2013 Lone Star Reading List - Nominations

The Texas Lone Star list is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table. The purpose of the list is to encourage students in grades 6, 7, or 8 to explore a variety of current books. The Lone Star list is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum. Due to the diversity of this age range, Texas librarians should purchase titles on this list according to their individual collection policies. Each book on the list has been favorably reviewed for grades 6, 7, or 8 in a professional review source.

Below is the list of current titles which have been nominated for 2013. The public is welcome to suggest titles for consideration. To be considered for nomination to the 2013 list, a book must have been published in 2011 or 2012. The nomination period ends October 1, 2012. To suggest a title, please complete the form at this link: http://tinyurl.com/79zvetq 

Bewitching Flinn, Alex 

The Boy on Cinnamon Street Stone, Phoebe 

YALSA's Teens' Top Ten - 2012 Nominations

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) announced their Teens' Top Ten! These titles are chosen and voted on by teens as the best of the best for the year. Take a look and make note to read these! I have read quite a few and think they picked some great stories!

All Good Children
 Catherine Austen, (2011).
Max, his sister Ally and their mother return home to Middleton to find Ally’s classmates acting strange. It is the future, and the government has created a “vaccine” to make kids easier to teach- they are less rowdy, less likely to question, and willing to obey any direction. Max’s family has a choice: to be “vaccinated”, to flee their home, or stay and fight.

Ashes
Ilsa Bick, (2011).
Alex, Tom, and Ellie join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky. The pulse kills most of the world’s population and destroys all computer devices, but it also turns some who remain into zombies or gives them superhuman senses.

Abandon
Meg Cabot, (2012).
Pierce has experienced deathbefore and barely escaped. When she moves from her old town to a town called Isla Huesos - Island of Bones - for a new start, she realizes that death wants her back. Canshe escape death once again?

Best of 2011 - Four Favorites Giveaway

This year is quickly coming to an end and it seems like my reading pile is only growing. Luckily, I read some awesome books in 2011. So, here I am sharing them with you and giving everyone a chance to win. All book cover photos will take you to the Goodreads page.

2011 Top Ten Graphic Novels For Teens

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced its 2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens. The list of 63 titles, drawn from 89 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALAMidwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The complete list with annotations can be found HERE



Aristophane. The Zabime Sisters. Trans. by Matt Madden. First Second, 2010.
Experience the first day of summer vacation with three sisters on their island home of Guadelupe.

Dayton, Brandon. Green Monk. Self-published, 2009.
A young monk with the most powerful blade of grass EVER wanders into battle with a fierce giant.

Iwaoka, Hisae. Saturn Apartments V. 1. VIZ Media, 2010.
Mitsu takes on his late father's dangerous job as a window washer on the space ship Saturn Apartments.

Kim, Susan, et. al. Brain Camp. First Second, 2010.
Two teens discover there is something far more sinister than nature hikes going on at their summer camp.

Layman, John and Rob Guillory. Chew V. 1: Taster’s Choice. Image Comics, 2009.
When Tony Chu has to investigate murder, just about anything can end up down the hatch.

Neri, G. and Randy Duburke. Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. Lee & Low Books, 2010.
The life, death and aftermath of an eleven-year-old gangbanger, based on a true tragedy.

Shiga, Jason. Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities. Amulet Books, 2010.
Have you played any comics lately? Choose your own adventure.

Telgemeier, Raina. Smile. Graphix, 2010.
Brace yourself: Middle School plus orthodontia equals dental drama.

TenNapel, Doug. Ghostopolis. Graphix, 2010.
Garth Hale has gone to the other side, but he’s not dead yet.

Weing, Drew. Set to Sea. Fantagraphics, 2010.
A lumbering poet discovers hardship and wisdom on the high seas.

Have you guys read any? My daughter loves graphic novels, and I recognize a few....

Happy Reading!

Goodreads 2010 Good Choice Awards

I always like to post "best of" lists. It is an opportunity to learn of new titles that might have passed you by, and it also reminds us readers of current trends. There were many Good Choice Award categories and I will not cover them all. I encourage you to browse every one even if it doesn't appear to be your thing. One of my resolutions was to branch out my reading. Goodreads is a great place to get some ideas of books you might enjoy.

From Goodreads:

The readers have chosen! More than 157,000 votes were cast for 460 nominees and thousands of write-in candidates. Click on each category to see the full results. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who voted!

Favorite Book of 2010:

Winner 4,064 votes

Young Adult Fiction

Winner 860 votes

Young Adult Fantasy

Winner 3,252 votes

Middle Grade & Children's Book

Winner 1,283 votes

Goodreads Author

Winner 1,973 votes

Cover Art

Winner 2,613 votes

LINK to all winning categories from Goodreads

I was thrilled to see Mockingjay win more than one category. The much anticipated novel also won for Best Heroine and Best Hero! So fantastic to see YA have a firm place in literature!

Happy Reading! 

End of 2010 Survey

The Perpetual Page-Turner has created an end of the year survey. I thought I would give it a go... I have not linked up the titles because..... A) You have probably heard of most of them, B) I'm lazy today.

1. Best book of 2010? Starting out with the absolute best of 2010? Wow...uh....hmmmm. I would have to say Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Taking into account that it was the end of a trilogy and the whole universe was anxiously awaiting the release, this would be my best answer.  Whether you loved Mockingjay or not, can you imagine not reading it this year? Uh, no!


2. Worst book of 2010? A lot of people may have trouble answering this question, but reality is, not every published book is good. My answer? Without a doubt, hands down, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. Oy! I literally clinch my teeth when I look back on this book. 


3. Most Disappointing Book of 2010? The first one that comes to mind is Girl Parts by John M. Cusick. The book started out okay and then it got really...weird. Someone described is at the robot sex book. I think that is a great description! Close second...Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. I gave it a good rating, not excellent, because I thought it was the middle grade version of The Mortal Instruments .


4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010? I can easily say Firelight by Sophie Jordan. I had just come down from my Halo experience and wasn't too sure about dragons, I mean...draki. The last dragon book I had read was Eragon - and I hated it! I didn't even finish it (one of the few). I was very apprehensive, but I loved Firelight and gave it 5 stars!


5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010? Probably The Hunger Games trilogy. Yes... definitely.


6. Best series you discovered in 2010? The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan! I got the first two at TLA and read them back to back. I had never read a zombie YA before and I LOVED Carrie Ryan's version. LOVE! I am jumping out of my skin for The Dark Hollow Places. Close second...The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. 

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010?  I will start with Heidi R. Kling. We went to high school together and when I learned, this year, that she was working on a YA book, I about fell out of my chair! She is so wonderfully talented and everyone should grab a copy of her debut Sea. Second, Sophie Jordan (Firelight), Kiersten White (Paranormalcy), and Ally Condie (Matched).


8. Most hilarious read of 2010? Two - Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. 


9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010?  Again, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. It seems like the entire country was waiting on the edge of their seat to get their hands on a copy. The publisher's were smart not to print galley's. We would have gone mental fighting over them! When I got my copy, I sat and read in 4 hours. I couldn't put it down...


10. Book you most anticipated in 2010? Again, Mockingjay. I was really looking forward to Matched too. I love dystopian's! Oh...and Beautiful Creatures!


11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010? 

12. Most memorable character in 2010? Cassel from White Cat by Holly Black! Oh man...cannot wait for Red Glove! Jack from The Marbury Lens is a close second. Wow....


13. Most beautifully written book in 2010? So hard....skip please...? (see below)

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010? Okay, I admit it, I kind of shy away from really deep books. I read mostly for pleasure and I usually don't read super sad and thought provoking books. I need to work on this, I know! So my answer? Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher even thought it wasn't published in 2010. Eeeek. 

15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read? Crank by Ellen Hopkins. I have no clue what took me so long, but when I heard she was coming to Austin, I read it immediately. So powerful...I highly recommend!


 Book Blogging in 2010 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2010? I have more than one - Girls in the Stacks, Page Turner's, Good Golly Miss Holly, Stephanie, A History, The Story Siren, A Blog About Nothing, All About {n}, The Nerd's Wife, and Cari's Book Blog to name just a few. Really...there are so many of you! 



2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2010? I think my review for Will Grayson, Will Grayson was pretty good. Also, Sweet, Hereafter by Angela Johnson. I put a lot of time and effort into the post. 


3. Best discussion you had on your blog? I think my post about authenticity with Native American children's literature was pretty thought provoking for me and others. ;)


4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else's blog? Tough question....I have read SO many fantastic reviews. In fact, the ones I have disagreed with were the most thought-provoking. Someone didn't care for Matched and I gave it 5 stars. Her reasons were valid although I disagreed. It was a well thought out review that touched on some great literary elements. Wish I remembered who that was....

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)? Wow! There are so many! I think I would have to say TLA in April. I was in library school and this conference was my first "official" library thing. I was like a fish out of water and kept darting my eyes to everything! The exhibit hall was huge and they were literally handing out books as you walked by a booth. I was losing my mind with excitement! I can't wait until April, 2011 - TLA is in Austin this time around...


6. Best moment of book blogging in 2010? I would have to say being asked to moderate a panel at the Austin Teen Book Festival. I was at the grand opening of a library and ran into a local librarian. We chatted about TLA and then kablamo....she asked if I would volunteer! I was extremely excited and the day was awesome!

7. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? Hands down....ARC tours. I had no clue these existed! I have read some pretty awesome books through tours. I hope to get mine, Banned Book Tours, up and running by next week! ;)


Whew...that was fun! 


Happy Reading!