2nd Annual Harry Potter Party!!!

Whoa, guys. You should be soooo stoked for the Harry Potter party on July 31 (check out the deets at the bottom). To get in the mood, here are some cool HP links to check out:

• Daniel Radcliffe said he can't wait to see Fantastic Beasts, but will he be in the movie? He says no, but of course people are speculating that he will.
• Speaking of Fantastic Beasts, you could be the newest star! Producers are holding a casting call in London on July 18 to find an actress for the role of Modesty. Luna Lovegood herself is signal boosting the call!
• How much would it cost to go to Hogwarts? Research has been done, and the result is staggering. Reports say that with Galleon-to-Dollar conversion, Hogwarts tuition would be around $43,031 a year. WHOA. Makes you appreciate Ron's parents even more.
• Fandoms collide! Here is a selfie of cast members for Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. [If you don't know what a fandom is, check out The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Geek Girls by Sam Maggs (YA 302.23 M).]

I think this photo is gonna make the world implode..... Last night was really great #sdcc2015

A photo posted by @maisie_williams on Jul 12, 2015 at 11:01am PDT

• 100 Things You Didn't Know About Harry Potter
• Test Your Knowledge of Spells
• What's in Hermione Granger's inbox?
• 23 Times Harry Potter Characters Made Deeply Questionable Choices
• What Job Would You Have in the 'Harry Potter' Wizarding World?
• Can You Guess The "Harry Potter" Character By These Emojis?
• Can You Guess Which "Harry Potter" Book These Chapter Illustrations Are From?
• Fans of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl know about HP-style fanfic. Here is one HP fanfic that has been gaining attention lately, even though it was published in 2001. What do you prefer: Harry Potter fanfic or "Carry On" by Fangirl's protagonist, Cath?
• There is mass hysteria surrounding Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman. Some bookstores are preparing for Harry Potter-like crowds. But this article from Quartz claims that the excitement surrounding the books is J.K. Rowling's fault. What?! Do you blame Queen Jo for fervent children's book fans?
• This fan-made Marauders prequel is everything.

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! @ Main Library

7/31/2015

July 31 is Harry's birthday, and it marks when he first gets his Hogwarts letter. Come out to the Library and celebrate this super wizard's birthday with crafts, games & snacks! Don't forget to dress as your favorite character!

Location:
Main Library - downtown Harrisonburg




UPDATE: 
The director of some of the HP movies wants to make more!! Yes, please!!!

Bonus Post: New Mockingjay Part 2 Stuff!!!

Via Forbes.com

Via moviepilot.com

Bonus Post: Movie Adaptation News!!!

via TheCapitol.pn

THE NEW MOCKINGJAY PART 2 POSTER IS AMAZING AND SO IS THE WEBSITE WHO ELSE IS WAY TOO EXCITED?!???!

And also this screencap posted by Jennifer Lawrence????!!!

Also also Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (from Les Miserables, The Theory of Everything) is going to play Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them!

Also also also two other popular YA books are getting turned into movies!!! One of the writers for the show The Blacklist will be adapting The Selection, and the producers of The Hunger Games will tackle Blackbird!!!

Also also also also here's the new Paper Towns trailer!!!

UPDATE: 

THE FEELS.

UPDATE 2: 
J.K. Rowling recently announced that in the upcoming film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt Scamander will meet people from the U.S. VERSION OF HOGWARTS!!! We read in the FBaWtFT book (a special released for Comic Relief, which we just so happen to have copies in the library system) that wizarding schools are all over the world, including one in Salem, Massachusetts. Which leads us to wonder...

What do you think American wizarding schools are like? How are they different from or the same as Hogwarts? Comment with your ideas!

Adaptation Newzzz!!

• In case you haven't heard, The Duff is out in theaters this weekend! It's based on the YA novel The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger. The movie's got a crazy good cast, and the trailers look pretty promising.
  
  Unfortunately we don't have The Duff in our library collection, BUT you can always request that we purchase an item you want to check out! We love to hear what people want to read. We may not purchase the book, but if we do, we'll put you on the holds list and you can check it out as soon as we get it in! You can get a purchase request form at your local library branch. Check out the synopsis from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. 

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

• Remember when we talked about TV adaptations? Cindy Callaghan's YA book Just Add Magic is going to become a TV series! It will be available to watch through Amazon. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

Take three friends. Add an old cookbook. Combine with cute boys and a pinch of magic…and see what kind of chaos ensues! When Kelly Quinn and her two BFFs discover a dusty old cookbook while cleaning out the attic, the girls decide to try a few of the mysterious and supposedly magical recipes that are inside. To their surprise, the Keep ’Em Quiet Cobbler actually silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and the Hexberry Tart puts a curse on mean girl Charlotte. Is it possible that the recipes really are magic? Who wrote them and where did they come from? And most importantly of all, when boys get involved, what kind of trouble are the girls stirring up for themselves?

This is another book we don't currently have in our collection, so if you'd like to read the book before you watch the show, be sure to request it!

via Deadline.com

The Maze Runner + The Giver + eBooks + more!

So if you guys saw TFiOS this weekend you may have seen trailers for some other movies that are based on Young Adult books. Here were some of them:

And lucky for you, we have them all available for checkout! But did you know that we also have some of them available for online checkout? All you have to do is log in using your library card and pin and download them to your device. They work like normal checkouts, so you'll have them available for two weeks only. Here are some:

 The Maze Runner series

The Giver Quartet

The Book Thief

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series

Matched Triology

Wonder

The Hobbit

Beautiful Creatures series

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series

The Maximum Ride series

The Iron Fey series

...and we have tons more available. We also have magazines and audiobooks! Start browsing now!

April's Most Popular Books

It's that time again--were you waiting with bated breath?--time to find out what the most popular YA books of the month were.

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth
3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• It's no surprise that after the March release of the movie version of Divergent, people were interested in what happened next. Let's hope they weren't too disappointed. (In other news, movie execs have announced that, like THG, we can expect a 4-movie run from Divergent. Good news/bad news? Comment with your opinion!
4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• THG is aaaalll the way at the bottom of the list, but the rest of the trilogy is still thriving in checkouts! This is the time to make a note that sound recordings are quite popular in the YA section. In fact, we have a whole wall of books on CD at the Main branch. (It's a small wall, but still!) Also, don't forget about our downloadable media! We have a nice selection of audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines for you to enjoy on-the-go, and all you need is your library card.
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Is anyone else counting down the days 'til June 6? After the release of the extended trailer, I'm about to start a countdown clock on my phone. ...Oh, you didn't see it? Don't worry, I've got you covered. Be sure to grab some tissues first. Okay? Okay.
7. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Book Thief continues to be popular, too. Why? Because it's incredibly unique and unlike anything else on this list. (You can say the same for some other works on this list, but...) If you haven't picked it up yet, I suggest you try it out sometime. Plus Markus Zusak is super inspiring. You might see some more from him on this blog in the near future.
9. Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama, translated and adapted by Shelton Drzka, lettered by Steve Wands
• As the first manga we've seen on the list in a while, this must be good. It's also going to be turned into a movie (shooting begins this summer), but I'm a little skeptical as to how they're going to adapt such crazy-good illustrations onto live-action film. For the time being, just check out the book and bask in its gory glory.
10. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• This guy never strays far from the top of the list. His books are ridiculously popular. And so is he. According to this article, someone drove her son five hours to see him (and four other extremely popular authors). Would you?

As always, let us know what you think! Comment below with your thoughts about the list. And be sure to keep checking out books!

Ms. Marvel + Guardians of the Galaxy

Since we missed last Thursday, enjoy this double-post about the new, exciting things happening in the Marvel universe this month.

First of all, the new Ms. Marvel was released, and if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?! Kamala Khan is the perfect representation of the modern American teen girl. She's constantly struggling with where she fits in, between her parents and school. Oh, and she's a shape-shifter. As if high school wasn't difficult enough.

Here are two cool articles about why her character is so amazing:

Why does Marvel’s latest book succeed? Because its new Muslim teen superhero is ‘sweet, conflicted and immensely relatable’

The New Pakistani American Ms. Marvel And The Shifting American Narrative

And secondly, the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer is out, and it's incredible. It's got an amazing cast, and Chris Pratt already looks perfect as Star-Lord. If you have no other reason, see it for Rocket, a raccoon with OCD and laser pistols. Also Karen Gillan shaved her head for the role, so either she's nuts or it's good, or both.

Watch the trailer, then read all the comics, then see the movie, then read the comics again because the movie was so good.

The Fault in Our Stars Trailer

Check out the TFIOS trailer for John Green's award winning YA novel. Then see the movie, coming out June 6. Be sure to read the book first! Okay? Okay.


Coming to theater's 11/1/13... Ender's Game. Check the book out from us first before you see the movie!!

Coming November 22, 2012...Catching Fire, remember to read the book first!

City of Bones Film! Be sure to read the book first!!

Wreck-It Ralph - Fun for all ages!!!

Coming December 14, 2012 To A Theater Near You!

Clockwork Prince

Hunger Games - It's Coming!