City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

If the cover doesn't grab you, the first few pages will! City of Bones is addictive; like your favorite candy, once you start it's difficult to stop.

While dancing at a club, Clary Fray makes a stunning discovery...she can see demons. She witnesses three Shadowhunters (the good guys) kill a demon (just one of the bad guys) and her life is forever changed. Then her mother is kidnapped, Clary is attacked by a rather disgusting demon, defeats it, but gets injured and is rescued by Jace, one of the Shadowhunters. And all this happens in the first 50 pages! The excitement continues as Clary searches for her mother, learns about the Shadowhunters, and uncovers several family secrets.

City of Bones is the first book in the trilogy, the second book, City of Ashes is currently available and the third, City of Glass comes out March 24. Cassandra Clare is also working on a companion series, The Infernal Devices, which I'm sure will be just as exciting!

Mario Kart Tournament

Bad News! The March 12th Mario Kart Tournament has been CANCELLED. Due to a change in the school calendar, March 12th is no longer an early release day. So, you guys will be in school instead of at the library playing Mario Kart! I'm hoping to reschedule; I'll let you know if a new date is available.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

The ALA awards committees did a great job this year! I’ve already praised the Morris Award for Debut YA Author for their selection. And now I have to say the Printz Award committee really made an excellent choice with Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I'll warn you it starts a little slow, but picks up around page 100 and then doesn't stop. I sat down on Friday afternoon to read while I had lunch and spent the next 4 hours completely involved in Taylor's life, it was incredible.

Jellicoe Road is a complex and intricately written story surrounding Taylor, a 17 year old, who has been abandoned by her mother, doesn't know her father, and ends up living at a boarding school in the countryside of Australia. Taylor's life is suffused with questions about her past and seemingly nonexistent family. The disappearance of her guardian, Hannah, and Taylor's friendship with Jonah, a cadet at a military school, Santangelo, a local boy whose father may have known her parents, and Raffeala and Jessie, two girls from the Jellicoe School, set in motion Taylor's journey to find her mother and answers to the questions about who she is.

I'm really not doing justice to this amazing book. The plot is so detailed, the characters so complex, and the emotions so exquisite, I can't begin to fit it into a single paragraph. Just trust me, Jellicoe Road is well worth every minute you'll spend reading it.

Book Groups!

If you like to have fun and talk about books, join us for book group! We've got two book groups, one for 6th-8th graders and another for 9th-12th graders. There is always food and fun conversation! Here are the books we'll be talking about for the rest of the school year.

6th-8th Grade Book Group
March 11 (guys group): The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan
March 25 (girls group): The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
April 22 (everyone): Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
May 13 (everyone): Share Your Favorite Books

9th-12th Grade Book Group
March 3: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
April 7: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
May 5: What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell


And watch for info about our summer book groups...I'll give you a hint, we're going to Hollywood!

Teen Art & Writing Contest

Time is running out for your chance to win great prizes in the Teen Art & Writing Contest! The deadline is Sunday, February 15, so bring your entry to the library today.

And don't forgot we'll announce the winners of those great cash prizes at the Art & Writing Reception on Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m. in the library activity room.

For more info about the contest check out the library website.

Good luck!