Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee
Rosemary Goode is an overweight girl from Spring Hill, Tennessee, who has lots of great qualities. She’s smart, funny and an all-around great girl. The only problem is that nobody can see past her weight to get to know the real Rosemary. Her mother runs the most successful beauty parlor in town, where everyone likes to stop by and gossip, making it hard for her to fade away into the background. When her scale reaches a new high, she finally resolves to lose the weight. Along the way, she deals with her mother’s sudden illness, loses the extra pounds and gains self acceptance and a new appreciation for her zany life.

Write Naked by Peter Gould
Victor and Rose Anna are two aspiring writers abiding by the rule “You have to be naked to write”. But what does that truly mean? Taking the literal interpretation, Victor: a quirky sixteen-year-old with an antique typewriter and a penchant for anonymity and Rose Anna: a home-schooled free spirit who prefers to use a vintage fountain pen, come together to do just that. They uncover more than their stories as they meet in the log cabin in the Vermont woods to write and nurture a true friendship.

The Viper Within by Sam Mills
“In two hours’ time I will kidnap a terrorist.” The opening line sets up the action as the codenamed terrorist, Snake, is kidnapped by the youth cult the Brotherhood of the Religion of Hebetheus to prevent a bomb from going off at St. Sebastian’s Secondary School. The cult’s leader, Jeremiah, manages to convince new recruit Jon and the other cult members that their Muslim classmate, Padma, (Snake) is a terrorist who needs to hang for her sins. As part of the narrator Jon’s initiation into the cult, he finds himself at the forefront of the action and torn between what’s right and wrong.

If you enjoy morbid historical fiction, like I do, I recommend that you check out the book Newes from the Dead. The book is based on a true story of a young English girl in the year 1650 who is accused of infanticide, and later hanged, for giving birth to a stillborn baby. As if that weren’t unfortunate enough, she wakes up on the dissection table in the middle of her autopsy. And you thought you were having a bad day.

Anyway.

Anne Green’s predicament begins when an affair with a wealthy aristocrat goes wrong. As a lowly servant girl, she is easily influenced by the advances of Geoffrey Reade, the aristocratic grandson of her employer, Sir Thomas. Of course, the affair goes awry, leaving a pregnant Anne to deal with the consequences, and the charming Geoffrey decides to marry another rich aristocrat and make… lots of baby aristocracy elsewhere. Or at least that's my theory. Anne tries to miscarry by drinking various concoctions, but that seemingly doesn’t help matters much - until she gives birth to a stillborn. This doesn’t sit well with the 17th century Englishfolk, and Anne is accused of being a murderess and a liar, since nobody believes that she gave birth to her master’s illigitimate grandchild. Very soap-opera. Without witnesses to the stillbirth, she is off to the gallows after an awful stint in jail. Her corpse is received for dissection by Robert Mathews, a young medical student at Oxford, and she is presumed dead. Once Robert notices her eyes twitching, it is up to him to convince others that she is still alive (or as fans of the Princess Bride would say, mostly dead).

Overall, I felt the book had a very chilling feel, especially when describing how she felt being in limbo. The author used different narrative voices to split the tale into Anne’s voice and the medical students, offering two different perspectives and a slow build to the plot. There was also a reprint from the actual historical event that the book is based on at the back of the book, which lends authenticity if you can get past the Olde English spellings. This novel is a good choice for fans of historical fiction who like to add a twist of real-life horror to the mix. I found it enjoyable and creepy at the same time.

I enjoyed the book, mainly for the historical references to Old New York society and the fun look into the privileged world of the insanely wealthy. The characters you meet along the way are mix of spoiled, conceited, devious, and just plain nasty, but you enjoy spending time with them despite their faults.

The book did have a somewhat predictable plot, but the writing was very descriptive and the pace kept me turning the pages long after I had figured out the twist. The story starts with the funeral services marking the untimely loss of Elizabeth Holland, Manhattan's lovely and gorgeous eighteen-year-old socialite. (Think Paris Hilton with brains and a heart-of-gold). The book then takes you back a few weeks to the events leading to the funeral. Along the way you are introduced to Elizabeth’s fiancé, the debonair Henry Schoonmaker, her best “frienemy” and fiercest competitor, Penelope Hayes, and Elizabeth’s younger rebellious sister, Diana. There are other sub-plots involving the servants and star-crossed lovers along the way, but the focus is always on the lifestyles of the rich and fabulous. It was a definitely a fun summer read and the ending lends itself to the sequel, Rumors, which is due out shortly.

Check out the website for an interactive look into the world of The Luxe here:
http://www.harperteen-theluxe.com/luxe.html
Happy reading!
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian

Hey everyone!
Next Monday night from 7:00-8:30 we are having a Twilight trivia game in the style of Jeopardy with prizes and snacks galore. Everyone will take home SOMETHING. And don't be scared of the book discussion - it's summer so you won't be graded for participation. Come and debate Edward vs. Jacob. Or just tell us why you love or hate the cast for the movie version. We won't bite. Promise.

Fans of Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga will be interested to learn that Entertainment Weekly has not one but TWO new cover story articles about the Twilight saga. The first link is an interview with the vampire (creator) herself, Ms. Meyer, and the second is a visit to the set of the film Twilight. The movie is scheduled to hit theatres on December 12.
Stephenie Mayer interview:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211938,00.html
Twilight Movie article:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20211840,00.html
Enjoy!

Hello everyone! My name is Sharon Long and I am the new Teen Services Librarian at Syosset Public Library. Please stop by TeenSpace on the 3rd floor and introduce yourself the next time you visit the library. I can't promise that I'll remember everyone's name unless you also sign up for our teen programs (yeah, that's a sneaky way of me saying "Please sign up for programs!")
I look forward to meeting you,
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian

*Did anyone guess the movie that quote is from?

T.C. loves Alejandra (Ale) who doesn't love him back...not yet, anyway. T.C.'s father loves Lois, T.C.'s school guidance counselor. She's not sure she should reciprocate, given she's T.C.'s guidance counselor. Augie, T.C.'s friend/brother (you need to read the book to find out what this means) loves Alex, but isn't sure whether the feeling is mutual. Ale's father wants her to follow in his footsteps and become a foreign ambassador. She wants to sing and dance on Broadway. This is all such a muddle, huh? Well, it will find a way to work itself out.

The premise of the book is that students are given an 11th grade homework assignment in English to describe their most excellent year. That year happens to be 9th grade. In alternating chapters, T.C., Augie and Ale describe the events that took place in the form of e-mails, chats, newspaper clippings and letters. T.C. writes to his mother who died when he was six years old. Augie writes to famous actresses/divas such as Liza Minelli. Ale beings by writing to Jackie Kennedy but changes mid-book (read the book to find out why).

The variety of action in the book makes it difficult to describe but, suffice it to say, My Most Excellent Year is a fun read. You will love every character in the book. You won't be able to put it down. You will sing its praises. You'll love it. Read it.

Ed Goldberg
Teen Services Librarian

Ed Goldberg
Teen Services Librarian

Ed Goldberg
Teen Services Librarian

Hildy Biddle lives in Banesville and is a reporter on the high school newspaper, The Core. She's so brave, she's the only one the editor would think of putting on the Ludlow House story. She's not afraid of ghosts. However, she does become afraid of the scare tactics being used to force orchard owners to sell their property after two difficult years. Something is happening in Banesville that she can't explain. But it does need explaining because it is forcing a change that no one wants.

As Hildy and the other Core reporters dig deeper into the Ludlow House story, they come across other malevolent occurrences. They get threatened. The school paper is forced to close for fear of a lawsuit. Should they continue their investigation. Hildy, the daughter of a well-respected local newspaper reporter who passed away recently, has a heritage to continue. They go underground and start printing an alternative newspaper, The Peel. The question is what will they find?

Joan Bauer has a long string of great books and Peeled is the latest. It's got great characters, a realistic plot, suspense, romance, and intrigue. The dialogue is believable and the story is fun. Apple lover or not, Peeled is a juicy book.

Ed Goldberg,
Teen Services Librarian

This is the story of Scarlett, Spenser, Lola and Marlene Martin. They live in a small, old hotel on the east side of Manhattan which is owned by their parents. Each of them has their own story which unfolds over the course of a summer.

Spenser, the oldest sibling, wants to be an actor but his parents want him to go to culinary school. They gave him a year to get his acting career going and that year is almost up. No major acting jobs are knocking at his door.

Lola, next oldest, is working in retail and dating ultra-rich Chip, who nobody likes...possibly not even Lola.

Marlene is the youngest at age eleven. She is a cancer survivor and as a result rules the roost. I other words, she's a brat.

And then there's Scarlett. Just turned fifteen, Scarlett is in charge of the Empire Suite (she must clean it, cater to lodgers staying in it, etc.) at the hotel. One hot June day, Ms. Amberson rents the suite for the summer. Mysterious, flamboyant, dramatic and demanding, Ms. Amberson is a force to be reckoned with.

OK, in all honesty, I was expecting more. All the reviews I read gave this book 5 stars, so maybe after all the hype I was a little let down. But this is definitely a 4 star book. It is full of intrigue, pranks, actors and acting, romance, more intrigue and just plain fun.

You are going to love every character. You are going to laugh. You are going to root for Scarlett and Spenser and Lola and Marlene. If you like quirky characters, you'll love Ms. Amberson. You'll want to continue reading, even when you should be going to sleep. So, hey, maybe this is a 5 star book. You tell me.

Enjoy.

Ed Goldberg
Teen Services Librarian