New Arrival!

13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison just arrived at our library today. Destiny says:

"Bedeviled by evil fairies that only she can see, thirteen-year-old Tanya is sent to stay with her cold and distant grandmother at Elvesden Manor, where she and the caretaker's son solve a disturbing mystery that leads them to the discovery that Tanya's life is in danger."

Evil fairies? I'm in!

Library Tip of the Week

Get your overdue books back to the library! Overdue notices get sent to advisory classes every Monday. If you get a notice, be sure to come to the library and either renew the book(s) or turn them in.

Don't forget, you get to keep a book for two weeks and a magazine for three days.

BoTW: Peter and the Starcatchers

Looking for a great fantasy book? Love Peter Pan and Tinkerbell? Then check out Peter and the Starcatchers, a retelling of the Peter Pan story by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Check out Wikipedia's entry about Peter and the Starcatchers, including summaries of the book and the major characters, comparisons between this book and the original written by Barrie, and critical opinions of the book.

And if you like Peter and the Starcatchers, read the sequels, Peter and the Shadow Thieves,Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy.

Look for all four books in the Fiction section, under the call number FIC BARRY. For lots more information about the book, visit the website http://www.peterandthestarcatchers.com/

New Arrival!

Freefall by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams is the third book in the Tunnels series. Check out Destiny's summary of the book:

"As fourteen-year-old archaeologist Will and his friends plummet down a subterranean pore, they face deadly creatures and discover a strange fungal shelf, which not only reveals artifacts from ancient civilizations, but clues to a lost land at the end of the Earth."

Got your attention? Swing by the library and check Freefall out today!

Library Tip of the Week

Don't forget, holds that you put on books don't last forever. Holds by students last 45 days and then expire.

Today, the first student hold expired. To double check to see if you still have a book on hold, log into Destiny and check the "My Info" tab. It will have a listing of all the books you currently have on hold. If one of your holds expired, simply look up the book and place it back on hold.

BoTW: The Hunt for the Seventh

I'm really enjoying The Hunt for the Seventh by Christine Morton-Shaw. It's a classic bone-chilling, scary book, full of translucent ghostly figures, disembodied whispers, and creepy characters. If you liked Peg Kehret's The Ghost's Grave, this is the book for you!

The story revolves around a father who takes a head gardening position at a mysterious mansion, Minerva Hall. The father brings only his kids with him, Jim and Sal; the mother died recently and the family still grieves for her.

Jim wastes no time exploring the mansion's shadowy and dusty corridors and quickly witnesses whispers that sound off from thin air and loud noises with no obvious source. Later, he flat-out sees visions, grisly deaths of children who lived in the mansion years ago. Ghostly voices prompt him to "find the Seventh," urging Jim to investigate the unearthly mystery that surrounds Minerva Hall.

Jim makes friends with an autistic boy named Einstein who seems to know something about the mansion's bloody history but proves reluctant, if not down right scared, to help. Does Jim manage to track down the pieces, solve the puzzle, and "find the Seventh?" Check out The Hunt for the Seventh and find out!

New Arrival! Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising

Alex Van Helsing: Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson is a twist on the increasingly crowded fiction vampire genre. If you like vampire books, but are looking for something a bit different, you might want to check out a book that turns the tables and has a human hunting the vampire!

Here's Destiny's summary of the book:

"At a boarding school in Switzerland, fourteen-year-old Alex Van Helsing learns that vampires are real, that he has a natural ability to sense them, and that an agency called Polidorium has been helping his family fight them since 1821."

Library Tip of the Week

Did you know you can review books that you've read from the Smith library? Well, you can! And it's really easy. Here's how:

1) Log into Destiny using your student ID number and password
2) Click on the catalog and search for the book that you want to review
3) Click on the book. In the upper right-hand corner, click on the "Reviews" tab
4) Click on the button "Add Review"
5) You can either rank the book 1-5 stars, write a review, or both!
6) Click submit when you're done

Keep in mind, if you're going to write a review, be mindful of your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I will fix a few minor problems, but if your review contains too many problems, I will delete it instead of posting it.

Also, please do not write a review that only says, "I really liked this book" or "I really hated this book." Instead, describe WHY you liked or didn't like about the book. That's what everyone is really interested in reading.

BoTW: Uglies

This Monday's book is Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

First and foremost, Uglies is a science fiction book. It's about a society in the future that surgically modifies its teenage children to look beautiful. Before the surgery, a child is called an Ugly. After the surgery, they are a Pretty.

So the book is about a civilization of gorgeous models? Not even close. A minority of kids refuse to have the surgery. Instead, they flee New Pretty Town and form their own community. The government that runs New Pretty Town and conducts the transformations of Uglies to Pretties seeks to crush this rebellion and actively pursues any Ugly that chooses to think for themselves.

Looking for a great sci-fi story with a thought-provoking message about conformity and self-worth? Then look no farther than Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.