Books and Such
Playing Nice by Rebekah Crane
0
When we read this book we fell in love! Marty is like a lot of people we know in high school. She tries really hard and does everything that everyone expects from her; good grades, lots of extracurricular activities, she is a “Nice Girl”. When Lil, the new girl, moves to town it changes the way that Marty sees the world around her, and her place in it.
We love this book because the characters are realistic and the dialog is genuine. The relationships between the different characters read true to real life. In a lot of teen fiction the characters and the situations see fake or forced, but not in this book. Everyone who reads it will see someone or some situation they know. We recommend this book to anyone that has ever had a fight with a friend, or a crush on someone they couldn’t figure out, or done what they were supposed to even when it felt wrong. This is a must read!
Let’s here it for local Colorado authors! Check out the author, Rebekah Crane, at her website.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
0
The Host is a sci-fi romance that takes place in the future of this whole new world. Stephanie Meyer is a wonderful author that amazed me with the imagination that she had brought into this book. This book gives a whole new view on this world, family, friendship and love. As Meyer had described it, “Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact.” Now that gets one thinking “But why would these aliens invade us?” There are ”aliens” that invade but really they just thought we were too violent. To think that these parasites did not think we were weak come over because they wanted to take over the world, they just wanted us to be less violent, see the irony here?
Melanie a girl who’s part of a group with only a handful of people called the Resistance try their best to keep alive and not fade away as the parasites take over their own soul and body. This story is in the point of view of Wanderer, one of the invading aliens who is apparently an expert at hosting bodies. Wanderer takes over Melanie’s body however once she wakes up she realizes that she hadn’t taken over all of Melanie.
I loved all the emotion Meyer had put into this big chunk of a book, and it’s was what kept me going. The book seemed to be a never ending story of action and forbidden love. I also liked how this book got me predicting and thinking, “What’s going to happen next?” I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack from all the curiosity. I loved how this novel was in the view of Wanderer, it made me feel like a little kid again with all the curiosity she had and how clueless she was with emotions and feelings. I recommend reading this book and even watching the movie!
Karrina – TLC Memeber
Hysteria by Megan Miranda
0
At first I was not sure what the book was about, but I liked the uncertainty. Would it turn into a supernatural romance? Would the main character, who is experiencing these weird dreams, turn out to have a connection to the dead? Are the three mean girls at her new school just “mean girls” or are they into something much darker. This book was not what I expected…It was better. It’s a real psychological thriller that does not rely on the supernatural to be creepy and exciting. I would recommend this to anyone who likes plot twists and scares.
Safekeeping by Karen Hesse
0
BEST BOOK EVER! O.K. maybe not ever, but definitely the best book we have read this year. It’s set right now in the U.S. A new political party is voted into office, they are an extremist party so right away someone assassinates the new president. This turns America into a police state, and our main character is forced to flee the country. This is the story of what happens to her on her journey. This book could have been very political or post-apocalyptic, but it’s not. It’s just the story of her life told in a very honest way. We loved it and we recommend it to anyone who likes survival stories and realistic characters. Click here to put it on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
Quarantine The Loners by Lex Thomas
0
Two brothers start the new school year. One is a senior and the other a freshman. Things go ok for about 2 class periods until something comes crashing into the school. Suddenly the teachers are dying and the school is being secured from the outside. No students are allowed out. How can the kids trapped inside survive the quarantine?
This book was so great! We loved the fast pace and the realistic characters. How would the cliques in your school behave if all of the sudden there were no teachers, no way out, and everyone was struggling to survive? We recommend this book to anyone who loved the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins of Trapped by Michael Northrop. Click here to put it on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
Fang Girl by Helen Keeble Rocks
0
This book is so much fun! Jane is a girl that loves all things vampire. She even has an insane vampire fan fiction blog that she posts on. So when she wakes up a vampire things are looking pretty wonderful, until she realizes she will be fifteen forever, and there are several groups trying to kill her, and her family is way overprotective.
This is a fast and funny read that the Teen Library Council recommends to anyone who likes humor, nerdy girls, and vampires. It’s is a clean read with no R rated content.
Check out Helen Keebl’s Blog and fin out all about her and her first book, Fang Girl
App, Book & Music of the Week
0
App
Writer Rumble is a seriously fun new word game. The user gets to play a literary writer (Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, etc.…) and do battle with monsters. Their only weapons are their words. When playing the game you slide your finger over the letter tiles to form words. The words attack the monsters and help you to survive. At only $0.99 it is priced just right for us to tell everyone about it. Right now this app is only IOS compatible, but in early 2013 it should be available for Android as well.
Book
Zombie Calling by Faith Erin Hicks is one of the best books we read this year. It’s a Graphic Novel set at a college campus. The main character is a regular girl, who notices that zombies are taking over her college campus. She suddenly turns into a serious butt kicker (the way we all would if there was a zombie apocalypse) and tries to save herself and her friends from becoming zombie dinner. This is an extremely funny and fast read. Click here to put the book on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
Music
Sleigh Ride by Fun from the CD Holidays Rule is the song we have been singing all week. We are seriously getting into the holiday spirit her at the library. Click here to put the cd on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
App, Book & Music of the Week
0
App
Flashcards* is a fantastic and free flashcard generating app. We were able to download the app to study for our classes, and even share the cards with each other. It’s easy to use and beats using note cards! This is a great app for studying.
Book
Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig is a modern day Robin Hood story set at a fancy prep school. Willa plans to steal from the rich kids and give to the poor kids at her school, but when the cops start investigating things get a little crazy. This is a fun book that we really enjoyed. Click here to put it on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
Music
Home by Philip Philips is the super sad song we are listening to this week. We have been watching the video on YouTube pretty much nonstop. His voice is so perfect and he seems so Emo in the video we just want to give him a hug. The CD is called The World From The Side of the Moon and you can put it on hold here with your DCL card.
App, Book & Music of the Week
0
App
Mc-tube is a free app that lets us watch YouTube on our IOS devices without any ads. It also lets us download something and watch it offline later. It’s just an easy way to enjoy Youtube, with more features than the YouTube app offers.
Book
The Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox is one of the most fun books we have read in a while. Charlotte is nobody special. She has no enemies and does not make waves at school, so it’s kind of a surprise when she is pushed in front of a train and dies. All of the sudden she is a dead girl and she must find out who killed her before she can move on. It’s a unique take on the paranormal mystery genre and we give it four stars. Click here to put the book on hold with your Douglas County Library card.
Music
Misfits and Lovers by the Wallflowers is the best song we have heard in a really long time. We love this upbeat rock song. The chorus sticks in our heads like bubble gum in our hair. Click here to put the CD on hold with your Douglas County Library card or click here to get a free download from Freegal with your DCL card.
Book, App & Music of the Week
0App
Light Writer is just fun. Seriously it serves no real purpose and we feel silly using it, but…It’s FUN. You type a word or words into the app and then wave your phone across your body. The app projects the word in front of you like a light banner. That is all this app does…but it cool! At this time the app is only for the iPhone and it costs $0.99, but we think it’s worth it.
Book
Seize the Storm by Michael Cadnum is the book we could not stop reading this week. This family is sailing on a yacht from California to Hawaii when they are caught in a storm. During the storm they bump into a drifting boat and they find a pile of money and two dead bodies. They have to decide to take the money or not and live with the consequences. This book has hit men, storms, action and adventure. We really loved the fast pace of the story. Use your Douglas County Library card to put the book on hold.
Music
Red Hands by Walk Off the Earth from the CD R.E.V.O. is something totally new that we are listening to. We found the band while we were searching on Freegal. We really like the singers scratchy voice and the guitar riffs on the song. Click here to download the song for free with your Douglas County Library card.