New Release Day! Dead of Winter by Kresley Cole

(Super-excited) New Release Day!

Dead of Winter, the 3^rd installment in the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole is out today January 6, 2015!

The Arcana Chronicles is Kresely Cole’s Young Adult debut. In our library, I would recommend it for older kids in the YA spectrum. It is a young adult/dystopian/romance with a female POV. The stories of the characters in the series are depicted on the Major Arcana cards of a Tarot deck. I don’t know anything about Tarot cards and have no interest in Tarot cards, but it doesn’t matter, it works for the story, making it a unique paranormal tale. In every dark age, the Arcana, who are twenty-two kids born with supernatural powers, are destined to fight in a life-or-death game. There are early alliances between the Arcana that will eventually have to be broken. Or can the Empress stop the game from continuing? We’ll have to see.

All books in the series available in the library. 

Book description:

Heartbreaking decisions
Evie was almost seduced by the life of comfort that Death offered her—until Jack was threatened by two of the most horrific Arcana, The Lovers. She will do anything to save him, even escape Death’s uncanny prison, full of beautiful objects, material comforts…and stolen glances from a former love.

Uncertain victory
Despite leaving a part of her heart behind with Death, Evie sets out into a frozen and perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland to meet up with her allies and launch an attack on The Lovers and the vast army they command. Such formidable enemies require a battle plan, and the only way to kill them once and for all may mean Evie, Jack, and Death allying. Evie doesn’t know what will prove more impossible: surviving slavers, plague, Bagmen and other Arcana—or convincing Jack and Death to work together.

Two heroes returned
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Evie just doesn’t know where she stands with either Jack or Death. Will this unlikely trio be able to defeat The Lovers without killing one another first? 

For more information on this series check out www.thearcanachronicles.com

 Here’s a description from the jacket of the 1^st book, Poison Princess:

She could save the world—or destroy it.
Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.
But she can’t do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side

You can get the first 17 chapters in a preview here: http://tinyurl.com/l3xhvo6

Endless Knight:

Evie has fully come into her powers as the tarot Empress. And Jack was there to see it all. In the aftermath of killing Arthur, Evie realizes that there is a war brewing between the teens who’ve been given powers following the apocalypse, and it’s kill or be killed. When Evie meets Death, the gorgeous and dangerous Endless Knight, things get even more complicated. Somehow the Empress and Death share a romantic history. One that Evie can’t remember, but Death can’t forget. Evie is drawn to Death, but in love with Jack. She is determined to discover why she’s been granted these powers, and in the process, struggles to accept her place in the prophecy that will either save the world, or destroy it.

Exciting New Programs in the Children's Dept

With the start of a new year the librarians in the children's department have been working on launching a whole slate of new programs.

Our Smart Cookie Club winter reading program is running through the end of January.

Are you a Smart Cookie? Join the North Shelby Library's Smart Cookie Club this winter! 

Pick up a membership card at the children's department desk and every time you come to the library to check out books through the months of December and January get your card stamped AND add a sticker to our cookie jar bulletin board. Help us fill up the jar and show everyone how many Smart Cookies we have here at North Shelby. 

Everyone who participates is invited to our Smart Cookie Party in February!

**All Ages Welcome**

The Newbery Pie Book Club is our new book club for all ages.
Step 1: Read a Newbery book. ANY Newbery book.
Step 2: Pick one of the Book Club meetings. (We offer meeting times convenient for homeschool and public/private school families.)
Step 3: Come talk about books with us and eat delicious pie!
For more information and suggested titles check out the club's webpage.
**All Ages Welcome**  **Registration Required**


The Pete the Cat Book Club is our newest offering for the younger crowd.
Join us for stories, groovy crafts, games and snacks.
**All Ages Welcome**  **Registration Required**

For more information about any of these programs or to register please speak with a librarian at 205.439.5504 or use our online interactive calendar. 

Recommended Reading: Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Book Description: 

In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients—dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups—from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif—the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the State’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the head of State security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. With shades of Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and The Thousand and One Nights, Alif the Unseen is a tour de force debut—a sophisticated melting pot of ideas, philosophy, religion, technology and spirituality smuggled inside an irresistible page-turner.

Alif the Unseen is a brilliant debut novel published in 2012. The setting is engrossing, drawing on Middle Eastern lore and combining it with the world of modern computer hackers. That level of creativity makes for a satisfying story on many levels, with enough personal drama for literary fiction and enough magic for a fantasy novel. Aladdin's genie even makes a cameo! The characters are wonderfully varied -- petty, noble, cowardly, and one-of-a-kind -- and each person is fully realized. Wilson avoids stereotypes by including plenty of female characters and people from many different backgrounds, with many different levels of piety. You can find Alif the Unseen in the adult fiction section, but it would hold equal appeal in YA!

Summer Reading is over and a new school year is just a few days away. If you've got little ones heading off to school for the first time make sure to stop by and check out some of our back to school picture books.

The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School by Deborah Diesen
Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School by Herman Parish
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
Yoko by Rosemary Wells
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick
How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen
Jessica by Kevin Henkes
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Recommended Reading: Ready Player One

Full of 80’s movie, television, video game, and cultural references, Ready Player One takes the reader on an enjoyable ride through a dystopian version of the United States of America. Wade, the main protagonist, sets out on an adventure through the virtual reality video game, OASIS, to solve a puzzle left by the game’s late creator and gain the power and wealth that comes with running a system on which the world relies. Throughout the quest the reader laughs and cries as Wade displays moments of genius, snarkily responds with humorous dialogue, and exhibits romantic failures that epitomize teenagers today.

I can honestly find zero faults with this book. I did have to look up some of the references about which Cline writes, but these were few and did not take away from the completeness of the novel. It was an absolute joy, both as a geek and 80’s baby, to learn and relive moments of the past. It was also sobering to read about the destroyed world in the novel and wonder just how far away our civilization is from such a reality.

Book Description:

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.  

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle

.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

 A world at stake.

A quest for the ultimate prize.

Are you ready?

Daniel Tackett

Young Adult Librarian

Recommended Reading: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Clementine cracks me up. These books are witty, with humor both kids and adults will enjoy. I absolutely love Clementine's unstoppable spirit and optimism. So cute and funny.  These would make good read-on-their-own books for 3rd and 4th graders and excellent read-alouds for bedtime with even younger ages. There are five books currently available in the series with a new title being released in March. 

North Shelby has copies of these books in print and in downloadable audio book form. Stop by the library to pick up a copy or click here to reserve one through our catalog. I've listened to the audio books through our OneClickDigital system and the reader does an excellent job. I think these would be wonderful for riding in the car with kids.

Book Description:

Clementine is having not so good of a week.
-On Monday she's sent to the principal’s office for cutting off Margaret’s hair.
- Tuesday, Margaret's mother is mad at her.
- Wednesday, she's sent to the principal... again.
- Thursday, Margaret stops speaking to her.
- Friday starts with yucky eggs and gets worse.
- And by Saturday, even her mother is mad at her.

Okay, fine. Clementine is having a DISASTROUS week.

Morgan
Children's Librarian

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was our February bookclub book. There was only a couple in the group that completely disliked the book. Most of us agree that we struggled through about half of it because of the excess of philosophical musings in the characters ruminations, which severely hampered the plot. However, once Mr. Ozu was introduced, things picked up.

We discussed a lot about our "invisible self" or instances where we know someone isn't revealing everything about themselves to the world at large. This book really is about every person's invisible part. Renee was hiding how smart she was because she was just a lowly concierge in an uptown building and it would upset the class structure if people knew she read Tolstoy and other great literature. Paloma had to hide how intelligent she was and eventually was going to "show them all" by committing suicide. Then Mr. Ozu moves into the building and can see right through their charade, befriends both of them heedless of society's class system.

The book was also difficult to read for some of us, because we kept stopping to copy lines. It is full of metaphors and witty observations of life and the people in it, you just eat it up. I recommend reading it twice. The 1st time to absorb it all and the 2nd to enjoy. Most of us agreed we would read it again.

A few great lines:
Paloma describing her sister - "...a hostile lesion of a sister" pg. 85

Renee - "We are good primates, so we spend most of our time maintaining and defending our territory, so that it will protect and gratify us; climbing - or trying not to slide down the tribes hierarchical ladder." pg. 97

Renee - "I press the start button, sip my jasmine tea. From time to time I rewind, thanks to this secular rosary known as the remote control." pg 99

Each member had there own favorites, too many to put here. We recommend.

View all my reviews