Our state's students, librarians, teachers, parents, and others chose these books as the very best for high schoolers. (Heads up: Teachers like to pick summer reading requirements from these lists...so get a head start!)
Rigg has a secret ability to see the paths of others' pasts. However, revelations after his father's death set him on a dangerous quest that brings new threats from those who would either control his destiny or kill him.
Judging by the crowds and lines of book-wielding fans, YALLFest was a huge success. Now that you've met the authors you love, try these read-alikes -- and don't forget to click on the titles to reserve them!
One more reason to hit YALLFest on Saturday (drum roll): the YA Smackdown!!! Featuring zombies, vampires, witches, evil unicorns, werewolves and bullies (not really...just the people who create them, yikes!).
Which authors will be crowned the inaugural YALLFestKudzu Queens and Kings?
Just who has the guts, the talent, the sheer hilarity or freakishness to win this unparalleled competition?
Kaleb Nation
The YALLFest authors will be divided into viciously competitive teams: Team Supernatural, Team Dystopia, Team Reality and so on. Then, we here at CCPL and you, the pumped up audience and fans, will attempt to stump, dismay and otherwise rattle these superstars of the YA writing world.
Just who are the most clever, most creative, most deserving storytellers? You and our specially chosen judge will bestow the prestigious KUDZU CROWNS of 2011!!
Kaleb Nation will moderate -- yes, he of You Tube fame, author of YA books and launcher of a new reality TV show that will be filming during YALLFest. The show, Kaleb's Nation, will follow him as he concocts the parodies and pop culture commentaries that have lured 28 million views to his YouTube channel. So, wipe that barbecue off your face after dinner and keep an eye out for the cameras as you race down King Street for the YA Smackdown.
Who knows what calamities might ensue with Kaleb at the mic and 30 or so of the nation's top YA writers on one stage...and, of course with you in the audience cheering for your all-time favorites!!
Hilarity will ensue. Tickets cost $5. Be there.
PS: This event comes to you from the young adult department of the Charleston County Public Library because we love these authors, and we love that you love them, too!
Andrea Cremer has always loved writing. But she only recently plunged into the deep end of the pool that is professional novel writing. And how well she's done!
When she’s not writing, Andrea is a professor of history at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. We want to know if she's as awesomely strong-willed as her main character, the werewolf leader Calla.
Check out her new release, Wolfsbane, and read our interview below before meeting her at YALLFest!
What inspired you to write Nightshade, your debut novel?
Nightshade was inspired by Calla's character -- who I knew was a girl and a wolf, but I don't like traditional werewolf mythology because I find wolves to be beautiful, graceful, and intelligent. Most werewolf stories feature lycanthropy as a disease or curse. I wanted to create a new mythology where shifting was a gift and something the characters reveled in, not wanted to be rid of. I also drew on my interest in the history of witchcraft -- an area that I teach in my work as a historian.
We've just received a TON of new teen books on CD. So, if you'd rather listen to words, or if you're facing a long car trip, check out these titles. (Click on titles to reserve them. We'll ship the CDs to the CCPL branch closest to you!)
Katniss Everdeen has survived the fight-to-the-death Hunger Games. But now she faces her toughest challenge yet. With the Capitol and President Snow blaming her for the uprising in District 12, will she sacrifice herself to protect her loved ones?
Suspected in the death of her boyfriend, 17-year-old Luce is sent to reform school in Savannah where she meets two intriguing boys -- and learns the truth about the frightening shadows that haunt her.
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:
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.
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.
It's a fairy tale March! Fresh on the heels of Beastly, now Red Riding Hood comes out Friday. And never before has a movie trailer reeled us in so shamelessly...
Meet Valerie (Amanda Seyfried), a young woman who's in love with this brooding orphan guy (my, how sexy you are, Shiloh Fernandez). But her parents have arranged for her to marry this rich guy (Max Irons isn't shabby either). Then, Valerie's sister gets killed by a werewolf that stalks their medieval village. Turns out, the werewolf is masquerading as a human...but who? The movie is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (of Twilight fame).
Anyway, if you looked as gorgeous as Seyfried in a crimson cloak and had an afternoon to kill wandering in the woods (amid pure white snow, of course), what would be playing on your iPod? Someone at flavorwirethought of this very question and answered it for us! Check it out.
So, if you like Little Red, check out these other "fractured" fairy tales. Beware: They aren't the versions Grandma told you:
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!)
