Going Bovine

When he is diagnosed with fatal mad cow disease, Cameron Smith meets a punk angel who challenges him to find the the mysterious doctor who supposedly holds the cure.

Cameron sets out on a cross-country quest to find the elusive Dr. X.   Traveling with a dwarfish hypochondriac named Gonzo and a fierce garden gnome, Cameron meets a dead jazz star, stumbles into a cult of happiness, and narrowly escapes the apocalyptic Wizard of  Ruin.

On the face of it, Cameron’s journey is a haunting and hilarious fantasy adventure, but Going Bovine (2009) by Libba Bray can also be read as the experience of a young man whose mind is being ravaged by illness.

~ Kate L.

Ready for NEW MOON?

Are you “Team Jacob” or “Team Edward?” That’s a good question for Twilight Saga fans to ponder as they await the second Twilight movie installment, which opens in theaters on November 20.

Meanwhile you can play the New Moon trivia game and give your answer at the  Castle Pines library. The fun starts on Monday, November 16, from 7 to 9 pm, and that night coincides with–can you guess?—the new moon! Come win a prize!

You might want to to read or reread the Twilight books–especially if you can’t make up your mind which team you’re on.  As for my own team loyalties—- I’ll be howling with the rest of the wolves come late November!

Don’t forget the DVD!   Movie Companion Books     Movie sound track

e-books and audiobooks

~DJC

Read Beyond Reality

October 18-24 is Teen Read Week

Read something out of this world, just for the fun of it!

Nothing But Ghosts

If I were a teenager again, I would be hard pressed to imagine a better way to spend my summer than working in the gardens of a big estate that is  shrouded in mystery and local lore. Throw in one or two hot, older guys as co-workers and a  loving, trusting, and laid back dad, who treats me like an equal. Then there’s the chance to have my way with the historical archives of the quaint local library any time I want. Helping me out is a glamorous librarian who puts the cool in nerdiness. It’s a promising setting for a teenage girl who has a few things to think through.

This is the situation Katie finds herself in one summer, the summer after her mom’s death. National Book Award nominee, Beth Kephart, places a cast of  interesting characters and their wonderful dialogue into this setting.  Katie finds answers and romance, and begins to work through her grief, toward growth and healing. Good for teens of all ages,  Nothing but Ghosts is a little like a perfect summer night — full of possibilities and over too soon.

~DJC

‘Hunted’ Author Piles on the Thrills

Edgar Award Winning author, Walter Sorrells, piles on plenty of thrills for mystery lovers with his riveting Hunted series.

Fake ID introduces us to Chastity, who has been on the run with her mom since she was a baby. That much Chastity, called “Chass”, knows.  About everything else –why—what—and especially who–she’s a little fuzzy. Her sixteenth birthday brings a surprise, but not the good kind, as her mom disappears and leaves some puzzling clues behind her. Chass has six days to figure it all out, with the prospect of foster care looming if she doesn’t find her mom in time.

Still using a false identity in Club Dread, Chass finds herself in San Francisco, where she is a break out performer on the local music scene. Everything safe is suddenly at stake when she witnesses a murder and finds herself a suspect in the crime. Can she hold it all together, protecting her cover while helping police solve the murder?

In Whiteout, Chass is still on the run. Stumbling through a blinding blizzard in Greenville, Minnesota, Chass trips over a dead body, and then sees a mysterious man disappear into the storm. With her haunted past, Chass knows all about running from killers, and she is sure that a deadly pursuer is back on her trail.  Now Chass is sick of running, and if she hopes to ever have a normal life again, she has only one choice: find the killer before the killer finds her. Look for Whiteout to be released this October.

Fast pacing makes the Hunted series appealing for older, thrill-seeking teen readers. The writing style and presentation, along with a low page count, also make these a good bet for reluctant young adult readers.

Those “hunting” for a read-alike to this series might enjoy a good adult cross-over: The Girl She Used to Be, by David Cristofano.  In this story, twenty-something Melody has spent most of her life in the federal witness protection program. That’s bad and all, but when Melody gets bored with her life, she can make sure she gets a new one by blowing her own cover. Things get complicated, though, when Melody can no longer tell the good guys from the bad guys.

DJC

Tough Topics — Great Read

When a gay student looks at him funny, hot-headed Diego punches him and ends up in court. He is assigned to a probation officer named Mr. Vidas.  Diego realizes that Mr. Vidas is the first person who has ever really listened to him. Feeling he has much more to share, Diego goes to the court and requests more time in probation, and more time with Mr. Vidas.

Diego slowly begins to open up, and begins to heal the wounds of his past. Along the way several controversial topics are explored, including the rape of a child, sexual identity and cutting. An experienced therapist and probation officer, author Alex Sanchez presents an accurate and fascinating look into the world of a very troubled teen as the story unfolds.

Bait, by Alex Sanchez, is about the power of acceptance, listening, love, and patience. Readers who are comfortable with tough topics or are even considering careers in social work or psychology will enjoy Bait.

~ Beth

Sara Zarr at Tattered Cover

One of my favorite YA authors, Sara Zarr, is going to be next door at the Tattered Cover in September!

Her first book, A Story of a Girl, is about Deanna.
When Deanna was thirteen, her father caught her in an indiscretion
with her brother’s best friend. Since then, she’s had to live with being “that” girl. Deanna’s now in high school, and even though she is not like “that” anymore,
she still lives with it daily. This book is aimed at teens in high school and was a National Book Award Finalist.

Her second book, Sweethearts, is great for younger teens and good to suggest to kids who are in 7th grade and above.

Jennifer and Cameron were social outcasts and best friends as children. After Cameron disappears and is thought to be dead, Jennifer has lost the only person who understood her. Now in high school, and transformed to fit the “popular” mold, Jennifer’s world is rocked when Cameron suddenly reappears. Both are confronted with the drastically different paths their lives have taken, and Jennifer explores the value of true friendship and self-acceptance.

~ Lisa F. (Both titles are also available on CD at DCL.)

*Catch Sara Zarr at the Highlands Ranch Tattered Cover,

Tuesday, September 22, 2009, at 7 pm

She’ll be reading from and signing her new book, Once Was Lost–     

When bad things are happening all around Sam, how can she maintain hope? Sam sees what can happen when everything you thought you believed – about God, about your family, about yourself – is transformed.

DJC

Because I am Furniture

Outwardly, Anke’s family appears perfect – professor father, devoted mother, and three attractive and intelligent children.

But it’s all a façade.  Anke’s respected father is physically abusive to her older brother; her older sister gets it even worse.  Anke is spared his abuse, but she is also spared any sort of love or attention from either parent.  She likens herself to a piece of furniture – something that’s present but unnoticed until someone wants to use it.

As Anke starts high school, though, and makes the volleyball team, she discovers that she has a voice.  The abuse inflicted on her family makes her want to use it.  Can she find the strength inside to speak out against her father’s cruelty?

Written in verse, Because I am Furniture, by Thalia Chaltas, is about a girl finding her voice, her courage, and, ultimately, her place within her family.

~ Kerri

The Morgue and Me

Christopher has always harbored a secret dream – to become a spy.  Unfortunately, nothing ever really happens in his northern Michigan town.  The summer after he graduates high school, however, promises to be a bit more exciting.

First, he takes a job at the city morgue.  Then he stumbles upon a faked death certificate and a bundle of cash, and a mystery is born…With the help of a drop-dead gorgeous (and overly ambitious) reporter from the local newspaper, Christopher gets in over his head as he realizes the implications of his findings.  He needs to solve the mystery quick, before he ends up at the morgue himself.

Fans of Peter Abrahams’ Reality Check ( see post 8-11-09) will love The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford.

~ Kerri

Make Way for the King

King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

According to his father, Liam Geller is a disappointment – a “screwup” who can’t do anything right. Although Liam is popular, good-looking and spontaneous, his father derides those qualities as worthless. When he is thrown out of the house for screwing up one too many times, Liam is determined to prove his father wrong and to finally gain the man’s respect.

Liam puts in action a plan to erase all the attributes that make him who he is and to become what his father wants him to be – a nerd.  But is he really a screwup?  Follow Liam’s journey of self discovery and acceptance with an unlikely cast of characters and decide for yourself if he truly is King of the Screwups.

If you like King of the Screwups, try these stories of teenage issues, angst and coming of age:

Car Trouble by Jeanne DuPrau
Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno
He Forgot To Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Boy Proof by Cecil Castellucci
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie
How Not to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

~Joelle