August Book Club Post!

Title: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu

Copyright: 2014

Call Number: YA Fiction LU

Adelina Amouteru has been treated poorly most of her life. After the plague left her deformed, her father abused her but worshiped her sister. Adelina escapes her hometown, but not before a terrible accident leaves her wanted for murder. She runs into The Young Elites, a group of plague survivors who also have inexplicable powers.

As Adelina discovers strength she didn't know she had, she finds herself intertwined in the complicated lives of the people around her. The other Young Elites have varied histories and powers. Adelina and other malfettos--children scarred by the plague--are treated as subhuman in the city. As if her life wasn't complicated enough already, Adelina is approached by the leader of The Dagger Society, a group of government soldiers dedicated to destroying all malfettos. What can he offer her if she betrays the Young Elites?

The characters are complex, the stakes high, and the missions dangerous. Adelina becomes the antihero you didn't know you needed. Fans of The Orphan Queen, A Game of Thrones, and Midnight Thief will love the world Lu creates. The next book in the series, The Rose Society, is due in October. A sneak peek is available from Penguin Teen. (They also made the amazing chart below.)

via Penguin Teen

The Young Elites is one of our 2015 Teens' Top Ten books. See a full list of books here.

Bonus Post: Teens' Top 10!!

Speaking of YALSA, they released the names of the 2014 Teens' Top Ten Books! Teens and YA-lovers all over the country vote on the top ten books of the year, and we finally have a list for the books we received from YALSA. Here they are:

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
2. Splintered by A. G. Howard
3. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
5. Monument 14: Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne
6. Earth Girl by Janet Edwards
7. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
8. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Here's the list with synopses. If they look interesting to you, check them out!

Did you vote for one that didn't end up on the Top 10 list? Comment with your favorites of the year!

Book Publishers + Social Media

I know a lot of you guys are on social media. (I mean, come on--who isn't?) Here's a tip--look for your favorite book publishers to follow! You get immediate, up-to-date news straight from the source. If you follow Harper Teen on Twitter, you can find out about contests, giveaways, and new book releases before anyone else. You can send asks to the Penguin Teen Tumblr to find out about the publishing business and what's next for your favorite author. And who doesn't want to see cool links on their feed from Random House Children's Facebook or Scholastic's Pinterest? It's great news about stuff you're interested in, coming directly to your fingertips, and you don't have to pay anything. Amazing, right?

You can also follow YALSA on social media. (YALSA stands for Young Adult Library Services Association. You may remember that we have some supercool books from them.) They are the people who organize the Teens' Top Ten voting and hold Teen Read Week & Teen Tech Week. They're on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Google+... you can pretty much virtually follow them however you want.(Check out their website for links.)

(While you're at it, follow us on social media, too! We're on Facebook and Twitter!)

And finally, we hope you're a little more generous with lit than this kid:

Best. Book. Review. Ever. pic.twitter.com/4OdVeFdIYV
— Aerogramme Writers (@A_WritersStudio) October 3, 2014

Literary Playlist: This Song Will Save Your Life

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales is one of the TTT books we received from YALSA. It's full of amazing music references. If you've read the book, are reading the book, are going to read the book, or just want to hear good music, listen to this playlist based on TSWSYL.

[NOTE: This is a playlist of songs the author mentioned in the book. MRL is not responsible for nor does it endorse the content of non-MRL websites. Users should use critical judgment in relying on information found in these websites and determine what information is appropriate to their needs.]

TTT Voting - Starting August 15!

You guys are definitely enjoying the Teens' Top Ten nominee books we received from YALSA. We barely have any on the shelf at any given time! (To know if you have one of these books in particular, see if it has a blue sticker on the spine. It has been chosen.)

Here is the complete list of 25 nominees, including synopses and a cool intro video.

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Of Triton by Anna Banks

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Love In The Time Of Global Warming by Francesca Lia

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau - download it through Overdrive or OneClickDigital

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason - download it through Overdrive

Maybe I Will by Laurie Gray - download it through Freading

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

Splintered by A. G. Howard

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

Monument 14: Sky On Fire by Emmy Laybourne

Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards - download it through Freading

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Winger by Andrew Smith

A Midsummer Night’s Scream by R.L. Stine

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Tucholke

In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters - download it through OneClickDigital

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

If you see one you really want to read, put a hold on it! Check it out! Read it! Download it! Listen to it! Fall in love with it! Or maybe just have a crush on it. Then you can vote on your favorites when the Teens' Top Ten voting starts on August 15.

What better way to have your voice heard than vote for the Top Ten YA books? Oh right! Comment below with which of the 25 nominees are your faves, or which ones you think should have made the cut!

Before the Summer Ends + HARRY POTTER BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

It's the end of July! That means you've got some serious summer reading to fit into the last few weeks before school starts up again. To give you some inspiration, check out the following:

• YALSA is having a Teen Blogging Contest for Teen Read Week! If you're passionate about YA lit and love to blog, this is perfect for you. TRW isn't until October--more about that later--but you only have until August 1 (that's Friday!) to sign up for the contest! Click here for more information.
• This one isn't just for the girls! Meg Medina, author of Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind, and Gigi Amateau, author of Claiming Georgia Tate and Come August, Come Freedom, made a summer reading list of books about amazing girls. This list is awesome, and should be required reading for any kid, in my opinion. (I'm still working my way through some of them!) Fun fact: Both authors live in Richmond!
• Veronica Roth did an interview with Goodreads about her Divergent trilogy and subsequent prequel(ish) quartet of short stories about the male lead, Four. It has some major spoilers, so don't read it unless you've read at least up to Allegiant. Before you go back to school, this is a perfect time to get caught up on one of the hottest literary trends of the past few years! Then read the interview to get some questions answered for you.

The coolest and most awesome thing you can do before July ends is come to the Harry Potter birthday party we're having at the library tomorrow night! It's going to have everything: Butterbeer, Hagrid's (cup)cakes, wandmaking at Ollivander's, the Sorting Hat, and even Quidditch. That's right--the JMU Quidditch Team is going to be here to teach us the greatest wizarding sport ever and help us play a game. It's going to be amazing, so put on your best HP costume and come to the Main branch to throw Harry Potter the best birthday party he never had!

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

7/31/2014

Teens (ages 11-17) are invited to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday by drinking butterbeer, making your own wand, and playing his favorite wizarding sport with the JMU Quidditch team. You'll even be sorted into one of the Hogwarts Houses!

Location:

Main Library-downtown Harrisonburg

Amazing Books from YALSA

We got a grant from YALSA for the Top Ten Teen Book Nominees, and you guys love them. There are hardly any left on the shelf! Check out these pics of some teens enjoying them: