Eat, Read, Repeat: Teen Edition – Page 3 – Cool stuff about the CCPL Teen Room

A Newbie’s Overly-Excited Tour of the Teen Room!

Hello, dear readers!

I’m your new sometimes-staff member, Lindee. I started working in the Teen Room right about the time it shut down for COVID, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to fangirl about how cool the Teen Room is. And maybe plug in a little reminder of what all the Teen Room has to offer.

So of course, there are the books. I think there’s just something special about young adult literature. It can tackle some of the biggest issues we face today, and it can do so without taking itself too seriously. If you’re going through something, we have books that can remind you you’re not alone. And if you need a little escape or just a little fun, we have books for that, too.

My favorites so far are the Avatar Kyoshi duology and These Hollow Vows. One’s pretty new, and one’s been around for a bit.

Avatar the Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi bring readers back to the world of the Avatar, before the GAang saved the world from the Fire Nation army. Kyoshi as the Avatar is not who anyone expected—she’s not even that good at bending her original element! But being raised away from the limelight and outside of the political machinations of her best friend’s mentor (as he teaches who he THINKS is the Avatar), might be the absolute best thing for the Avatar. Who else could save the Earth Kingdom, on the brink of war, but someone impartial?

Cover image for These hollow vows — These Hollow Vows

These Hollow Vows marries some classic fairytale elements with some high fantasy characters, when character Brie must attend a ball in the Faerie world to save her sister, Jas. Jas was sold to Mordeus, the uncrowned king of the Dark Throne, when Jas and Brie couldn’t pay their aunt their “life debts.” With love triangles, a smattering of unexpected magic, and TWO twist endings, you won’t be surprised to hear I was positively betrayed when I learned the sequel is still 6 months out!

Our nonfiction section has some really cool books, with my favorites being the themed cookbooks. Yep, themed. Like, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter, and general nerd cookbooks. There are tons of other topics in there too, y’know. History and mental health and programming. But somehow I always end up at the cookbooks.

Next there’s the makerspace, with a little bit of everything. Fancy teaching yourself to sew? There are sewing needles for hand sewing and even a sewing machine! (Does the Teen Room nonfiction section have books on sewing? Better explore and find out!) The Perler beads are always popular, and I’ve seen some excitement about the crochet looms. There’s an ever-shifting collection of creative outlets there, so feel free to dig around and make something amazing!

There are more adventures ahead in our tour of the Amazing Teen Room, so keep an eye out for installment 2!

Library Link: The Rise of Kyoshi

Library Link: The Shadow of Kyoshi

Library Link: These Hollow Vows

New Sequels!

Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi

Believe Me is the fifth novella in the Shatter Me series by bestselling author Tahereh Mafi and takes place after the events of book six Image Me.

City of the Dead by James Patterson

City of the Dead is the second book in the Hawk series which follows the daughter of Maximum Ride. The series takes place 10 years after the events of the Maximum Ride series.

In the Ballroom With the Candlestick by Diana Peterfreund

In the Ballroom with the Candlestick is the third and final book in the Clue Mysteryseries. Secrets continue to come to light and threaten to destroy the groups friendships; the group has little choice but to either band together or turn on each other.

Journey to the Heart of the Abyss by London Shah

In Shah’s first book The Light at the Bottom of the World, readers were introduced to Leyla McQueen whose dad had been arrested. Leyla must make choices to help save her father but, as she learns, actions have consequences. The sequel picks up where the first one left off.

Spells Like Teen Spirit by Kate Williams

Spells Like Teen Spirit is the third and final book in the Babysitters Coven series and concludes Esme and Cassandra’s legacy as Sitters.

Library Link: Believe Me

Library Link: City of the Dead

Library Link: In the Ballroom With the Candlestick

Library Link: Journey to the Heart of the Abyss

Library Link: Spells Like Teen Spirit

Happy National Puzzle Day!

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.

Teen Winter Reading!

Join us for our first ever Teen Winter Reading Challenge! Read whatever you want: every 150 pages or 150 minutes you track will earn you a chance to win one of our four awesome prize baskets! Teens are encouraged to signup using the ReadSquared app or stop by the desk to pick up a reading log. Teen can click here to sign up for the challenge. The challenge will run December 23-January 31. We’ll draw our 4 basket winners on February 1!

One of four different prize baskets! Includes: 1 plush throw, 1 ceramic mug with hot chocolate, 1 box of Swiss Miss Cocoa mix and a $30 Gold Bucks certificate!

What a Year!

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.

Happy New Year from the Teen Room!

Gillette News Record Photo

Teen Volunteer Scholastic Book Fair 2021

Do you or someone you know like the smell of new books? Are you procrastinating buying gifts for the holidays? Well, you’re in luck: next week will be the annual Teen Volunteer Scholastic Book Fair!!!

The book fair is run entirely by the CCPL Teen Volunteers; not only do they run the fair, but they receive matching funds according to the profits from the fair. They use the money raised to purchase books from the fair to donate to various youth service agencies in our community. These agencies include GARF, Boys and Girls Club, the YES house, and many other agencies. The fair is a great time to shop for gifts for others or for yourself! Products you’ll find include holiday-themed books, childrens and teen fiction and nonfiction books, and stocking stuffers.

Join us in the lobby of the library:

Monday, December 6, 5-7pm

Tuesday, December 7, 9:15-11:30am, 3-7pm

Wednesday, December 8, 9:15-11:30am, 1:30-7pm

Thursday, December 9, 9:15-11:30am, 3-7pm. The Children’s department will host Santa in the Wyoming Room from 3-6pm.

Friday, December 10, 3:30-4:30pm.

If you could turn back time….

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 107^th 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.

Library Links

Spooky Creepy Ghostly Halloween

With Halloween less than a week away, check out one of these new edge-of-your-seat YA titles to set the mood.

Perfect for fans of Courtney Summers, this seductive and intense thriller unfolds in interwoven timelines of two summers as three friends are torn apart by buried secrets and star-crossed attraction…then pulled back together by tragedy. -From Publisher Simon & Schuster

The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

New from bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, and the perfect companion to her New York Times bestseller There’s Someone Inside Your House. Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest. Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare … and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways. -From Publisher Penguin Random House

The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson! – From Publisher Harper Collins

A dark, twisty thriller about a centuries-old, ivy-covered boarding school haunted by its history of witchcraft and two girls dangerously close to digging up the past. The dangerous romance and atmospheric setting makes it a perfect read for fans of dark academia. – From Publisher Penguin Random House

Melissa Albert meets Twin Peaks in this supernatural thriller about one girl’s hunt for the truth about her mother’s disappearance. – From Publisher Penguin Random House

From the critically-acclaimed author of House of Salt and Sorrows comes a mesmerizing and chilling fairy-talesque novel about Ellerie Downing, a young woman in a small town with monsters lurking in the trees and dark desires hidden in the shadows—in Amity Falls, nothing is more dangerous than a wish come true. – From Publisher Penguin Random House

Library Link: Where Secrets Lie by Eva V. Gibson

Library Link: The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

Library Link: White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Library Link: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Library Link: Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

Library Link: Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020

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.

Library Link: George

Library Link: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Library Link: Speak

Library Link: The Absolutey True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Library Link: Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice

Library Link: To Kill a Mockingbird

Library Link: Of Mice and Men

Library Link: The Bluest Eye

Library Link: The Hate U Give

Banned Books Reading Challenge

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!