Twinkle, Twinkle...Great Big Stars

Hollywood's biggest stars will breathe film life into a few of our favorite books next year. Check out the roster so far (and click on any title to order the books from your local library branch):

Calling Team Jacob! Taylor Lautner will play Finn, a 17-year-old who lives in the savage, futuristic prison world of Catherine Fisher's Incarceron. The question now: Who will play Finn’s romantic interest, Claudia, the warden’s daughter who is doomed to an arranged marriage? (While waiting for details, check out the book's sequel, Sapphique, which has just been released.)

Guess who’s playing our favorite feisty redhead, Clary Fray, in Cassandra Clare's City of Bones movie? Thumbs up for Lily Collins, known for her role in The Blind Side and as the girl playing alongside the aforementioned Taylor Lautner in Abduction.  Now, who's the guts to take on the role of Jace? (Check out the book cover to see how hard this role will be to fill...)

See ya, Hannah! Miley Cyrus is ditching her rhinestones to star in the dark thriller, Wake. She'll play 17-year-old Janie, who's been getting sucked into other people's dreams since she was 8. Needless to say, this has its ups and downs given that some dreams are a whole lotta fun -- and others, not so fun. Janie gets sucked into one especially freaky nightmare and so starts this gripping series. Lisa McMann's sequels, Fade and Gone have been released, too, in case you really want to freak yourself out before the movie is released.



Now, if we can just find out who'll be playing Katniss in the movie version of The Hunger Games (and Peeta and Gale, too), we can get on with life already...


Read on...

Hot Books For Cold Days

CHILL YOUR TOES, WARM YOUR HEART!

Raise a hand if you're ready for winter break. It's almost time to hit the road (or maybe just the couch!). Here are books to help you brave the winter chill and savor the season of giving. Click on any title to reserve it at your favorite CCPL branch!

Trapped
By Michael Northrop

Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school when a massive week-long blizzard chokes the roads, kills the heat and electricity, blocks the phones, freezes the pipes, and leaves them fearing for their lives. Grab some hot chocolate before you curl up with this chilling nightmare!

Nightshade: A Dark, Sexy Werewolf Saga

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer brings fantasy lovers a new take on the werewolf myth...one that's dark, gripping, and ultra sexy. Meet Calla, the alpha of her pack. She's supremely tough, incredibly gorgeous -- and already assigned to marry Ren, the alpha male of another pack. This doesn't thrill Calla, who's way too proud to bow down to any guy. Sure, Ren is gorgeous and all the girls want him. But when Calla saves a cute human boy, she's drawn to him and to the lies he's uncovering about the werewolves and the masters they serve. The first in a trilogy, Nightshade is filled with lust and adventure. Sequel: Wolfsbane

(click on the title to reserve a copy to pick up at a CCPL branch near you!)

Read on...

Release Your Inner Wordsmith...

Got imaginary worlds and awesome characters bouncing around your brain? Ever written them down? If so, check out a cool new Web site for teens, Figment.com. It's a place to post your own fiction writing and to read what others have written. Lots of it is amazing. You can rank the stories by whether chapters make you cry, shiver, blush, laugh, or whatever. Or, post comments for the authors. If you post yourself, you can see what other people think of your imaginary world!

Or, if you'd rather be reading, the site has book reviews, too.

So many creative minds, so little time...

Here's One A-Mazing Story

 Warning from WICKED: If you read this entire post before you've read The Maze Runner, you'll be cast from the Glade only to endure the Flare and be turned into a pile of clunk. Okay, not really. But you will ruin The Maze Runner's shock-and-awe ending if you read below about The Scorch Trials, the newly released book two in this creepy, violent, action-packed trilogy. Think Lord of the Flies meets The Hunger Games but with way more boys and some nasty Grievers trying to kill you.

Anyway, The Maze Runner is about this guy, Thomas, who wakes up in a dark box and remembers nothing but his name. The box dumps him in the Glade with a bunch of other teenage boys in the same predicament. They have no clue why they've been sent there -- or how to escape. The Glade is surrounded by mazes that change pattern each night. Sure, the guys are trying to chart the mazes. But get stuck out in one at night, and the Grievers will slice and dice you.

Now, fresh from author James Dashner, comes book two: The Scorch Trials.

Thomas and half of the Gladers escaped the maze only to be sent out into the real world, which makes the Glade look like a cozy kiddie habitat. There's even another group of kids who just made it through a similar maze. These are girls -- and not the friendly sort. Worse, they've got Teresa in their clutches. Scorching heat, mind-gnawing disease, betrayal, and voila! Thomas and crew struggle to survive...again.

Read on...