Cinder by Marissa Meyer

We have another great book review coming your way! This review is for Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Having read it myself I can tell you that it's definitely a great read! Lots of fun with the added bonus of cyborgs!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer reviewed by Diana.

I absolutely loved this book, the way it was written and everything was fantastic. The author mixed my favorite fairy tale with some sci-fi and fantasy and it comes together really well.

The end of Summer Reading

We've reached the end of another Summer Reading Program. Everyone who participated did an excellent job! Give yourselves a round of applause for doing so much reading! Apparently there were a lot of great books read over the summer....and a some not so great. A few of you were nice enough to write reviews of the books you've been reading. I'll be posting a few of those reviews over the coming weeks so that you can see what other local teens thought about these titles.

First up is Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut reviewed by Diana.

This book was really well written and had some humor. But overall I really did not enjoy it as much. But I think that some might find it really enjoyable.

Diana rates this one as Just OK.

Summer Reading is half way over!

We have some dedicated readers who signed up this year! Are you one of them? If you are then you know you get to pick a fun prize every time your report in. You'll also get passes that allow you to purchase discounted admission to local area museums and attractions.

Don't forget about the Grand Prize gift card to be awarded at the End of Summer Reading Program Party on August 19th! You must be present to win.

We're celebrating the end of summer reading with a hobbit themed party. We'll watch the new adaptation of The Hobbit and make some fun hobbit themed crafts! Until then we have a few awesome programs lined up. Sign-ups are almost full for the Cooking Workshop on July 31st. Coming up in August we have a Teen Craft where we will make superhero bracelets and wallets, and a movie night where we're showing Alice in Wonderland (the live action 2010 version). If you come to any event and also signed up for the Summer Reading Program then you get an extra entry to win the Grand Prize!

See you there!

Summer Reading 2013 has begun! Be sure to either stop by the library to sign up or fill out the form on the Summer Reading page. Each time you report in there will be prizes to choose from as well as a Grand Prize gift card to be won at the end of the summer! Doing some reading for the next school year? Reading just for fun? Then you definitely want to sign up and win some prizes!

New Books Bookshelf

This month I have started to display the new young adult books that we have in the collection. If you see something in the catalog marked as "display" then this is where it will be! If you're looking for something new to pick up, try browsing this area.

If you read something great (or terrible) feel free to write a review of it! I'll post it here on our website.

Some of the new titles displayed include:

What to read next: Divergent

Voting for the Rhode Island Teen Book Awards 2013 is drawing to a close. There were a great list of nominees this year. I definitely encourage you to check some of them out and see for yourself. I read quite a few of them and I can honestly say this is a great list of nominees! If you want a synopsis of some of the titles, or you're wondering where to find them in the library, check out our Pinterest board.

I'd like to recommend one title in particular (and one that has been super popular since it came out). Divergent by Veronica Roth takes place in dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. 

Divergent started out strong. I liked that it was set in a city that I knew. It set recognizable landmarks into a dystopian future. In this future society is divided by personality trait to avoid violent tendencies (this is becoming a theme in dystopian fiction; we need to change humanity to avoid warfare and violence). Our protagonist, Tris, chooses the hardest and toughest group thus going against her family. What feels like the entire middle of the book focuses on her training process. It didn't explore what it means to be Divergent (which Tris is - she tested into multiple groups) enough to my liking. In the end, a war begins between factions.

If you're looking for an exciting read that doesn't feel like every other dystopian novel, then Divergent is for you! 

Want to submit a review of your own? Use our handy online form.

Changes to the manga and graphic novels section

We're changing around the manga and graphic novels a bit. When you browse the shelves you may notice that they are being changed over so that they are organized by series title (versus by author as it was before). We're hoping that this makes it easier for people to find books in a series that they are currently reading, find a series they heard a friend talk about, or discover something new!

Have you ever noticed how many odd sounding titles there are in the manga section? Here are a few funny titles that I found: