The Everafter by Amy Huntley

The next book on my voyage to read all the Morris Award nominees was The Everafter by Amy Huntley.

"I'm dead.
Not my-parents-told-me-to-be-home-by-twelve-and-it's-two-o'clock-now dead. Just dead. Literally."

Maddy Stanton has died and is now in the Everafter. She discovers that objects she lost during her life now enable her to relive those memories. With a lost bracelet she remembers the day she fell out of a tree, a set of car keys takes her back to her first kiss with her boyfriend Gabe, and with a lost flower she returns to her sister's wedding. Yet the one thing Maddy can't remember is how she died. And the one thing she can't seem to find is Gabe.

A thought-provoking story about a girl struggling to reconcile her life with what happens after you die.

Ash by Malinda Lo

Book two of the Morris Award Nominees is Ash by Malinda Lo. A Cinderella retelling with a few twists.

Ash has grown up listening to fairy tales and living in a world where fairies seem just beyond the woods. So when she meets Sidhean, a fairy, she longs to be with him instead of living her life as a servant to her stepmother. But when Ash develops a friendship with Kaisa, the King's huntress, her longing for Sidhean begins to wane. Until Ash must decide what she wants more, a life with Sidhean among the fairies or with Kaisa in the real world.

Ash is a beautiful, magical love story told with understated yet lyrical language. I truly did not want Ash's story to end and am happy to hear that Malinda Lo is currently working on a new book about the first huntress of Ash's world.

Milwaukee County Teen Book Award

The first annual Milwaukee County Teen Book Award nominees have been announced! From the hundreds of books published for teens between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009, the MCTBA has chosen 15 nominees.

And the best part? You get to help choose the winner! Vote for your favorites and have a say in this year's winner. You can vote at the Shorewood Public Library, online, or snail mail. Ballots may be picked up at the library or printed from the MCTBA website.

Let me know what you think about the nominees!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

The first book on my list from the Morris Award nominees was Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Ethan Wate has lived his entire life in Gatlin, North Carolina, a tiny town where nothing ever happens. That is until the day Lena Duchannes starts school. Lena is beautiful and mysterious and the girl of Ethan's dreams. Literally, he's been having terrifying dreams for months all starring Lena. The more Ethan and Lena explore their connection the more questions are raised about who or what Lena is and how an old family curse may be keeping them apart.

Beautiful Creatures absolutely oozes atmosphere, has wonderful characters, and tells a suspenseful story of cursed love. There is definite potential for a sequel and I've heard it's already been optioned for a movie.

Debut Author Award

The shortlist for the Morris Award, given for best debut YA author, has been announced. Here are the five amazing nominees:


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
The Everafter by Amy Huntley
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Ash by Malinda Lo
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Reviews for each of these will be coming soon!

More Books to Movies

There are lots of new movies coming out in the next few months based on great books...

December
The Lovely Bones
Sherlock Holmes

February
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

March
Alice in Wonderland
How to Train Your Dragon

April
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

June
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

While you wait, check out Blindside, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, or Me & Orson Welles in theaters now.

More Twilight Read-Alikes

So you've read all the books, seen both the movies, and need something to pass the time while you wait for Eclipse to come out next June? Here are a few ideas!







Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
Evermore by Alyson Noel
The Hollow by Jessica Verday
Ash by Malinda Lo
Fire by Kristin Cashore

Great Book Ideas

More book recommendations!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Back at the beach house for another summer of boys, family, and friends; Belly knows this is the summer when everything will change.

Hero Type by Barry Lyga
What does it mean to be a hero? Kevin saves a classmate's life and is declared a hero. But when a serious of events lead everyone to question his patriotism, Kevin defends his beliefs while learning a lot about himself and what it means to be a hero.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Nora is inexorably drawn to Patch, the quiet, moody boy in her bio class. After a series of terrifying events, Nora beings to wonder who she can trust. Is Patch involved in the events or simply trying to protect her from something more sinister?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

If you love the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan, I've got some exciting info for you...

First, the 6th-8th grade book group will be talking about The Last Olympian and the other books in the series on Wednesday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Join us for fun conversation, trivia, and much more.

Second, wondering what to read next? Rick Riordan has a great list of ideas and so does the library. Check them out to find tons of great books!

Want even more Percy Jackson? Don't forget the movie is coming out February 12, 2010. Check out the amazing trailer! And Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide, a "guide to the gods, camp, monsters, the labyrinth, and much more" also comes out in February. And then next fall the graphic novel version of The Lightning Thief comes out. Whew, that's a lot of cool stuff!

And finally, the first book in The Camp Half-Blood series comes out winter 2010! Here's a quote from Rick Riordan's blog about the new series, "I'm putting a new twist on things but it’s not the end of Percy and friends by a long shot. You’ll see where I’m going with it winter 2010 when the first book comes out, and I think you’ll be pleased (and I hope a little shocked and amazed!) but that’s all I can say for now."

2010 should be a great year for Percy Jackson fans!

P.S. Happy 100th post to the blog:)

The Last Olympian

We'll be talking about The Last Olympian at the 6th-8th Grade Book Group on Wednesday, November 18 at 7 p.m. What's your favorite book in the series? Which character do you like? Bring a friend and share your opinion, enjoy some snacks, and hear info about The Lightning Thief movie coming out February 12! Hope to see you there:)

National Gaming Day

Celebrate National Gaming Day on Saturday, November 14 from 1-3 p.m. at the Shorewood Library. There will be games for everyone, including Mario Kart on the Wii and great board games like Apples to Apples, Clue, and Pictureka. Bring your family and friends and have fun on National Gaming Day!

Some Great New Books

I'm on a committee that's starting a Teen Book Award (more info coming soon!) and I've been reading some amazing books.

Say the Word by Jennine Garsee
Shawna hasn't talked to her mother in years, but when she dies suddenly, Shawna must come to terms with her feelings about her mother's betrayal.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Freshman year for Will Carter is a hilarious ride involving a love triangle, driving a truck into his backyard, the world's greatest belly flop, and so much more fun and embarrassment.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Valarie never imagined when she started the "hate list" as a way to express her frustration, that it would be taken to such extremes.

Teens' Top Ten 2009

Teens across the country voted and the winners have been announced for the 2009 Teens' Top Ten.


Paper Towns by John Green
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Wake by Lisa McMann
Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Six Word Memoirs

Can you write your life story in six words? Lots of teens have and these abbreviated memoirs have been collected in I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: six-word memoirs by teens famous & obscure edited by Smith magazine. This great collection of funny, quirky, and often sad memoirs are from teens around the world.

Want even more six word memoirs? Check out Six-word memoirs on love & heartbreak or Not quite what I was planning : six-word memoirs by writers famous and obscure.

I bet you'll be inspired to write your own six word memoir...

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is the third in the D.J. Schwenk series that began with Dairy Queen and The Off Season. So far D.J. has played boys football and helped her brother through a terrible accident, now she is working to get a basketball scholarship and confront her shyness on the court. And through all of this there is Brian, the rival high school's quarterback that D.J. helped train last summer. Can they be more than friends?

D.J. is a wonderfully funny character who is dealing with family issues, sports rivalries, and first love in small town Wisconsin. Find out more about Front and Center and the other books in the series at the author's site.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

So I finished Leviathan over the weekend and it was AMAZING. It is set in an alternate Europe in 1914, the cusp of WWI. It centers around Alek, the Austria-Hungary prince who is on the run after his parents are assassinated, and Deryn, a Scottish girl who disguises herself as a boy to join the British navy. But these aren't the countries you know, Britain is "Darwinist" and has genetically engineered beasties that they use in place of machines. Austria-Hungary, on the other hand, is "Clanker," they use steam powered machines for everything; (check out pictures from the book to see a few examples). This is the first in a series and sets up exciting questions with lots of adventure.

If you enjoy Leviathan try one of these other steampunk novels:
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Larklight by Philip Reeve
His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
Airman by Eoin Colfer
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

Book Group next week...

Just in time for Halloween we'll talk about The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman at the next 6th-8th Grade Book Group. Join us October 14 at 7 p.m. for snacks and fun discussion.

And then come back in November to talk about The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.

New YA Authors

I recently read two great books by new author Maggie Stiefvater, Lament: the Faerie Queen's Deception and Shiver (both supernatural romances). There are a lot of new authors writing great teen books, here are a few suggestions:

Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
The Lab by Jack Heath
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
No More Us For You by David Hernandez
Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald
Gone by Michael Grant
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
Graceling by Kristin Cashore