Do you like to bake?! If you said yes, we have the perfect program for you. This year the library is holding the 1st Annual Library Foundation Cookie Wars, previously Cupcake Wars. This year we want you to make tasty cookies, decorate your table and area, and have fun.
There are two categories, decorated cutout cookies, and classic cookies. Any baker under the age of 18 can enter under the Junior division, there is also an Amateur and Experienced division. Registrations are available now and are due by April 1, 2022. But hurry, there are only 14 spaces available.
Do you like puzzles? There are so many types of puzzles including, Sudoku, jigsaw, crosswords and many more. Did you know puzzles are great for the mind? Puzzles help prevent cognitive brain decline because they use both sides of your brain; they improve memory; and they can even increase your IQ. Researchers from the University of Michigan found that by spending 25 minutes a day doing puzzles, you can raise your IQ by 4 points!
Did you know: Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, invented ladder puzzles?
Stop by the Teen Room today! We will have some puzzles out for you to work on.
Can you believe it’s almost the end of 2021? This year has been very busy for everyone and the same can be said for the Teen Room. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been doing!
Teen Room staff hosted four escape rooms, a 3D printer workshop, and two Dungeons and Dragons workshops. We also partnered to do two Writer’s workshops with author A. P. Mobley, and two art workshops with Ava Art Center.
Teen Summer Reading was a huge success. We had over 180 teens enrolled in the summer reading challenge, and we gave out almost 3000 grand prize tickets.
This fall, author Nathan Hale presented a cartooning workshop, and author Steve Sheinkin visited the junior high schools. The Teen Volunteers ran the Scholastic Book fair in early December and raised over $1400 in funds. As a result, the volunteers donated over $700 in books to local youth service agencies.
In total, we had over 11,000 patron visits to the Teen Room this year! We can’t wait to see what 2022 brings us.
If you could go back to any time, when/where would you go? Would you visit the Titanic, witness the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or maybe become a member of a royal court? Historical fiction books can take you back to any time you want. Historical fiction are fictional stories taking place in a real time in the past. The events and details are as accurate as possible, and characters can be both real and fictional. If you love history these books are for you.
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
Ground Zero follows two very different people whose lives were both changed due to the attacks on 9/11. September 11, 2001: Brandon is visiting his dad at work on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. September 11, 2020: Reshmina has grown up in the aftermath of the attack in Afghanistan and has the difficult choice of helping a wounded American solider after a battle erupts.
Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
The Schuyler’s are proud to be one of the country’s founding families. Their three daughters; Angelica, Eliza and Peggy are getting ready for one of New York society’s biggest events: The Schuylers’ grand ball. Eliza would rather be aiding the colonists during the battle, but she is excited to find out that Alexander Hamilton himself has arrived. This epic love story changes American history forever,
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Joana, Emilia, and Florian are refugees on a desperate journey towards freedom now that World War II is drawing to a close. Their paths meet on a ship that promises salvation. Forced to unite, the three fight for survival as they find their courage, strength, and trust in each other.
Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
This much anticipated follow up to Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the most Dangerous weapon, takes a journey into the Cold War. World War II is coming to a close and the Soviet Union refuses to be left behind and begins a close competition to build an even more destructive bomb than the Unites States. This book has spy planes, armed submarines, and undercover agents!
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang
Little Bao has had enough of the foreign missionaries and solders bullying and robbing Chinese peasants. He recruits and army of Boxers, commoners trained in kung fu, to fight to free China from the “foreign devils.” The rebellion is successful, but at what cost? Many people are dying, including thousands of Chinese citizens who have converted to Christianity. The companion to this story is Saints, and it brings to life the other side of the Boxer Rebellion. Check out both graphic novels today.
This year Banned Books Week is September 26-October 2. Every year the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. They get their information for media stories and reports sent to the OIF from communities around the U.S. ( Information from ala.org.) This is just a glimpse of challenges; it is estimated that 82-97% of book challenges remain unreported and/or receive no media coverage. Here is the list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020.
Banned Books Week was created in 1982 after there was a sudden rush of challenges of books in schools and libraries. It is normally the last week in September and it is meant to focus on free and open access to all information. Banned Books Week brings together readers of all types.
The Teen Room will be holding the second annual Banned Books Reading Challenge September 1-October 3. Read any banned or challenged book during this time and log it in ReadSquared to earn points. Points earned will earn you an entry to win an awesome free prize!
Not sure what books have been challenged or banned? Stop by the Teen Room to see our display of books or talk to staff for suggestions. You can also check out the reading lists in ReadSquared. The winner will be announced Monday October 4.
Happy reading and may the odds be ever in your favor!
It’s back-to-school season and we are very excited to share with you our new School Hacks Neighborhood here in the Young Adult department. This collection of books is designed to help you with your schoolwork. It is located in the non-fiction room and is on the first range of shelves when you walk in.
So, what’s in it
A selection of classic books, based on various required reading lists, including titles such as Fahrenheit 451, Wuthering Heights, Shakespeare’s works and more.
Books designed to help you with classroom concepts presented in unique ways. The Manga Guide to Physiology, Painless Chemistry, and Everything you need to ace math in one big fat notebook are just a few.
No Fear Shakespeare books. These books have the full text of the original plays and sonnets side-by-side with a translation into modern English to help you understand what’s going on.
Manga Classics: original classic books with manga illustrations. Manga is a style of Japanese graphic novels and comic books.
It’s the end of summer! Well, sort of. Come join us as we wrap up our Summer Reading program on July 28, 2021 from 1:30-4pm. Can you pick up things with your knees and run? Do you want to be a human ring toss? Come play these minute-to-win it games and have a snack. We will also hold a drawing for all the grand prizes you guys have been working so hard for! Can’t wait to see you!
June is Pride month and also Rainbow Book Month. Rainbow Book Month is a celebration of authors and writings that represent the lives and experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community and has been celebrated by the American Library Association (ALA) since 2015. Libraries include LGBTQIA+ resources in collections because libraries represent the communities they serve. Here are some LGBTQIA+ Fiction selections from our collection that you can come and check out!
A quick & easy guide to queer & trans identities by Mady M. Giulani, author, and J.R. Zuckerberg, illustrator This graphic novel covers a multitude of topics such as sexuality, gender identity and navigating relationships. The story is told through comics, interviews, and worksheets. A great start for those in the beginning of their journey and helpful for those in the middle of their journeys.
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann This book follows Alice, an asexual teen who has given up on finding love. But then she meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him. She has to decide whether to risk their friendship for a love that might not be shared.
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio When Kristin is voted homecoming queen, it seems like she is living her perfect life. She has a full scholarship to college and a boyfriend she is in love with. A visit to the doctor shatters her world: she is intersex. Kristin is having a hard time dealing with this news when someone leaks her secret to the school. Kristin must come to terms with her new self while dealing with the chaos around her.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell Simon is the worst Chosen One ever. Or so his roommate Baz says, and he’s probably right. Simon has a hard time getting his wand to work; his girlfriend broke up with him; and there is a monster running around wearing his face. This story is a spinoff of Rainbow Rowell’s other novel, Fangirl, and is loosely based on the Harry Potter series.
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell This novel is a collection of stories by seventeen young adult authors across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. These historical fiction stories include a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in war-torn Mexico, two girls falling in love while mourning the death of their favorite rocker, Kurt Cobain, a forbidden love in a Spanish convent in the 1500’s, and more. The companion anthology, Out Now: Queer We Go Again!, is also available.
I’m a Wild Seed by Sharon Lee De La Cruz This graphic novel is the author’s colorful memoir. She reflects on how oppression was the cause for her late coming out and she invites us to discover the people and things that helped inform and shape her identity.
Music from another World by Robin Talley Tammy feels like she can’t be herself anywhere because she is a closeted lesbian. Not at her Christian school, conservative church, and not at her house where her aunt organizes antigay campaigns. She only has one outlet, writing letters in her diary to gay civil rights activist Harvey Milk. When she is matched with a like-minded pen pal, all that changes.
April is National Poetry Month and 2021 is the 25th anniversary of this celebration. There are a lot of different types of poetry: rhymed, free verse, haiku, novels in verse, and more. Poetry plays an important role in our culture with millions of readers from young to old.
Novels in verse are growing in popularity in Young Adult literature. They are novels written in a hybrid form, the story told through poetry. The novels use white space on the page to add to the drama and narrative of the story. To make finding these novels easier, the YA staff marks the spines of these books with a “Novels in Verse” sticker; look for these when browsing the shelves in the Teen Room.
Here are a few novels in verse we recommend:
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
This intense story only spans one minute and a couple seconds. William sets out to avenge his brother’s murder. While in the elevator of his apartment building, seven ghosts who knew William’s brother show up and expose secrets that Will needs to know.
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen in London who has never felt Greek or Black enough. When he is older and comes out, he starts the journey of learning who he really is and where he belongs.
House Arrest by K.A. Holt
Timothy is on probation for the next year. He has to check in weekly with an officer and a therapist; and keep a journal for the entire time. He is also required to stay out of trouble, which turns out to be difficult as Timothy has to take severe measures to help out his family. This middle school story is touching and funny.
