New Arrival! Into the Gauntlet

Are you a fan of the 39 Clues series? Well, we've got the tenth book by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Here's what Destiny says about the book:

"Amy and Dan Cahill face their greatest challenge on their quest to find the thirty-nine clues, but in order to discover the secrets of their lineage they will have to make a choice that could impact the world's future."

Library Tip of the Week

The holiday break quickly approaches! Don't get caught in the cold without a good book to read! Stop by the library and pick up something good to read!

BoTW: The Compound

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen is one of the stranger 2009 Lone Star books I read last year. The book is about a domineering father who saves his family from a nuclear attack by fleeing to a underground shelter he spent millions of dollars to build.

The book has a great premise, but the plot became quickly unbelievable. And you can see the ending coming a mile away, which sucked a lot of the tension out of the story. However, I'm still recommending the book because I think most teenagers will enjoy the macabre nature of the story, especially the depiction of six years of living in a state-0f-the-art bomb shelter.

New Arrival! Sabotaged

Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix is the third book in The Missing series. Here's what Destiny has to say about it:

"Thirteen-year-old Jonah, stolen from the past as an infant, teams up with his sister Katherine to help Virginia Dare, the first child born in America to English parents."

Enjoy the series? Then swing on by the library and pick up the latest book!

Library Tip of the Week

The Texas Library Association just announced the 2011 Lonestar list @ http://www.txla.org/groups/lone-star! We've got a few of these titles in the library right now. Rest assured, I'll be ordering the rest next month!

BoTW: Unwind

Unwind by Neal Shusterman is a book about a grim alternative future for the United States. Pro-choice and pro-life forces arm themselves and fight a civil war over the issue of abortion. Neither side wins the war, but instead compromises with a new amendment to the Constitution: The Bill of Life. As part of its tenets, the Bill states the following:

• Human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen.
• However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively "abort" a child . . . on the condition that the child's life doesn't "technically end.
• The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called "unwinding."
• Unwinding is now a common, and accepted practice in society.

The story begins when the main character, Connor, finds out accidentally that his parents plan to have him unwound. Knowing full well that will kill him, Connor runs away. He's quickly caught (his cellphone gives him away) but then escapes again. A fugitive from the government, Conner teams up with two other "Unwinds," attempting to stay out of sight until the day they turn eighteen and by law cannot be unwound.

Unwind is a 2009 Lone Star book and can be found in the new arrival shelf.

New Arrival! The Red Pyramid

Rick Riordan may be done with the Percy Jackson series, but that hasn't stopped him from writing a new series, The Kane Chronicles. The Red Pyramid is the first book in the series. Here's what Destiny says about it:

"Brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane accidentally unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes the doctor to oblivion and forces his two children to embark on a dangerous journey, bringing them closer to the truth about their family and its links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs."

Whoa, that sounds really good! Swing by the library and check it out!

Library Tip of the Week

On Monday I talked about Lara Zielin's young adult novel, Donut Days. Lara maintains a great website, including a blog that she updates regularly. If you enjoy Lara's books, take a moment to check out her site at http://www.larawrites.com/.