Milwaukee County Teen Book Award

You can still vote for your favorites in the Milwaukee County Teen Book Award! Haven't heard about this great new award? Currently in its first year, the MCTBA is a shortlist of 15 books vying for the title of favorite book in Milwaukee County. And you get to help decide the winner!

Not sure what books are nominated? Check out this video and go to the MCTBA website to read reviews. We're putting up 2 reviews each week, right now we're about half way through the list.

And don't forget to vote for your favorites by March 1, 2010. You can vote at the Shorewood Library or via email (waplteens@mcfls.org).

Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

Ok, for full disclosure, one of my favorite books is The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. So it's no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed her latest novel, Tangled.

Meet Jena, Skye, Dakota and Owen. On the surface...Jena is an ordinary girl, Skye is a beautiful upcoming actress, Dakota is a good looking jock, and Owen is an anti-social computer geek. But when these four meet in Paradise, a tropical resort, while on vacation, they're lives become interconnected and they prove first impressions can be deceiving.

Told from the perspective of each person over the course of the four months following their fateful vacation, Jena, Skye, Dakota, Owen find their lives changing in unexpected ways.

Teen Book Award Winners Announced

The winners of the Printz Award for YA Literature and the Morris Award for Debut YA Author were announced this week.

The Printz Award winner is...Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Honor books are:
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heligman

The Morris Award winner is...Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan
Honor books are:
Ash by Malinda Lo
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Everafter by Amy Huntley

For info on the National Book Award winner and the Teens' Top Ten check out my listing.

Amazing New Releases

There are lots of great new books coming out the next few months!

February
Chronicles of Vladimir Todd: Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Finnikin on the Rock by Melina Marchetta
Gone by Lisa McMann

March
Hourglass by Claudia Gray
Fang: a Maximum Ride novel by James Patterson
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco Stork

April
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
Runaway by Meg Cabot
The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti
A Coven of Witches by Joseph Delaney
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
The World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

May
Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti
Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey
Ranger's Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan
Hell's Heroes by Darren Shan

June
Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Carter's Big Break by Brent Crawford
Blue Bloods: Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz


July
The Clique: My Little Phony by Lisi Harrison
Dark Flame by Alyson Noel
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater


August
The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The Hunger Games (book 3) by Suzanne Collins
Ranger's Apprentice: Halt's Peril by John Flanagan

Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

The last book on my Morris Award list is Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan.

Meet Blake, a 15 year-old comedian with a pretty amazing family. He also has a wonderful girlfriend, Shannon, and some great friends, including Marissa, a girl he hangs out with in photo class. When Blake gets involved with helping Marissa and her drug addict mother, he might be in over his head. While struggling to balance his loyalty to Marissa with his love for Shannon, he risks losing them both.

While dealing with some serious issues, Flash Burnout is "unexpectedly hilarious." Blake's sense of humor, along with several great characters, keep the book thought provoking, yet funny. I can't wait to read L.K. Madigan's next book, The Mermaid Mirror, coming out Fall 2010.

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

I took a break from Morris Award nominees (only one left and review coming soon), to read Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor.

This National Book Award finalist is a stunning collection of three fantasy short stories. Ranging from contemporary Kizzy who is enticed by a goblin, to demons and curses in British-ruled India, to immortal shape-shifting creatures, all three center around a kiss that changes lives. Enhanced with beautiful illustrations, Lips Touch: Three Times is a magical and thrilling read.

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

The fourth book on my list of Morris Award nominees is Hold Still by Nina LaCour.

Caitlin is left stunned and alone when her best friend Ingrid commits suicide. Dealing with her own grief, anger, and confusion, Caitlin struggles to reconcile the Ingrid she knew with a person who would commit suicide. Then Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal, will it share the answers she so desperately wants?

Wonderfully written, this story of loss is emotionally honest and believable.