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!"

South Carolina Junior Book Awards

Awesome Books for Middle Schoolers!!

The 2012-2013 South Carolina Junior Book Award nominees are in! Check out the results. They include dangerous underwater worlds, kids forced to work in sweatshops, and a talking origami Yoda. Yes, there is a book (or two or three) for all tastes. Click on any title to reserve a copy!

Start off with:



The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
By Tom Angleberger

When Dwight, the class weirdo, shows up with a talking origami Yoda, kids tease him. But Yoda seems to know things—and his advice is oddly wise. Is the Force really with him, or has Dwight fallen off the deep end?

Sequel: Darth Paper Strikes Back

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.

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?