Teens

Today we review three novels with famous people as their subjects. The first is Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Teens continue to be fascinated by the Jazz Age and they read the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, not only in literature classes but also for fun. (So I learned in a recent discussion with [...]

We have a huge backlog of wonderful reviews right now, so this week we’re giving you even more weekly reviews.  The great film reviewer Jonathan Rosenbaum once commented that “it’s pretty safe to say that there are more serial killers in movies than there are in real life” and puzzled over why so many viewers [...]

When it comes to reaching out to teen library patrons, partnerships between public and school libraries are absolutely key—but how to make them successful is an ongoing challenge, agreed those library staff and stakeholders who gathered in a virtual town hall yesterday hosted by YALSA.

Alyssa Victoria Gardner is a 16-year-old skateboarder, artist, devoted child, and the great-great-great granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865. Her mother, Alison, has spent the last decade in Soul’s Asylum, where she eats only food served in teacups and spends her time talking to flowers and insects. Alyssa also hears insects talking, but has not told anyone—since she doesn't want to follow the same path as her mother. After a visit to Soul’s Asylum that's particularly disturbing, Alyssa starts to put disparate clues together and realizes that the only way to save her mother and her own sanity is to find the rabbit hole and put Wonderland back together again. In Splintered, which SLJTeen calls “satisfyingly sensual, delightfully dark, and absolutely riveting,” YA debut author A.G. Howard puts a modern-day twist on Carroll's classic.

What’s your survival plan? In Orleans, Sherri Smith has created a rich and complex world of the future where New Orleans and much of the Delta region are cut off from the United States to prevent the spread of a deadly virus. A new, primitive society emerges, divided by tribes based on blood types. Fifteen-year-old Fen de la Guerre—fierce, tender, and a survivalist—is left to fend for herself and an infant after her O-positive tribe is ambushed. Her journey, which Kirkuscalls “a harrowing and memorable ride,” is one you won’t soon forget.

Opening Day of Loudon County Library's newest facility, Gum Spring Library, has come and gone. More than 6,500 people checked out 14,000 materials in just under five and a half hours, and we issued over 1,100 library cards. And those are just the tangible statistics! Teens finally found a place in their community to call their own! Caretakers can now stop driving 25 minutes to the nearest storytime! An entire region of northern Virginia learned what it feels like to have free resources available to them in their own backyard. The looks of amazement and happiness that I saw on Opening Day filled me with amazement and happiness. The Gum Spring Library has arrived, and we're open for business!

from Francisca Goldsmith, graphic novel guest blogger extraordinaire: Coding How We Speak Family Secrets Rutu Modan has proved to be an adept storyteller as well as creator of visually rich images of both characters and their settings. She’s been published to some acclaim in the US as the author and cartoonist of a collection of [...]

From our discussion last week, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man is clearly one of our recent favorite superhero titles, featuring the beloved superheroics as well as a refreshing non-white lead character.  We eagerly anticipate the series as it continues. So what’s a reader to do when they’ve finished this volume?  Check out these titles we recommend for [...]

Nobody's Secret, the latest offering from Michaela MacColl, continues to get rave reviews. School Library Journal's reviewer says, "The fast-moving plot makes this a well-crafted page-turner. The dialogue rings true, both to the historical time and to the chronological ages and social status of the characters." And SLJTeen's reviewer agrees. M.G. Higgins's Bi-Normal is going on my to-read list. I just finished listening to David Levithan and John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and I'm wondering what advice their openly gay jock Tiny Cooper would give Higgins's protagonist, Brett Miller.