The Teen Review from the Marathon County Public Library

"An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

MCPL TeenZone — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:43:13 GMT

Rating: Good (4)

"An Abundance of Katherines" is another John Green novel that, while similar to his other works, still manages to be a lot of fun. This book features a child prodigy with a bit of an identity crisis who also happens to have dated and been dumped by many girls, all named Katherine. He decides his key to success in life is to create a mathematical formula that predicts how long a relationship will last. While he works on that, he is takes a road trip with his best friend, where they have all kinds of adventures and meet new people, which naturally includes love interests. Quirky, funny, and insightful, "An Abundance of Katherines" is one of John Green's superior novels.

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"An Abundance Of Katherines" by John Green

"The Sword Of Summer" by Rick Riordan

Ann S. — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 13:17:44 GMT

Rating: Excellent! (5)

If you are familiar with Rick Riordan's worlds, filled with both mythological and modern-day aspects, you will still be blown away by Magnus Chase. Homeless Magnus Chase struggles to survive on the streets of Boston, but when he learns of an impending Doomsday and the Norse gods start to interfere with his life, things get a lot tougher. With a sarcastic narrator, quirky and diverse side characters, rich worldbuilding, a surplus of courage and high-stakes, and plenty of humor, "The Sword of Summer" sets itself apart from Riordan's other novels. Darker than Riordan's past works but still plenty cutesy, this book begins what could be an amazing series.

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"The Sword Of Summer" by Rick Riordan

"Son" by Lois Lowry

MCPL TeenZone — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 19:12:36 GMT

Rating: Good (4)

In "The Giver," Jonas rescues a baby named Gabriel. In "Son," the final book of the Giver Quartet, the story of Gabriel's mother is explored. Young Claire was assigned to be a "birthmother", to produce children much like the way a factory produces goods. After her first birth goes wrong, she is assigned to work a different job. However, she cannot forget the feeling of her son in her arms, who she never saw but loved dearly.
And thus, her search for her son begins.
From an emotionless city to a village by the sea to a peaceful town haunted by a sinister being, Claire's world is full of adventure and struggle. Readers looking for a beautifully written novel with some mystery and action will find Son a wonderful read. While not as thought-provoking as "The Giver," "Son" is still a worthwhile novel.

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"Son" by Lois Lowry

"Mara, Daughter Of The Nile" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Autumn H. — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:45:22 GMT

Rating: Good (4)

I thoroughly enjoyed this captivating read; I truly did not want to put it down! The author did a wonderful job of developing the main character, Mara. I felt as though I was witnessing Mara grow more selfless and more aware of the needs of others around her as the story progressed.
This book takes place near the Nile river city of Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt, and has several main characters, who I thought were very realistic. This tale is seen through the eyes of quick-witted Mara, a slave girl of 17, and then is occasionally told through the eyes of young Sheftu (one of Queen Hatshepsut's close nobles), who is a clever character and devoted to his King.
Overall, this book was quite enjoyable, with a satisfactory, yet unpredictable, ending. The author did a marvelous job of developing her main character and the plot. The only reason why I did not give this book a higher "score" was because there were several instances where I thought that one of the book's characters did something or said something that seemed "out-of-line" with their personalities. But, other than that, this book was very good, and I highly recommend it!

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"Mara, Daughter Of The Nile" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

MCPL TeenZone — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 09:49:12 GMT

Rating: Excellent! (5)

Before the story starts, Hannah Baker committed suicide. After the news of her death has spread, a fellow student from the same high school, Clay Jensen, receives a box of tapes. Curious, he listens to the tapes, and learns that the tapes were created by Hannah--just before she committed suicide. On the tapes, Hannah names and describes thirteen people. Thirteen people who contributed to her decision to kill herself. And Clay, for some unknown reason, is among them.
Afterwards, Clay spends a night walking around town, visiting sites Hannah mentions, learning about his classmates, and of course learning about Hannah herself.

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"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

Attention Teens! Voting has started for YALSA’s Teen Top Ten!

Julie Kinney / Library Services — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 08:27:41 GMT

If you have visited the TeenZone over the summer, you probably noticed our display of books that have been nominated for YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten! If you haven’t, check out the picture of the display.

Every year YALSA works with teens and libraries around the country to choose nominees for the Teens’ Top Ten. Teens read and nominated books for inclusion on this list. Publishers supply books to teen reading groups. After reading, the books are evaluated by the groups and a list of nominees is chosen. All teens are then invited to read and vote for the books they think that other teens would enjoy reading.

There is still time to read and vote! If you haven’t had a chance to read any of the books, stop by the library and pick out one or two. While our display was pretty empty during the summer months, it’s started to fill back up. Is there a title you’re interested in, but it’s not there? You can also request a specific book using your smart phone or tablet by scanning the QR code for the book. You can also stop by our reference desk and ask our friendly staff members to help you request a book.

The voting has started and will continue throughout the month of September, ending on October 18. You can see a list of nominees here.

You can vote for your favorite book here.

There are also signs in the TeenZone with a QR code that will link you to the voting as well as book trailers for all of the nominees. Read and vote and look for the results in late October.

"City Of Bones" by Cassandra Clare

Victoria H. — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 11:59:02 GMT

Rating: Excellent! (5)

Have you ever seen something that nobody else has seen? A person who is apparently invisible to everybody except you, or a stranger whose eyes have no pupils? Clary Fray has. At the age of fifteen, she is pulled into the world of the Shadowhunters. On a wild and fun night out with her best friend Simon, she encounters a murder in the supply closet of a dance club. She stops it before death occurs, only to find out that the people are not quite human. They are the warriors, fighting demons. Clary brings Simon to see them, but when she shows him the warriors, he cannot see them.

From that point on, Clary's normal life is interrupted and she is pulled into a treacherous journey of love and loss. Her past is an avalanche of lies, and the peaceful world she lives in is ripped in two. She has to make choices. Which path should she take? Normal or extraordinary?

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"City Of Bones" by Cassandra Clare

"Love Letters To The Dead " by Ava Dellaira

Victoria H. — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 11:55:58 GMT

Rating: Excellent! (5)

Love Letters To The Dead was an excellent book. The writing style was unique, as displayed in letters. The book started off with an English assignment given to the main character, Laurel. She had to write a letter to a dead person. While the assignment seemed rather boring, Laurel was touched by it because a death had occurred in her family. She decided to write the letter to a musician whom the dead family member loved. From there, the assignment spiraled out of control. Instead of turning the work in, Laurel began to use it as her journal. Through this journal, we see the journey she takes to overcome the depression that has kicked in after the unexpected death. Or was it even unexpected? While Laurel experiences first love, weird and quirky friends, and love for music, we all begin to wonder how this loved one died. Was it was truly unexpected? Or was there a way to stop it?

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