Tamora Pierce in Milwaukee!

Well, technically, she'll be in Mequon, but close enough!
That's right Tamora Pierce will be at the Next Chapter Bookshop (formerly Schwartz Bookstore) in Mequon on Wednesday, May 6th at 7 p.m. She's promoting her newest book, Bloodhound, the second book in the Beka Cooper series.

Have fun!

Author Profile: Tamora Pierce

If books combining chivalrous knights, magnificent mages, and courageous ladies peak your interest, Tamora Pierce may be just the author you’ve been looking for. Born in Pennsylvania on December 13, 1954, Pierce was an avid reader in childhood and began writing her own science fiction and fantasy tales beginning in the sixth grade. Following college, she took a handful of jobs to pay for necessary living expenses while selling short stories or articles when able. Finally, in 1983, Pierce's first novel, Alanna: the First Adventure, was published by Atheneum Books; establishing the fantastical realm of Tortall and forging the way for the other strong female characters yet to come.

Medieval fantasy staples such as benevolent monarchs, daring knights, treacherous usurpers, powerful magics, bloody battles, and marvelous beasts all populate the pages of Pierce's novels. Yet, the most common element connecting her works is the incredibly strong females: woman warriors, if not by title then through action. All of her heroines stand apart, each possessing unique abilities and traits enviable even to the most tried male counterparts.

Writing often in quartets (a series of four novels), Pierce develops her characters from resilient, stubborn girls to confident, powerful young women. The majority of her writings are set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall. The three Tortallan quartets--The Song of the Lioness Quartet, The Immortals Quartet, and Protector of the Small--and one duet--Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen--interconnect, allowing beloved characters to make appearances while still focusing on the main protagonist's growth. Alanna the Lioness, Daine the Wildmage, Kel the Protector, and Aly the Trickster all become legends through their own grit, determination, and ingenuity.

Pierce's most recent writings, another Tortallan series, follows the story of Beka Cooper in Terrier: a Tortall Legend. Set two hundred years in the past, Beka is a "puppy" to the provost guard "hounds". Uncovering murders and solving mystery in the capital city, Corus. On April 14th, book two in the Beka Cooper series, Bloodhound: a Tortall Legend, was released. Also, Pierce has filmed a question and answer video in which she discusses these newest additions to her body of work while answering reader questions.

Set in the land of Emelan, Pierce has also written about a group of young mages-in-training in the Circle of Magic quartet. Sandry, Daja, Briar, and Trisana, masters of weaving, plants, fire, and weather, respectively, come to terms with their new-found power and grow in friendship in the Winding Circle Temple. Each book in the quartet is dedicated to one girl and her own self-discovery. In the Circle Opens quartet, the story resumes four years in the future. The girls, now full mages, are responsible for instructing their own trainee charges.

For almost three decades, Tamora Pierce has been generating young adult reads with compelling tales, well-crafted universes, and celebrated heroines. If you're looking for a book, series, or author that will challenge your notions of what girls should be and do, Tamora Pierce, along with her all her cohorts--Alanna, Daine, Kel, and Ali, to name a few--might be the group for you.

(by Abby, Gradute Student Intern)

What I'm Reading: Historical Fiction

Here are two great books about that tumultuous time, the 1940's.

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
It’s Chicago, 1941 and Ruby Jacinski is oblivious to the talk of war in Europe. She is too worried about paying the rent for her mother and sister; at fifteen Ruby has dropped out of school to support her sick mother and younger sister. When Ruby gets the opportunity to make more money than she ever thought possible, simply by dancing, she can’t believe her luck. Ruby quickly realizes, though, that being a taxi-dancer is not a job for “respectable” girls and she has to hide her other life from her family. Now all Ruby does at her job is dance, the fox-trot, the jitterbug, the waltz, but for a young girl in the 1940’s this is a far cry from being a secretary or telephone operator. And when Ruby falls in love with a boy who imagines himself the next Al Capone, she has more to hide than just dancing.

Pearl Harbor, World War II, Jazz music, segregation and racism, dancing, and organized crime are the backdrop for this amazing novel of a girl struggling to find her place.


What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
The war is over, the red scare is looming, but for Evie life is about high heels and lipstick. However, while on vacation in Florida, Evie discovers secrets about her family that dramatically change her life. Forced to confront lies surrounding her stepfather's time fighting in Europe during World War II, her mother's struggle to support the family while he was away, and her feelings for a handsome ex-GI who seems connected to all of this; Evie becomes tangled in their mystery and must figure out who she can trust.

This National Book Award Winner offers a dark and atmospheric look into American post-WWII.

Another Harry Potter Trailer!

Another great Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince trailer!

Teen Choice Book Awards

Have your say and vote for the "Teen Choice Book of the Year!" The Children's Book Council, a nonprofit association for kids and teen book publishers, sponsors this award and Children's Book Week in May.

The top five choices for Teen Choice Book of the Year are:
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Paper Towns by John Green
Airhead by Meg Cabot

These are all great books! Which one will you choose?

Shorewood School District Art Show

The first district wide art show for the Shorewood public schools is now on display at the library. Enjoy paintings, drawings, sculptures, and more for the entire month of April.