A while back I posted about the 2009 ALA Teens' Top Ten polls which were open to voters. I just realized, I never posted the results.

So here goes:

1. Paper Towns by John Green
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
7. Wake by Lisa McMann
8. Untamed by PC and Kristin Cast
9. The Disreputable history of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I think it's a great list. It definitely includes some of my favorites. If you've read Gracling check out Cashore's latest Fire, it's newly published and it's great.

You can expect to see another teen series getting some attention soon -- Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard -- is heading to the small screen. Rumor has it is the show will air on ABC Family.

The popular teen series Cirque Du Freak comes to the big screen next Friday (the 23rd) with The Vampire's Assistant (based on the first book in the series). Check out the trailer
here

One of my favorite teen books of the year so far has been Going Bovine by Libba Bray. In the story, Cameron Smith, a sixteen year-old who has recently been diagnosed with Mad Cow disease, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital in an attempt to find a cure. It's a crazy adventure involving talking garden gnomes, giant fire flames and an enormous Cadillac.

For a good laugh, check out the author's promo for the book ">here

For more fun, check out Bray's website here.

While she may not be on The Hills anymore, Lauren Conrad isn't exactly moping. Her recent book, L.A. Candy, which seems more like an autobiography and less like a work of fiction, has been at the top of The New York Times best seller list for weeks. With 2 follow up books in the works, it has just been announced that L.A. Candy will be made into a movie. How the movie will be different from The Hills remains to be seen.

If you've got access to a video camera then use it for a good cause.

Long Island Wins, (a campaign that expresses the positives of immigration) is sponsoring a video contest. Create a 30 second video that features the message "Speak Out/Stop the Hate", and your video could be featured at the Long Island Latino International Film Festival this fall. Submissions are due in October. Get more information here.

This is a great way to get your creativity recognized and to help stop the hate.

Looking through all the book reviews handed in this summer, it looks like the RVC teens read some pretty good books. Get your opinion on your favorite books out there by voting in the ALA Teens' Top Ten. Vote for up to 3 of your favorites from the nominated titles here. Check back during the week of October 18-24 to see the winners. Voting ends September 18. Remember, vote early and vote often.

The YA department is excited to introduce our new Anime Club starting in September. Join the Facebook group page here

Meetings will be Wednesdays, September 9, September 23, October 7, October 21 and November 18. See the Facebook page for more info!

Do you enjoy writing, mysteries and being creative? Then the Amanda Project is for you. Check out this new series and interactive website. Here's the deal, Amanda started at Endeavor High School on Halloween and went missing on the Ides of March. She's left clues behind to 3 friends. Register for the site and you can become part of Amanda's story by writing yourself into the story and putting the clues together. The first book, Invisible I, comes out in September, so check for it on our shelves this fall.

http://www.theamandaproject.com/

If you came to the show wednesday night, or even if you missed it, check out the footage from our SummerStage '09 kickoff concert. (Thanks to David Kane for video and editing work)

Falls of Lana

Wilbur

Something Epic

Shield Themselves

If you are interested in YA books, then definitely check out these cool sites:

Pulse It is a site that lets teens read books online for free, review books, and get sneak peeks at upcoming books. You must be between 14-18 to join. Click here for more information and to set up an account http://www.simonandschuster.com/specials/pulseit/

Then, to watch interviews with authors (Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Lauren Myracle) check out Penguin's new YA Central Screening Roomsite. It seems like they'll be adding more content at the start of each season. http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishersoffice/screeningroom/0609/yacentral/episode1.html#vmix_media_id=4357509

If you're over the Bellas, Cullens, Vladimir Todds, and Blue Bloods of the world, then you might be up for the latest trend...ZOMBIES! Go to www.trendsettercentral.com to find out more about the zombie fiction that is gaining popularity.

Want to check out some zombie fiction of your own? Try these:
Zombie Blondes by Brian James
Generation Dead; Kiss of Life by Dan Waters
Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby

And for all you Jane Austen fans check out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies : The Classic Regency Romance -- Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, it's the classic book with a zombie twist!

I was fortunate enough to hear Nancy Werlin (author of Impossible) speak this morning. She's a great speaker and seems really sweet too. If you haven't already read it, definitely add Impossible to your "to read" list. During her presentation, Nancy showed the book trailer for her book. It got me thinking about how cool book trailers are. Check out some below. (I'm reading Wintergirls right now)

Thanks to a coworker and SLJ.com I became aware of these two videos called Twilight The Musical made by a group of teens. Whether you are a Twilight lover or hater you are bound to get a good laugh out of these. Apparently the 3rd installment is forthcoming. Grades 6 and up, don't forget to come to our Twilight movie showing Tuesday, April 14 @ 3pm here at the Library.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the New York Public Library's Stuff for the Teen Age. This list contains the best books, music, movies and video games for teens so take a peek. The videos made by teens to promote their favs are entertaining too. I think the RVC Library might have to borrow this idea...comment with your favorite stuff for '09.

http://www.nypl.org/books/sta2009/

I know I've talked about this book several times on this blog (can you tell I loved it?) but it was just announced that the film rights to Hunger Games were bought. I'm really excited to see how it turns out. For more info click here .
I wonder who will play Katniss and Peeta...

In other news, see this boring t-shirt above? If you are artistic join our Library t-shirt contest and turn our summer volunteer shirt into a work of art. Your design could be chosen to be printed on the t-shirts worn by our volunteers this summer. For more info stop by the Library.

Ever wonder how book covers are chosen? Or if authors have any input into or even like the covers of their books? Check out Melissa Walker's blog. Melissa, the author of the Violet books, updates frequently with interviews with authors and their "cover stories." Don't forget to sign up for Win It Wednesday to win copies of great books.

http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/

If you need a good laugh, check out this video that the Seneca Library put together in '07. It's just one of the great library promo videos that can be found on www.infotubey.com

Check back for more info about the RVC Library's upcoming promo videos!

Next Tuesday (February 17) starts Community Service Week here at the Library. If you are in grade 7 or 8, you probably need community service hours for school or other activities. We've been swamped with sign-ups, but we do still a few openings for some of the programs. So come see Mrs. Ain or Miss Erin to sign up and get your community service done early!

If you loved Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I know I did), then you'll be happy to know that the next book in the Hunger Games trilogy will be out September 8. Catching Fire will pick up where Hunger Games left off with the third and final installment of this trilogy scheduled for a 2010 release.

If you haven't read Hunger Games, check out an excerpt here . I guarantee you'll want to read the rest!

Congratulations to the 2009 Printz Award books (best YA books as chosen by the American Library Association), which were announced this morning.

And the winner is...(drum roll).... Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

The Printz Honor Books are:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

2008 was a great year for YA books. So many great books came out that we are still trying to catch up! Here is a list of some of our favorites from '08 (in no particular order). Feel free to add more.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Paper Towns by John Green
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
Suite Scarlet by Maureen Johnson
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Six Innings by James Preller
I Am Scout: A Biography of Harper Lee by Charles Shields
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Happy Birthday TAG! The Rockville Centre Library's Teen Advisory Group (TAG) officially turns one year old today. WOOO HOOO! In the past year TAG has sponsored many successful events including movie nights, Plugged/Unplugged, and community service opportunities. The members of TAG are looking forward to another fun year of events! For more info about TAG talk to Miss Erin or Mrs. Ain.

Looking for something to do over the winter break? Come out to the Library for Teen/Tween Vacation Game Day, Monday, December 29 @ 2-4 pm. Play our Wii and board games. And bring some of your own Wii games too. Then join us the next day, Tuesday, December 30 for a Teen Tina Fey Movie Night @ 4-8:15, featuring Mean Girls and Baby Mama...and some pizza and other food too!

Last week at the Library our Teen Advisory Group (TAG) hosted a Holiday Card Craft. It was a big success and over 100 cards were made for local nursing home patients. These cards will make many people happy. Great work! If you missed the event, we hope to see you next time. In the mean time, check out this website http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html You can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will send it to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. It's a nice way to spread some cheer!

Here are some of the cards from our craft:

Thanks to all the buzz for Twilight , Forks Washington where the story takes place is getting a ton of attention. While the story of Bella and the Cullens is fictional, Forks Washington is very real. The town has seen an increase in tourism. Fans are swarming Forks to see places like the LaPush beach and Forks High School. For Twilight lovers, this trip is a must! Read more about Forks here And for more info take a look at this article here

Have you ever felt like you should read a book just because it is considered a classic? Have you ever started reading one of the classics & forced yourself to finish it, even though it kept putting you to sleep? Or maybe you had to read it because it was on a summer reading list. Well, you are not alone. Author Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, Book of a Thousand Days) recently wrote an article for School Library Journal where she talks about "overcoming the classics". It's very funny and we can all relate!

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600686.html?q=how+reader+girl+got+her+groove+back

If you're looking for a good read try The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Nobody Owens (aka Bod) is a normal teenager...except he has been raised by ghosts in a graveyard.

Not only has the book gotten great reviews & become a #1 bestseller, but Neil Gaiman has just announced that he will be producing a live action film based on the book. This promises to be another exciting book to film adaptation!

Now that October is over (the month when those torturous S.A.T. exams rear their ugly heads) some of you are probably beginning the college application process. To help make it easier, why not check out www.unigo.com? Unigo is a social networking site (like Facebook or Myspace) that lets members connect with students who attend colleges and universities throughout the US. Get the real dirt on life at the college of your choice by reading reviews, looking at pictures and watching videos of your top choices.

Yeah...we do too! (That's why we work here) Free Book Friday Teens! is a cool website that raffles off a free book each Friday. Here's how it works, at the start of each week, check out the website and see which author & book is featured. There will be a Q & A with that author and you can enter the raffle to win a signed book. The winners are posted on Fridays, and the next week's title/author is posted on Saturdays. Good luck!

http://teens.freebookfriday.com/

Election Day is just a couple of weeks away. If you're interested in learning more about the candidates, posting your thoughts and discussing politics with other teens, check out @ 15. You can set up an account and get in touch with other teens interested in the current issues our country is facing. Get in the know!

www.at15.com

The movie based on Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, the first book of the Inkworld Trilogy is slated for release January 23, 2009. The cast includes Brenden Fraser, Helen Mirren & Paul Bettany.

See the newly released movie trailer:

And check out Funke's website: http://www.corneliafunkefans.com/

Tuesday (10/14) starts Teen Read Week. Across the country libraries will celebrate one common theme,
Books With Bite @ Your Library. Visit the RVC Library to see our winning bookmarks from the Books With Bite bookmark contest and to get some books worth taking a bite out of.

Check out this promo made by the Kendall Young Library

Join us this Monday night, October 6 @ 7pm to see Jen Calonita @ the RVC Library.
Jen is the author of the popular Secrets of My Hollywood Life books. Come get the gossip on your favorite celebrities and meet Jen!

If you haven't read the books -- there is still time!
Check out:
Secrets of My Hollywood Life
Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location
Secrets of My Holllywood Life: Family Affair

Visit Jen's website @ http://www.jencalonitaonline.com/.

Fans of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle should be very excited! Brisingr, the latest book in the Cycle, comes out this Saturday, September 20. With just under 1 day to go, take one of these quizes to test your Inheritance IQ. For the Inheritance Cycle quiz click here: Download file For the Ancient Language Quiz click here: Download file

Like Harry Potter and Twilight, there will be a release party @ the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place. For more info click here: here

With all the coverage of the upcoming Obama vs. McCain election, it can get overwhelming keeping track of what really matters. Teen Vogue just made it a little easier. Check out their Political Partier blog: http://www.teenvogue.com/connect/blogs/politics This is a great site to find out where the candidates stand on the big issues & other cool stuff like why election day is on a Tuesday.

It looks like fans of the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer might be disappointed (again). Meyer had been working on a retelling of Twilight - this time from Edward Cullen's point of view -- until a copy was leaked on the internet. Upset and frustrated, Meyer has decided to call it quits on the book...for now. Read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/08/31/meyer-midnightsun-leak.html

ESPN has just started publishing a new magazine for teens called ESPN Rise. ESPN describes it as a magazine created for high school athletes to share their stories, accomplishments and passions.

Even cooler, check out the website at http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/index You can create your own profile and start up a group (like Facebook).

Though the summer is coming to an end, your need for cash is probably not. If your looking for a job for the school year, take a look at this site just for teens: www.myfirstpaycheck.com If you click on the NY link at the bottom of the page you can find jobs available in this area. Keep checking back - new jobs are added all the time.

Recently I came across this video on YouTube. These teens created a really cool video to promote their library. It would be great to do the same thing for the RVC Library (only ours would be even better). If you are interested in helping to create a video for the Library. Email me @ egleason@rvcpl.org

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 hits theatres on August 6. Based on the books by Ann Brashares, the movie stars Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel. If you haven't read the series check out the books:
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Girls In Pants
Forever In Blue

For more on the movie click here

Just in time for the summer, the RVC Library is now offering video games to be borrowed. We've got a great line-up of XBOX 360 & Wii games. Some of the hottest games include: Guitar Hero III & Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Super Smash Brothers, MLB 2K8 & Madden '08.

Come out Monday @ 7 pm to watch Juno and enjoy fresh movie popcorn. This will be our official kick-off party, so bring your friends! (grades 7-12)

And stay tuned for info on renting video games (Wii/Xbox) @ the Library!

Attention Teens (entering grades 7-12) & Tweens (entering grade 6). Sign up is in progress for all summer events and for volunteering. Spots are going fast though, so come in and see Miss Erin or Mrs. Ain ASAP.

Don't forget, if you sign up for the Summer Reading Program, you are invited to our end of summer PAR-TAY featuring Nick the Balloonatic!

Did you know that you can get paid for trading in your old electronics? Best Buy is now offering gift cards to their store for trading in your old iPods, cell phones, cameras, game systems and more. Just visit the website and fill out the form. They'll tell you what your item is worth, you send in your item (free shipping) and you'll get your gift card mailed to you. So instead of throwing out your old stuff, trade it in. It's a great way to get the latest electronics and recycle.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat133600050011&type=category

This past weekend, the cover of the final book in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer was revealed. Breaking Dawn looks to be a thrilling end to the series. The book comes out August 2. If you haven't read any of the books yet, check out Twilight, New Moon, & Eclipse this summer.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson is the latest in a slew of teen books to be made into a movie.

"Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a year-long coma, and she's still recovering from the accident that caused it. Her parents show her movies of her life...is she really the same girl she sees on the screen? Little by little Jenna begins to remember. But along with memories come questions-questions no one wants to answer for her. What really happened after the accident?"

Check out the trailer

More about the book & here: http://www.theadorationofjennafox.com/

Monday night is the Gossip Girl season finale on the CW. It can seem like a long summer without our favorite TV shows. In the meantime come in to the Library and check out the Gossip Girl books by Cecily von Ziegesar. The show is based on this series and they'll make a great beach read!

The next meeting of the teen Mother Daughter Book Club will be Monday, May 19 @ 7:30. This time we'll be meeting up @ the RVC Starbucks to discuss The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Join us for a cup of coffee and a chat about this powerful book.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

For all you fans of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, get ready to see it at a theatre near you at the end of '08. Though it's not being released until December check out the behind the scenes clips @ MTV Overdrive: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=224215
Read up on the cast members and more: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/

If you haven't read it yet - we've got copies here. The series continues with New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn (coming in August). We can't wait!

The Library has gotten our very own Facebook page. We're under the name RVC PL. Check out our site and be friends with us.

Don't forget -- Monday, April 28 @ 7:30 the Mother Daughter Book Club will discuss Emma by Jane Austen. See what happens when a snobby, nosey, smart and generous girl gets too involved in other people's lives.

**Don't forget, we're still taking selections for our Summer 2008 Mix CD. Let us know what your favorite book is and what song would be a good theme song for that book. Post it here or add it to our Library iPod in the Teen section.

Looking for a guy book? Go to
www.guysread.com
Created by author Jon Scieszka (of The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Stupid Fairytales fame)

Like Facebook? Check out
www.goodreads.com
Set up a profile and keep a list of what you're reading, what you've read, & what you wanna read.

Need some help finding something good to read?
http://www.yabookscentral.com/
Get reviews, author info, sign up for giveaways and more.

(copyright Jon Scieszka)

Calling all poets!

Celebrate Poetry Month @ our Open Mic Poetry Café, April 14 @ 7:30 pm. If you are in grades 8-12, you are invited to share your originl poems or favorite works. Bring along your friends and family to enjoy an evening of poetry and some yummy snacks and drinks.

Finally, baseball is back! It's been a long winter. For all you baseball fans out there we've set up some books in the Teen area that you might want to check out. Especially recommended is Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age with the New York Yankees by Matthew McGough. It's the true story of a teen who calls up the Yankees, asks to be the bat boy and gets the job! Stop by and pick up a few books and let's hope for a Subway World Series.

Help make the first ever RVC Library CD by telling us the title of your favorite book and what you think the theme song of that book should be. Come into the library and fill out your picks on the RVC Library iPod (located in the Teen section) or submit them in the comments section here on the blog. Then be a part of the Summer Reading Club this summer and receive your own copy of the CD.

**Don't forget to join members of T.A.G. on Tuesday, April 1st, for our card making craft. Come down from 5-7pm and help cheer up our elderly neighbors by making cards. If you need volunteer hours or just wanna have some fun, join us!**

Some of us here are really smitten with Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. If you're into: music, late night adventures, sarcarsm, concerts and New York City, then check it out. And while your at it, check out MTV.com for interviews with Michael Cera (Juno, Arrested Development) and Kat Dennings who both star in the upcoming movie, as they discuss their crazy night filming the movie.

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1576514&vid=195675

There's still time to snag a copy of The Miner's Daughter by Gretchen Laskas and read it before the next Mother Daughter Book Club Monday, March 17 @ 7:30.

See ya Sunday @ Plugged/Unplugged!

The real guitar heroes will be playing here! Come down to the Library Sunday, March 16 @ 1:30 and rock out with Cass Dillon, Common Misconception, Perilous, Three By Five and Wilbur. Bring your friends!

**Help support INN by bringing non-perishable food with you**

Wilbur
(photo credit Ryan Gill)

This event is being hosted by TAG.

Last week was not only Winter Break, but it was Volunteer Week. You were great! The library and the community are lucky to have so many wonderful volunteers. Whether it was reading to children, helping out with a program, or teaching adults how to use computers & cell phones; it was amazing. Be proud! We have a TON of pictures from the events.
Check 'em out @ http://www.rvclibrary.org/teens/photos.html and http://www.rvclibrary.org/kids/fall%20photos.html Enjoy!

BTW, if you signed up for the Read-A-Thon (or didn't sign up and want to come/need the volunteer hours) it has been rescheduled for March 24 1-5pm. See Mrs. Ain for details and for a sponser sheet.