New Manga and Graphic Novels

Sand Chronicles 4 – 6 by Hinako Ashihara

Twelve-year-old Ann and her divorced mother move from Tokyo to her mother’s rural hometown. How will Ann survive her exile from civilization? Then, when her mother commits suicide, Ann has to grow up fast. As the years pass, Ann learns to trust and depend on her new friends – Daigo and aristocratic siblings Fuji and Shika. But when Ann moves back to Tokyo to be with her father, will she be able to maintain a long-distance relationship with Daigo? And do Fuji and Shika harbor romantic feelings of their own that might rip their childhood friendships apart…?
 
 
 
High School Debut 10 – 11 by Kazune Kawahara

Friendship and love are put to the test when Asaoka reveals to Yoh that he likes Haruna. To settle things once and for all, Yoh and Asaoka strike a deal – whoever loses the school sports meet will give up his feelings for her! Then, Haruna becomes worried when she sees Yoh hanging out with a classmate.  She has good reason for feeling uneasy – it looks like this girl really does want to sabotage their relationship!
 
 
 
 

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee, Sam Hart, and Artur Fujita

How did Robin of Loxley become Robin Hood? Why did he choose to fight injustice instead of robbing for his own gain? Expressive and gritty, this graphic novel whisks readers back to Crusades-era England, where the Sheriff of Nottingham rules with an iron fist, and in the haunted heart of Sherwood Forest, a defiant rogue — with the help of his men and the lovely Maid Marian — disguises himself to become an outlaw.
 
 
 
Runaways: Rock Zombies by Terry Moore

The spookiest Runaways tale ever! The Val Rhymin subplot has been brewing for a while and peaks here – Chase’s boss is not what he seems. Writer Terry Moore welcomes former Runaways artist Takeshi Miyazawa aboard for this creepy tale of magic and mayhem.
 
 
 
 
 

Bone: Rose by Jeff Smith

A prequel to the Bone saga, Rose takes place in the Valley years before the Bones arrived, when Gran’ma Ben was the spirited, beautiful Princess Rose. She and her cold, bitter sister, Briar, are called to defend the Valley from a vicious dragon that is possessed by the Lord of the Locusts. Rose is up to the task, but can Briar be trusted?
 
 
 

Book Review: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Micah is a liar.  She has always lied.  It’s a family curse – she can’t help but lie to you.  But now, her classmate (and secret boyfriend) Zach has been killed under mysterious circumstances, and all of Micah’s carefully constructed lies are starting to crumble around her.  So Micah promises that this time she’s going to tell you the truth about what happened to Zach, and about her mysterious family history.  No lies, no omissions.  But can you really believe a word she says?

Whew.  I’m not sure how to describe this one without spoiling it for everyone.  I raced through it, desperate to find out what really happened to Micah and Zach, but even after finishing, I have no idea what the real truth is.  Micah is the queen of unreliable narrators, as she’ll tell you herself.  Throughout the book, she’s constantly revisiting things she’s told the reader are the absolute truth, only to confess that, well, maybe she’s still telling you a few tiny lies.  Over and over again this happens, until you’re not sure if you can trust that anything Micah’s telling you is the truth.  Add in a huge twist in the middle that takes the story in a completely unexpected direction, and an ending that does its best to avoid answering any questions, and you’ve got a suspenseful, page-turning read that doesn’t really fit in any genre category.

If you’ve read any of Labalestier’s other books (including the also wonderful Magic or Madness trilogy, and the fluffy but funny How to Ditch Your Fairy), be prepared for something completely different than anything else she’s done.  I can’t guarantee you’ll love it – it’s a frustrating read – but I think that anyone who’s into suspensful, creepy tales should give it a shot.  I thought it was great, and I’m adding it to my list of favorite books of 2009.

P.S. – If you’ve finished Liar and you’re looking for a good, spoilery place to discuss it with others, Larbalestier has provided a post to do so on her blog.  Actually, I’d highly recommend checking out her blog, period.  She’s hilarious and also provides some great tips for aspiring writers.

P.P.S – This has nothing to do with the rest of the thread, but did you know that Justine Larbalestier is married to Scott Westerfeld, writer of the Uglies and Midnighters trilogies, among others?  I love the idea of two great writers of young adult novels being together – wonder if they ever steal each other’s ideas?

Yet another Twilight-related post

Okay, I promise after this one I’ll stop.  But with New Moon making over 200 million so far at the box office, this is one phenomenon that isn’t going away anytime soon, whether you’re a fan of the Twilight saga or not.  If you’re not, or if you’re just ready to try something new after rereading the series five times, you might want to check out this post from the blog for the Young Adult Library Services Association, where they suggest some great reads for those suffering from Twilight exhaustion.

New Moon party pictures

Check out these great pictures from our New Moon party yesterday:

Twilight fans get crafty.

And here’s our table of guys who mostly don’t care about Twilight but wanted some free food.

Mindy gets interviewed in front of all of the Twilight prizes.

Now, I do not encourage destruction of books, but Jeremy assures us that his copy of Twilight was a serious threat that had to be taken out.

New Moon release party!

So, anyone excited for the release of the New Moon movie this Friday?  Want a place to release some steam and possibly win some great Twilight-related stuff?  Then whether you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob, come out to the library this Thursday from 4 to 6 for our New Moon release party.  We’ll have vampire cupcakes and other creepy treats, games, crafts, trivia, and a chance to win some awesome posters of Edward, Jacob, and the rest of the gang, among other great prizes.  Hope to see you there!

Teen Writer’s Workshop

The next meeting of the NPL teen writer’s workshop will be meeting this upcoming Monday, November 9, from 4 to 5 pm.  Bring your pens and notebooks and we’ll get down to the business of planning our teen newsletter/magazine.  And is anyone else out there besides me doing NaNoWriMo this month?  It’s driving me crazy, so if there are any fellow sufferers, maybe we can share some advice and commiserate together.

Teen Halloween Party

Just a reminder to all that the annual teen Halloween party is Thursday night from 4:00 to 6:30 in the NPL community room!  We’ve got a lot planned for the event, including gross food and games, a costume contest, and a showing of the movie Coraline, so don’t miss out.

The results are in…

…and John Green has trounced Stephenie Meyer in the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten awards!  His Paper Towns tops the list, followed by Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.  Here’s the full list:

• Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin/Dutton)
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
• Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
• Wake by Lisa McMann (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse)
• Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin)
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Disney-Hyperion)
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Visit the ALA’s Teens’ Top Ten website for more information, including an announcement video featuring several WWE stars and John Green himself.  I’m thrilled to see several of my favorites from the past year on the list, including The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Graceling, and The Hunger Games.  How about you guys?  What are your favorites from the list?  Are there any books from the past year that you think should’ve made the cut?  Let me know in the comments.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

Where the Wild Things Are opens in theaters today.  Directed by Spike Jonze, with a screenplay written by Jonze and Dave Eggers, the movie comes from Maurice Sendak’s classic book, which contains less than 40 pages and only ten sentences.  So what do you guys think?  Is it possible to make a good film out of such a short book with so little plot?  How do you think it will compare?

I’ll be up front and say that the book is one of my favorites ever and one of my strongest memories from childhood is of having it read to me.  The images and visual look of the book is incredible, and from what I’ve seen of the trailer, Jonze’s adaptation seems to capture at least some of that.  Plus, the director was picked out by Sendak himself, who seems to approve heartily of the project.  At any rate, I’ll find out tonight when I go to see it in the theater.  Anyone else planning to see this one?

October Game Day

Ready for a gaming break?  Come out to the Normal Public Library after school this Wednesday, October 14 from 4 to 6 pm for Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, and lots of board games, plus food!