Series to Binge On: Paranormal

Good morning, Scouts!

After dystopias, the most popular genre on our shelves is paranormals. Paranormals aren’t all werewolves and vampires–in fact, it mostly isn’t. It’s fairy tale retellings and magic keys and angry angels. Some of our favorite series are paranormals, and we’ve built a great list of them you can binge read this weekend.

SPLINTERED Trilogy by A. G. Howard

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence.

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

If You Like We Were Liars, Try…Why?

We Were Liars was a resounding success as our last book club book, and the ending still has us flailing. We’ve plucked together a few books from the collection that you’ll love if you loved Cady and the mystery of the Sinclair island.

This book list is filled with twisty thrillers and missing memories and secrets fighting to come out–they’re all contemporary, and they’re all fast, finish-in-one-sitting reads!

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

From the moment she stepped foot in NYC, Addison Stone’s subversive street art made her someone to watch, and her violent drowning left her fans and critics craving to know more. I conducted interviews with those who knew her best—including close friends, family, teachers, mentors, art dealers, boyfriends, and critics—and retraced the tumultuous path of Addison’s life. I hope I can shed new light on what really happened the night of July 28.

—Adele Griffin

WHY? A pop culture icon is murdered, and her fans are determined to discover the truth. Interviews reveal Addison’s real world, and as those closest to her begin to reveal things Addison would never tell a soul, her murder is thrown in a whole new light. 

Pointe by Brandy Colbert

Theo is better now.

She’s eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor.

Donovan isn’t talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn’t do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she’s been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

WHY?  Colbert has opened a thrilling world of ballet, and the athletes who will do anything to get to the top. Theo didn’t do anything wrong–but she hasn’t been doing the right thing either. Keeping silent is a double edged sword, and with Donovan’s return her secrets are about to find the light.

Book Club: Kiss of Deception!

Book Club voted on our next book, and The Kiss of Deception is our winner! Since this was one of my all time favorite books last year, I can’t wait to talk about it!

We’ll have breakfast and books before school at 9:10ish May 12th, 2015!

With a rebellious princess, a mysterious scroll, and an ancient magic no one understands, this new high fantasy is a romantic adventure with phenomenal characters. Copies are waiting for you in the library!

KISS OF DECEPTION (The Remnant Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor’s secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can’t abide. Like having to marry someone she’s never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

UPDATE 5/12

We had an AMAZING book club with some wonderful questions. We got wrapped up in the relationships and conspiracy theories. If you’re looking for questions for your own book club, feel free to borrow ours!

Kiss of Deception Discussion Questions!

Series to Binge On: Dystopias

Maybe it’s the social studies nerd in me, but I love a good fallen society! Dystopias are what we call “soft science fiction”–science fiction based on humanity rather than technology (which is hard science fiction) though many have pretty awesome tech too.

We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite completed series for you to read! There’s nothing worse than falling in love with characters, only to have to wait a year for the sequel.

These series are, for better or worse, finished and waiting for you!

DELIRIUM Trilogy by Lauren Oliver

Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.

I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.
I want to get it over with.
It’s hard to be patient.
It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.
Still, I worry.
They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.
The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

TEDxLFHS is Here!

Well, Scouts, today’s the big day! TEDxLakeForestHighSchool is here!

There are some amazing speeches from both the community members and students we can’t wait to see. To take a look at the speaker bios and speech blurbs click here.

Per TED regulations, only 100 people could be invited to sit in the audience, but we’ve got a fix for that! You can watch the livestream of the TEDx Talks tomorrow at tedxlfhs.com.  If you can’t catch the livestream, never fear! You can always pop on after the fact and tune in. Here’s our schedule for tomorrow:

Some fantastic talk titles right there–we can’t wait to see them! The library is closed for the day to everyone except TEDx participants. We’re streaming the speeches on the big screen for classes to come down and watch!

What We’re Reading

Your library staff did a lot of reading over Spring Break! We’ve thrown together some of our favorites for you.

Ms. Pausch just finished…

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Ms. Pausch says, “After reading (and loving) Eleanor and Park, I decided to read Fangirl. It’s a fun read with witty dialogue, Harry Potter-esque fanfic writing, and a protagonist I quickly felt drawn to.”

Ms. Neal just finished…

Locke & Key, Volume #1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all…

Ms. Neal says, “I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but the idea of a house with doors that can go anywhere really sucked me in–and to find it was also a murder mystery about a family trying to keep it together in a haunted house made the book impossible to put down.”

Top Ten Books of March!

We’ve had a very green month as far as covers this month! Feels very spring, much like the rain we’ve been getting. With so many people checking out books for Spring Break we’ve got a lot of new covers on the Top Ten List!

10. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer believes life can’t get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.
There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

9. Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1) by Mary E. Pearson

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor’s secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can’t abide. Like having to marry someone she’s never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

If You Like Sarah Dessen, Try…

We’ve collected some great contemporary romances for all you Sarah Dessen fans! We’ve got a lot of great new titles on the shelves, so be sure to come check them out!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

WHY? While this story takes place in college, the voice is very similar to Sarah Dessen! Cath is reminiscent of many of Dessen’s heroines–Macy, Annabel, and Remy come first to mind–and her love of Simon Snow will speak to anyone in a fandom of their own.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

WHY? Sweet and sincere, the premise of the story might sound like every girl’s nightmare, but the outcome is anything but. As the boys Lara Jean once liked start crawling out of the woodwork, she comes into her own and finds love where she doesn’t expect it. 

Spies, Lies, and Mysterious Times

We love a good mystery! Many of our favorites are spy novels, filled with lies, secrets, and conspiracies!

MISSION 1: THE RECRUIT (CHERUB, #1) BY ROBERT MUCHAMORE

CHERUB agents are highly trained, extremely talented–and all under the age of seventeen. For official purposes, these agents do not exist. They are sent out on missions to spy on terrorists, hack into crucial documents, and gather intel on global threats–all without gadgets or weapons. It is an exceptionally dangerous job, but these agents have one crucial advantage: adults never suspect that teens are spying on them. James is the latest CHERUB recruit. He’s a bit of a troublemaker, but he’s also brilliant. And CHERUB needs him. James has no idea what to expect, but he’s out of options. Before he can start in the field he must first survive one hundred grueling days of basic training, where even the toughest recruits don’t make it to the end….

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU (GALLAGHER GIRLS, #1) BY ALLY CARTER

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it’s really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real “pavement artist”-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?

Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she’s on her most dangerous mission–falling in love.

Light Painting!

Before we went off on a beautiful Spring Break, we had Teen Tech Week! We had so much fun playing bingo and watching Wall – E with you. Here are some pictures from Friday’s Light Painting day!