BotW: Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed The Hunger Games.

It picks up where the first left off. Katniss and Peeta have won the Games, but there are rumors that open rebellion lurks within every district and Kat has become a reluctant symbol for revolution against the Capital.

I found the first half of Catching Fire to be a bit on the slow side. It takes Collins some time to build the story up to the book's climatic, action-packed second half. But the next round of Games are as engrossing as they are bloody, a compelling clock mechanism that keeps the gladiators constantly on the run for their lives. I like how Collins handles the love triangle between Kat, Gale, and Peeta. She does a good job of pinging Kat back and forth between the two love interests.

Collins also does a good job of setting the story up for the inevitable third book in the series, Mockingjay. Given the circumstances surrounding open rebellion sweeping the districts and the revelation that District 13 might not be as desolate as The Capital claims, I bet Mockingjay will be an even stronger, more interesting book in the series.

New Arrival!

The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford looks to be an exciting mystery book, if not a bit on the violent side judging by the front cover. Here's the Destiny summary of the book:

"Eighteen-year-old Christopher, who plans to be a spy, learns of a murder cover-up through his summer job as a morgue assistant and teams up with Tina, a gorgeous newspaper reporter, to investigate, despite great danger."

Library Tip of the Week

I talked about Scott Westerfeld's gripping steam-punk novel Leviathan last Monday. If you didn't already know, Scott maintains his own website and updates it often. You can find it at http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/. He's got a ton of information about him and his books, including recent news and fan art and fiction.

On his site, Scott announced that Behemoth, the sequel to Leviathan, releases this October 5th! Here's a sneak-peak of the cover art:

BoTW: Leviathan

I raved about Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld last January (you can check the archive to read what I had to say about this new series) and I'm highlighting the book again because it's just that good!

Leviathan is a steam-punk re-imagining of World War I, full of genetically modified animals and clanker metal war machines. The plot revolves around young prince Aleksander Ferdinand, son of the Archduke Ferdinand and leader of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the Archduke is brutally assassinated, Alek must flee for his life and muster a plan to fight the men behind his father's death.

You need to read this book now because Behemoth, the second book in the series, comes out this October! Swing by the library and check it out!

New Arrival!

Alienated by David Russell and Andrew Auseon is one of the new books here at Smith. Read the Destiny summary below and then swing by the library to check this book out!

"Santa Rosa, California, junior high school students Gene and Vince try to become famous and popular by publishing a free tabloid about real aliens, but a clash over whether to print a certain story not only damages their friendship, it lands them in the middle of an intergalactic conflict, as well."

Library News

Welcome back!

The library is open for business! Swing by the library before school, between passing periods, and after school and pick up some awesome books to read.

6th grade classes will be coming to the library starting next Monday, August 30th. I'll be presenting a brief orientation on how to check out books, where books are located in the library, and how to find books in Destiny, our electronic catalog.

As for the blog, Mondays will still be devoted to Book of the Week, or BoTW for short. I will highlight a book that I've read and that I recommend you read too. Wednesdays are for Library News (like today). Fridays will be all about newly published books that I haven't necessarily read, but look promising.

So stop by often and keep up-to-date with the Smith library!

Summer's End

The summer break is drawing to a close. I hope you're looking forward to the start of school as much as I am!

I've been busy reading young adult books all summer and can't wait to share them with you. A quick heads up: steer clear of The Roar by Emma Clayton, read Slob by Ellen Potter as soon as you can.

I plan to open the library for book check out as soon as possible. That could be as early as the first week of school, but unexpected start-of-school events could push that back. Rest assured, I'm as anxious as you are to check out books.

Keep in mind, we're having the library book fair a few weeks after school starts! The fair starts Tuesday, September 7th and runs through Friday, September 10th. The fair will also be open Thursday evening as part of the 6th grade open house.

That's about it for now. Enjoy the rest of your summer. We'll see you in a few weeks!