorite book! The StoryTubes 2012 contest is accepting entries until February 20th. Open to kids in grades K-12, Storytubes are 2-minute or less videos that you make where you talk about why you love your favorite book. It's a great way to promote reading and have fun! Check out http://www.storytubes.info/drupal/node/2 for all the contest rules.

Another creative contest for kids and teens is the Google Doodle Contest. This gives you a chance to have your doodle featured on the Google homepage for a day for millions to see. This year's theme is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit…". Not only will your doodle be featured on Google, but it will also appear on a limited edition Crayola 64 crayon box!  Check out http://www.google.com/doodle4google/ for all the contest info and rules.

I couldn't forget my absolute favorite contest of the year - the Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest by Duck brand Duck Tape.  Teens, ages 14-17, design your formalwear out of duck tape for this year's prom and have a chance at a $5,000 scholarship (and some mad props from your friends).  Check out http://duckbrand.com/Promotions/stuck-at-prom/Rules.aspx for this year's contest rules and awesome pics from last year's winners and runners-up.

Check out the magazine,Teen Ink, for writing, photography and art contests going on all year long at: http://www.teenink.com/Contests

There are tons of contests and scholarship opportunities out there for all ages, just get on the web and start searching!

Miss Keri's Favorite Books of 2011

So as we plow ahead into 2012, I thought it would be a perfect time to list my favorite books of 2011. Here goes:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I had heard tons of buzz about this book and I finally had the chance to listen to it on audiobook, and I was blown away. This is more than an illicit love story; it is about a girl on a quest of self-discovery, all the while trying to stay true to who she (thinks) she is. Karou is a kick-butt character, who is strong, confident and yet follows her heart when it comes to the angel Akiva, who has literally dropped from the sky into her life. But their  relationship may bring more pain than happiness to Karou in the end. This is not just another cheesy angel/demon love story, this is heart-wrenching, suspenseful fantasy at its finest, and a sequel is sure to follow.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

This is the story of a boy who lost his girl and doesn't know how to get back to the happy place he was in when he was with her.
Adam is a full-fledged rock star, with his model/actress girlfriend, jet-setting all over the world and playing to thousands of adoring fans night after night.  Yet something is missing from his life; until he sees a poster for a concert starring his ex-girlfriend Mia, an up-and-coming star cellist. This poster and this concert just may be the key to finding happiness again.
I loved If I Stay (the prequel to this book) and Forman did not disappoint in the follow-up here. Adam's voice is very authentic, at times angry, weary and lovingly reminiscent. I fell in love with the characters all over again.  A great weekend read.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
When you have teenage beauty queens who survive a plane crash on a supposedly deserted island, an evil corporation that seems to control the world, a crazy dictator and a former Miss Teen Dream with plans to run for President of the United States all rolled into one book, there is just one word for it: HILARIOUS!

Leverage by Joshua Cohen

Looking at Danny and Kurt you would think they are as different as night and day.  Danny is a member of the gymnastics team, is picked on and bullied.Kurt is a talented football player, which makes him a god at Oregrove High School. But what they do have in common is they know what it feels like to be beat down and not have anyone to turn to.They know how it feels to have adults ignore the truth and their cries of warning. And they know the blame they heap on themselves when the day comes that the warning went unheard and now someone's life is over.
Cohen's achingly realistic and tragic story of the effects of bullying is a must read for teens and the adults in their lives.

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

The Decemberists are one of my favorite bands; I love their quirky melodies,  harmonies and fairy tale (although not always happy) lyrics. Colin Meloy is the lead singer for the Decemberists and their master storyteller, so I was very intrigued that he had a children's book. This fantastical story is of Prue McKeel, a 7th-grader who lives in Portland. She is watching her baby brother, Mac, in the park one day when a murder of crows snatches him from her wagon and carries him off to the Impassible Wilderness, a dense forest outside of Portland, where legend has it, no one ever returns from. Prue heads into the forest, with her friend Curtis tagging along behind, and enters a world of talking animals, a coyote army, bandits and the evil Dowager Governess. A must-read for fans of fantasy, fairy tales and Meloy's music alike.

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
I cried more than once reading this book. I loved the no-luck character of Doug Swieteck, whose father lost his job on Long Island and moved the family to a tiny town in the Catskills.  They live in a dump of a house, Doug's older brother, Christopher, makes sure his life isn't easy and his oldest brother is off in Vietnam.  His mother is sweet, but she doesn't stick up for her sons when their father is abusive towards them. But in that small town Doug finds some luck, a spunky (and cute) girl named Lil and an old librarian named Mr. Powell, who encourages Doug's interest in John James Audubon's bird portraits. Soon Doug is learning to draw, has a job as a delivery boy as Lil's father's market and things might be looking up. But that bad luck is always lurking in the background for Doug. The ending wrapped up a little too neatly, but there was no way I couldn't love this coming-of age tale.

Shine by Lauren Myracle
This is a compelling mystery and all-too realistic story all-in-one. Cat's former best friend Patrick has been beaten into a coma, in an incident of gay-bashing at the convenience store where he works. The local sheriff thinks it is some out-of-town kids who were angry at Patrick for not selling them alcohol, but Cat suspects otherwise. Patrick had started hanging out with her brother and his friends when Cat had abandoned him and everyone else in her life after a traumatic encounter with someone she knew. The "redneck posse" never really included Patrick, but merely let him tag along to bully him for entertainment purposes. As Cat starts to investigate on her own, she uncovers more than a few secrets in her rural mountain town, secrets people wants to stay hidden.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
First of all, I want to admit to being a zombie-lover, and this book was a pleasant surprise.  I had been wanting to read it and then when I finally got around to it, couldn't remember why. It starts out with Alex, 17, climbing a mountain in Michigan, with her father's gun in her backpack and an inoperable brain tumor weighing on her mind. One morning, a grandfather and his granddaughter Ellie, come across Alex as she is having breakfast and they stop and chat.  It is then that a huge electromagnetic wave pulses through the forest and the animals start going crazy, birds drop dead from the sky and Ellie's grandfather dies. Now Alex is stuck with a cranky 8-year-old, the problem of getting to the nearest ranger station to get help and to find out what exactly is going on. It's on their way to the ranger station that they encounter two teenagers eating an old woman. (It was here that I remembered why I wanted to read the book).  From this point on it is a roller coaster of survival, zombies and a crazy cult-like town of people who were unaffected by the pulse. I literally screamed at the end of the book (read it and you will see why).

Rotters by Daniel Kraus
Not zombies this time, but grave robbers. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. The lyrically graphic descriptions of Joey and his father digging up graves in the middle of the night are at times stomach-churning and at others so sweet and gentle. Hard to think of digging up the dead as sweet?  Kraus does a magnificent job of painting this underworld of graverobbers that Joey has fallen into after the death of his mother. He must move from Chicago to rural Iowa to live with a father he has never known. His father lives in a shack with no food, barely any running water and a stench that is beyond description. He pretty much ignores Joey and any of the problems Joey is having at his new school, until Joey figures out his father's real profession and dives into a world of gore, deceit and surprisingly, love.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I first looked at this book and thought, "Really, this book is good? It looks like your typical chick-lit fluff." But I gave it a try because everyone was telling me how great it was....And they were right. I loved this adorable story of Anna, an American whose parents are divorced and her writer-father decides she needs to go to an expensive boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school.  Her senior year! And she doesn't speak French! Things start to look up when she meets the swooniest boy around, Etienne St. Clair. However, he has a girlfriend and all they can be is just friends. Or can they? This is a super-cute rainy (or snowy) day read for all you romance lovers out there.

What were your favorite books that you read this year?

Miss Keri

It's a New Year for Teens at FPL !

The New Year has begun and here at FPL we have a lot of new things going on for teens. The redesigned library website is now live (www.franklinpubliclibrary.org) with a whole new Teen Zone webpage, and this is the inaugural blog post on our new FPL Teen Zone blog! We have once again started up our Teen Tuesdays after-school program series and have great programs planned for Teen Tech Week (March 4-10) and for the release of the Hunger Games movie on March 23rd. Check out the Events Calendar on the website for all upcoming programs for teens.

In the coming weeks and months, check out the blog for book, music and movie reviews, spotlights on library resources, information on teen issues and more. We are looking forward to a great year for teens here at FPL!

Miss Keri