The Tragedy of Mass Shootings

Welcome to That Reminds Me of a Book, a regular feature where we link current events and pop-culture happenings with YA books.

Hate Gets a Gun

 
As another story breaks about a mass shooting, this time in a Denver movie theater, it's so hard to grasp around why someone would shoot and kill random, innocent people. These latest shooting victims were just watching a Batman movie.

Thankfully, good fiction can offer insights into the real world. For instance, events like the movie theater shooting affect many, many people, even people like us who weren't involved. But imagine that you were. One teen book tells the story of a school shooting from a unique perspective: a girl who helped to make the list of victims. Check it out:


Hate List
By Jennifer Brown

At the end of their junior year, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend pulls a gun at school, leaving six students and a teacher dead and many others wounded. Valerie gets shot in the leg trying to stop him just before he ends his own life.

Until then, Valerie had no idea that the "hate list" she and Nick created would be used to target victims in a vengeful shooting spree. For her, the list of tormentors was a way to ease the pain of being bullied and an outlet against the constant fighting between her parents. Although the police investigation reveals that Valerie had nothing to do with the shootings, many people, including her parents, have a hard time believing that she is not at fault too.

After a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends, and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy--and her role in it.

(Click on the title to reserve a copy at your favorite CCPL branch.)

Jen's Picks: Dead To You

Greetings! I'm Jennifer Hawes, and I work with young adult books at the Charleston County Public Library. Welcome to my random thoughts about books for teens. If a book grabs you, click on any title to reserve a copy, or search CCPL's ebooks. Happy reading!

Dead To You

By Lisa McMann

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. When we meet him in Dead To You, he's 16 and awkwardly awaiting a reunion with his family at a train station. 

During that long gap of years, Ethan grew up with a woman he figures must have been responsible for his abduction. Maybe she'd just wanted a child—although she was hardly the model mom. She sold her body, abandoned him for periods of time, and eventually dumped him for good at a group home. Miserable, he ran away and became homeless.

That’s when he started looking at missing children reports and found news of the abduction. At last, he's about to meet his real family, one who will love him unconditionally. Sounds awesome, right?

Author Interview: Kendare Blake of Anna Dressed in Blood

Author Kendare Blake

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

KENDARE BLAKE

Romance, ghosts, and gore...what more could a YA reader ask for? Meet Anna, the murderous main (ghost) character in Anna Dressed in Blood. Author Kendare Blake creates a terrifyingly cruel, yet strangely intriguing, dead girl—a victim whose revenge on the living will leave you forever fearful attics. Luckily, there's Cas, a ghost-hunting teen who just might save us all from Anna's fury...unless he falls in love with her first.

Watch for the sequel, Girl of Nightmares, due out Aug. 7. Meanwhile, meet Kendare Blake:

 
We are dying to know how you came up with the idea of Anna, this blood-soaked and grotesquely murderous yet sympathetic character?

Anna came entirely from her name. Anna Dressed in Blood. And I thought, who's that? Oh. She's a dead girl. And she kills people. Well, that's not good. Someone will have to kill her.

Author Interview: Jenny Hubbard of PAPER COVERS ROCK

(Updated with new pics at the bottom!)

Jenny Hubbard

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

JENNY HUBBARD

We loved meeting Jenny Hubbard when she visited the Main library—almost as we enjoyed Paper Covers Rock, her beautiful debut novel that has won numberous national awards and an endorsement from mega-author Pat Conroy. Luckily, she answer a few questions for those who didn't get to meet her:



Paper Covers Rock is your first novel. How did you come up with the idea for it?

If you want to get technical about it, it’s my third novel. The first two are in a drawer in a folder marked, “Burn in the event of my death.” But, yes, it is my first published novel. The germ of Paper Covers Rock began with a terrible true story I heard while I was teaching at a boys’ boarding school, one that had nothing to do with boys or schools. That terrible true story is no longer a part of the novel. Funny how that happens. I taught at the boys’ school for 10 years, and when I started there, I was the only single female teacher. I taught poetry, and I read the sometimes great and terrifying work of my students day in and day out. Although my story is not at all Miss Dovecott’s, I can relate to and empathize with her plight.

Jen's Picks: The Fault in Our Stars

Greetings! I'm Jennifer Hawes, and I work with young adult books at the Charleston County Public Library. Welcome to my random thoughts about books for teens. If a book grabs you, click on the title to reserve a copy, or search CCPL's ebooks. Happy reading!

The Fault in Our Stars

By John Green

This week, I fell in love.

I fell in love with a guy named Augustus Waters. I also became quite fond of his girlfriend, Hazel Lancaster. But mostly I fell into awe of John Green, author of my new favorite teen book of all time, The Fault in Our Stars. Anyone who uses words like “cancertastic” and who actually made me want to read a book about teens facing death by cancer surely warrants so much admiration.

Honestly, I’m not big on reading depressing books just for fun. But I am a sucker for smart sarcasm, and the book (TFiOS as fans call it) opens with Hazel at a cancer support group held in a church basement that she’s dubbed the Literal Heart of Jesus. Every week, the group leader reminds them that he's alive despite losing both testicles to cancer, which leaves Hazel musing, "AND YOU TOO MIGHT BE SO LUCKY!"

Books With Looks

When Words and Images Unite

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? How about a drawing? A painting? A sketch? The books below combine words with images to tell some really amazing stories! (Click on any title to reserve a copy at a CCPL branch, or click here to search our e-books.)

Wonderstruck

By Brian Selznick

Having just lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, 12-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home to find the father he's never known in New York City. There, he meets Rose, who is also longing for something that's missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's is told in pictures.

Jen's Pick: A Monster Calls

Hi there! My name is Jennifer, and I work with young adult books at the Charleston County Public Library. Welcome to my random thoughts about books for teens. If a book grabs your interest, click on the title to reserve a copy…or click here to search CCPL's e-books. Happy reading!

A Monster Calls

By Patrick Ness

To appreciate this haunting new fictional story, you must know Siobhan Dowd’s real-life story. She was a human rights worker and a popular author. A Monster Calls would have been her fifth young adult novel. She’d created the idea, the characters and the novel’s beginning.

Yet, she died of cancer in 2007 at age 47, taking her artistic energies with her.

In stepped Patrick Ness, author of The Knife of Never Letting Go series. He had never met Dowd.

But he'd heard about her monster.

Ness embraced her story, infusing his own creative vision to give it a full life, with gut-gripping results.

New Books Feature Ghosts, Insanity, and a Sunken Ship

Be First to Get These New Books!

Our new books feature ghosts, murder, cover ups, entire worlds gone bad, the Titanic, an alien abduction, and more! Click on any title to reserve a copy at your favorite CCPL branch.

Everybody Sees the Ants
By A.S. King

Fed up with his parents' fighting and a bully's attacks, 15-year-old Lucky Linderman dreams of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War. However, during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.

By the author of Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Legend
By Marie Lu

A future America is at war. Born into an elite family, June is being groomed for the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, Day is the country's most wanted criminal. They have no reason to cross paths -- until June's brother is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Is Day really to blame, or was he set up to cover a darker secret?

That Reminds Me of a...Hurricane

Welcome to That Reminds Me of a Book, a regular feature where we link current events and pop-culture happenings with YA books.

Storm day!

Happy day off school thanks to Hurricane Irene! (Too bad you have to make it up later.) Still, why not spend today hiding from the rain with a great book? Try these titles about two of America's most horrific storms.

Hurricane Song
By Paul Volponi

When Miles's mother remarries, Miles decides to move to New Orleans to be with his father. But he and his father are so different. Miles's dad lives for jazz. Miles's loves football. Then, Hurricane Katrina hits, and the two seek refuge in the Superdome. The safe haven becomes a nightmare when the power fails and gangs take over. When his father decides to rebel, Miles faces a choice that will alter their relationship -- and their lives -- forever.

             AND

Dark Water Rising
By Marion Hale

Seth's family has just moved to Galveston, Texas, and the 17-year-old is unhappy. Yet, his uncle finds him a summer job, he meets a girl he likes, and Galveston is a fun place to live. But Sept. 8, 1900, changes everything. The town is obliterated by a storm that kills nearly all of its 8,000 residents. Through Seth's eyes, relive one of the worst storms in U.S. history.


Click on the titles to reserve them at a CCPL branch!

Are Mermaids the New Vampires?

The Mermaid's Tales

Mermaids might be the hottest thing in new releases, but don't expect a bunch of Disney-type tales about Ariel losing her voice. Most are serious stories about identity and belonging. Who needs a tail to relate to that?


 
Lost Voices
By Sarah Porter

In this new release, 14-year-old Luce is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of her grim Alaskan fishing village by her abusive, alcoholic uncle. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waters below. Instead, she transforms into a mermaid -- and is faced with struggles and choices she could never have imagined.


 

Books Need Buddies, Too!

Duets: When One Book Isn't Enough

When are two related books better than one? How about when you want to get another character's perspective. Or to find out what happens next. Or to tie up all those loose plot threads. People aren't the only ones who like to pair up. Some books need buddies, too! Here are a few that prove it:

(Click on any title to reserve it at a CCPL branch.)

If I Stay and Where She Went

By Gayle Forman

In If I Stay, 17-year-old Mia's parents and brother are killed in a car wreck that leaves her in a coma. Should she fight to survive for her boyfriend, Adam, and the rest of the living? Or, should she let go to be with her family? Three years later in Where She Went, Adam is a rising rock star who reconnects with an old friend after the horrific events tore them apart.

What You (and Your Friends) Are Reading

Here's What You Have to Say....

Thanks to all who've entered our summer reading contest! So, what's everyone reading? Tons of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Hunger Games. But what else? Here's what you recommend -- in your own words!

(Keep the entries coming…we have lots more prizes to give away.
Click on titles below to put the books on hold.)

City of Bones
By Cassandra Clare

"Clary is thrown into a world where fairies, vampires, werewolves, and demons are real. Then she finds out that her mother is a Shadowhunter, a group of humans who have angel blood and kill demons. But her father is Valentine -- the evil Shadowhunter trying to destroy all the other Shadowhunters."

(Read City of Ashes next!)

Rating: Excellent

-- 8th grader, Laing Middle School








City of Glass
By Cassandra Clare

"Clary sneaks into the City of Glass and is immediately caught up in a life-and-death battle as the werewolves, vampires, and faerie gather for a war that will 'rend the heavens.'" (Next read the new sequel City of Fallen Angels!)

Rating: Excellent

-- 12th grader, Charleston County School of the Arts

Take a Trip Back in Time

Updated with new books at the top!

History's Intrigue

Clandestine meetings, killings and torture, romance, scandal, betrayal, adventures on the high seas...who says history is boring? Meet some of history's feisty women and courageous guys by taking a trip back in time. 
(Click on any title to put it on hold!)

Between Shades of Gray
By Ruta Sepetys

It's 1941 when Lina, her mother, and her  brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet secret police and sent to a freezing work camp in Siberia. Her father is taken away and sentenced to death. Lina clings to the drawings she hopes will find their way to him, if he's still alive--and if she can survive the horrors.

S.C. Young Adult Book Award

FALL FOR GREAT BOOKS!

From bloody wars and school violence to bullies and cults, there's something for every teen among the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (If you've read any of the books, leave your opinions in the comments section below!) Then, check out some new titles:


Before I Fall
By Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston has worked her way up the popularity ladder. Now a senior, she and her friends rule their school. But after she dies in a car crash, Samantha finds herself reliving the day of her death over and over and over again. 





Angry Management
By Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher fanatics rejoice! Your favorite characters are back. Mr. Nak from Ironman is holding Angry Management classes with other characters from the Crutcher archives. After a brief intro, each of the three stand-alone stories is preceded by Mr. Nak's file notes on the teen subjects.

South Carolina Junior Book Awards

Updated with Goliath, new Skeleton Creek books!

What Should I Read Now?

From silly humor to chilling war stories, check out these South Carolina Junior Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (They're great for middle schoolers --and might appear on your school summer reading lists!) Last year's nominees included The Hunger Games. Which of this new batch will be the next Big Thing?





Anything But Typical
By Nora Raleigh Baskin

What is it like to be an autistic boy facing daily sixth-grade life, not to mention lifelong struggles, in a "neurotypical" world? Jason Blake is most comfortable in an online writing forum called Storyboard, where his stories spark an email friendship with a girl. But what would happen if he had to meet her in real life?

Cliques, Cats, and Bullies

Keep Your Friends Close...

If the first season of Pretty Little Liars left you hanging, where else can you get a fix of backstabbing, cattiness, and terror? Start reading, of course.

The TV show is based on Sara Shepard's books, which dish up a snarky amalgam of queen bees, fashion, beauty, crushes, and lies -- all wrapped up in a mystery.

The series begins when a mysterious person sends creepy -- and oddly personal -- texts to Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer. The girls used to be best friends until their leader, Alison, vanished a few years earlier. She'd ruled Rosewood Day, which meant they had, too. Then suddenly, the texts appear, signed simply by --A, each with threats or secrets only the girls should know. But who's sending them? And why?

The eight books in the Pretty Little Liars series are easy to spot thanks to the Barbie wannabe on each cover. (The ninth book, Twisted, comes out July 5.)

Sequels: Flawless, Perfect, Unbelievable, Wicked, Killer, Heartless, Wanted



Meanwhile, check out these other titles that feature mean girls -- some just catty, others dangerous bullies (click on any title to put it on hold):

It's Wicked, It's Sexy...It's a Poem?

Warning: This Is Not Grandma's Poetry!



April is National Poetry Month -- and, sure, we love Poe and Frost and Longfellow. But let's talk modern poetry, stuff written for today's teens about today's issues -- friend drama, drugs, divorce, meltdowns, crushes, exams, peer pressure and even fun, fun, fun!

In poetry, it's all fair game. Whatever you're dealing with, there's a poem just for you. Plus, writing poetry is a great way to get down -- and get out -- whatever is on your mind.

Click on any title to learn more...



Slam

Edited by Cecily Von Ziegesar

Poetry is cooler than ever, whether it's Maya Angelou or W. B. Yeats, Tupac Shakur or Sylvia Plath. As proof, Slams -- spoken word poetry readings -- are taking place in cities across the country. Check out this collection edited by the Gossip Girl series' author.

Dystopias Have Caught Fire

UPDATED WITH NEW TITLES (AT THE TOP)!! ALSO, CHECK OUT THE NEW SEQUELS TO MATCHED AND THE MAZE RUNNER.


Hungry for Dystopias?

If the The Hunger Games left you hungry for more thrilling, world-gone-bad tales, we've got great news! Suzanne Collins' trilogy has become so incredibly popular that authors and publishers are cranking out tons of great dystopian and post-apocalyptic books for teens. Here's a bunch we think you should check out next.

(Click on titles to reserve them at a CCPL branch near you.)

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!