Love Percy Jackson?

Do you love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books? You can get a sneak peak at the first chapter in Rick Riordan’s new adventure series, “The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid”  here .

Teen Book Cover Controversy – Take Two

Bloomsbury Publishing found themselves in trouble recently when bloggers revealed that the teen novel Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore,  which is about Nimira, a “dark-skinned” girl, features a white model on the cover.

Want to see it for yourself?  Here’s the controversial cover along with a book trailer that shows what the author imagined the main character looking like:

As news of this inaccurate cover spread, Bloomsbury got a lot of complaints and quickly responded by saying they will print a new cover on all future editions and will offer replacement covers to people who have already bought the book.

That sounds like a good solution, but here’s the thing: this isn’t the first time Bloomsbury has been dishonest in showing characters of color on their covers.  Just last year, they had to change the cover of the  teen novel Liar by Justine Larbalestier when people noticed that although the story was about a girl of mixed race, a white model was used.  Again, see for yourself the original cover and the replacement:

 

So what do you think, Akron Library Teens?  What does this incident mean to you?  Should there be more books with people of color on the cover?  What do you think about teen book covers in general?  Take the poll below and then share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Award Winning Books for Teens

This week the American Library Association announced their Youth Media Award winners.   The Printz Award is given to a “book that exemplifies  literary excellence in young adult literature.”   It’s like the Grammys or Oscars of books for teens.

The winner of the Printz is: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen year-old who, after    being diagnosed with Creutzfeld Jakob’s (aka mad cow) disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure.

To order Going Bovine, click here.

Printz Honors were given to the following books:

 

Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman.

Once Charles Darwin sets his rational mind to marry the religious Emma Wedgeworth, they both must take a leap of faith in order to build a life together.

To order Charles and Emma, click here.

 

 

 

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a monstrumologist, races against time to save his town (and himself) from the anthropophagi, a pod of monstrous creatures who prey on humans.

To order The Monstrumologist, click here.

 

 

 

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

“Punkzilla” is on a mission to see his older brother “P”, before “P” dies of cancer. Still buzzing from his last hit of meth, he embarks on a days-long trip from Portland, Ore. to Memphis, Tenn., writing letters to his family and friends. Along the way, he sees a sketchier side of America and worries if he will make it to see his brother in time.

To order Punkzilla, click here.

 

 

Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973, by John Barnes

In September 1973, as the school year begins in his depressed Ohio town, high-school senior Kurt Shoemaker determines to be “normal,” despite his chaotic home life with his volatile, alcoholic mother and the deep loyalty and affection he has for his friends in the therapy group dubbed the Madman Underground.

To order Tales of the Madman Underground, click here.

To see a list of all the books, movies, and audiobooks that won awards this year, click here.

Supernatural Romance Spotlight

If you’re tired of Twilight, and need some new supernatural romances to read, check out these fun titles:

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

After her popular boyfriend announces that he’s gay and dumps her, Viola is miserable.  She feels like she’s become invisible, and wishes more than anything that she could fit in the way she used to.  

When she accidentally summons a genie who promises her three wishes, she finally has her chance.  There’s only one problem – as she and Jinn, the genie, get to know each other better, she starts to fall for him. Viola wants Jinn to stay in her world, but if she makes all three wishes, he’ll disappear forever.  Can they stay together, or will Viola’s wishes pull them apart?

To order As You Wish, click here.

My Fair Godmother by Jeannette Rallison

When her boyfriend breaks up with her to date her older sister, Savannah needs to find a new prom date ASAP. Luckily, Savannah has a fairy godmother to help her out.  Unluckily, the fairy godmother is really bad at her job.

When she sends Savannah back to the middle ages to find the prince of her dreams, nothing goes right.  As Savannah gets stuck living out the stories of Snow White and Cinderella, she quickly begins to realize there’s no place like home.  Unfortunately, before she can get back there, she has to scrub some floors, fight a dragon, live without shampoo, outwit some scheming royals, and rescue Tristan, her potential-prom-date-in-distress.  Savannah might not be having much fun, but you’ll definitely have a good time when you read this laugh-out-loud funny book.

To order My Fair Godmother, click here.

Best Books of 2009

As 2009 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on our favorite books of the year.   Check out some of these great reads:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

In this sequel to the Hunger Games, Katniss has become the center of government attention in Panem.  Her antics in the previous year’s Hunger Games have sparked a flame of rebellion throughout the districts.  How will she be able to elude the Capital again?  This book is another thrilling adventure that will have you begging for the next installment.   To order Catching Fire, click here.

  

Marcelo in the Real Word by Francisco Stork

This book is a beautiful and fascinating look into the world of Marcelo, a 17-year-old with an Asperger’s-like condition.  He hears a special “music” playing in his head, has an encyclopedic knowledge of religion, and lives in a tree-house.  Marcelo has established a comforting  rhythm in his life, but his dad seeks to change all that by having him enter “the real world” by working in the mailroom at his law firm.  Follow Marcelo as he learns to navigate this whole new world.  To order Marcelo in the Real World, click here.

  

If I Stay  by Gayle Forman

Should she stay or should she go?  After a tragic car accident kills her family, Mia is in a coma-like state where she must decide if she should stay alive and press on in the midst of this painful tragedy, or if she wants to die as well.   Told through thoughts and flashback, this book is a reflection on her Mia’s life so far, and makes your reexamine what makes your own life worth living.  To order If I Stay, click here.

What were your favorite books this year? Please let us know in comments.

Holiday Hours

Hi everyone!  The holiday season is in full swing, so we thought we’d post a list of Akron-Summit County Public Library’s holiday closings.  As always, if you have any questions, give us a call at 330.643.9067.

Thursday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) – CLOSED

Friday, December 25 (Christmas Day) – CLOSED

Thursday, December 31 (New Years Eve) – All locations will close @ 5PM

Friday, January 1, 2010 (New Year’s Day) – CLOSED

Monday, January 18, 2010 (Martin Luther King Day) – CLOSED

From everyone here in the Teen Department, have a great winter break and a very happy holiday season!

Book Trailer – Parties and Potions

Check out the book trailer for Parties and Potions by Sarah Mlynowski.

To order Parties and Potions, click here.

Book Spotlight – In the Path of Falling Objects

In the Path of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith

It’s the summer of 1970. Jonah’s older brother’s fighting in Vietnam, his dad’s in jail, and his mom has left town with her newest boyfriend, abandoning Jonah and his younger brother Simon. 

Jonah knows they won’t be able to survive for long in their trailer without money, food, or electricity, so he decides to take Simon and head out west.  On a deserted stretch of highway, they hitch a ride with Mitch and Lilly, two mysterious strangers with a dangerous secret…

As they get farther from home and things start getting crazy, only one question remains: Will Jonah and Simon be able to survive this road trip from hell?

To order In the Path of Falling Objects, click here.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which is annually on December 7, commemorates the attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, during World War II. Many American service men and women lost their lives or were injured on December 7, 1941.   Today American flags should be displayed and flown at half-staff to remember those who lost their lives in defense of our country.

 

For more information on this historic day click here.  President Barack Obama has also issued a Proclamation in support of this day of remembrance.

To learn more about Pearl Harbor, check out the Graphic Novel - Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy

Book Review – The Pale Assassin

The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott

Eugenie de Boncoeur is a rich, beautiful aristocratic orphan living a life of luxury and parties in Paris in 1789. You hate her already, don’t you? Well, it turns out that there’s more to Eugenie than meets the eye. The French Revolution is raging, aristocrats everywhere are being targeted by the common folk, and political figures are using their power to get revenge on their former peers. Eugenie’s shallow little life of privilege is rapidly changing.

Soon, it’s dangerous for Eugenie to even walk down the street, and she and her Royalist brother are trying to figure out how to leave Paris and get to England, where her uncle lives. But her older brother Armand doesn’t want to leave without saving the Royal Family from the guillotine, there is a dark stranger dogging their steps, intent on possessing Eugenie, and neither knows who can be trusted and who is out to betray them…

This book is, admittedly, a bit melodramatic in parts. However, the historical stuff is accurate, the storyline is really exciting, and Armand has some really yummy friends. Descriptions of life in France at this time are very clear – make you feel like you’re really there! – and it’s fascinating, from our standpoint of years of equal rights for all, to watch a spoiled, vapid aristocrat wake up to the fact that one’s background does not determine one’s worth as a person. If you liked the Kirsten Dunst movie Marie Antoinette, you’ll enjoy this book!

To order The Pale Assassin, click here.