Teen Writing: Genre Mashups!

We challenged our Writer's Block members to imagine what happens when you play musical chairs with the biggest trends in YA Lit. After being given a random pairing of popular YA genres, the teens were instructed to write the summary that would be on the back of their hypothetical book. Here's just a sampling of what they came up with:

Coming of Age + Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlocka Holmes just wants to be a normal teenage girl. However, she can't suppress her intense desire to solve mysteries! And after one too many run-ins with the police for investigating crimes, she's moving away. Away from her school, her friends, and everything she's ever know. However, when people begin mysteriously disappearing and ghosts are seen around her new town, it seems like Sherlocka just can't escape her detective side. And when questions arise about her family history, Sherlocka finally begins to uncover the mysteries behind the unusual town... and the mysteries within herself.
Written by Elizabeth P., age 15

Breakup novel + Outer space
Number 8376, known as Arsenie, has just about had it with her boyfriend. It's time to call it quits, but that's going to be difficult, considering they're about to embark on a three year journey through the universe, on a search for the last hope of saving their home planet. Three years. Together. On a spaceship. Not to mention she'll be dealing with asteroids, space creatures, and an annoying stowaway who just might have a crush on her would-be-ex-boyfriend. So a breakup isn't really in the cards right now. A story of adventure, discovery, and an arrogant fool who spends too much time looking in the mirror, Hormonal and Hopeless is a heart-warming tale of how much one girl can stand before pressing the self-eject button.
Written by Marissa C., age 16

Vampires + rural setting
Fifteen-year-old Abigail Perkins has just moved to Missouri after her parents' recent divorce. She is expecting small town life to be nothing like her glamorous one in New York City. She surely wasn't expecting to meet Damien, the mysterious boy who lives next door. Initially, she is intrigued by the strange things she notices about him. She wonders: why does she never see him during the day? Why did he refuse to accept her garlic bread on National Garlic Day? And why does he have a coffin in his house?! She's about to find out...
Written by Daria M., age 15

Fallen angels + High school dramedy
You know that singer with the "voice of an angel"? The popular starlet with an "angel face"? The charity founder with a seemingly "angelic" disposition? Well, heavenly attributes don't come free, and Shane wants his back. Kicked out of Heaven so that a rising celebrity could reach the height of their fame, Shane is miserable. Once a citizen of the sky, he has become just another pimply high school loser. He finds himself unable to bear life without his perfect hair, smooth skin, and angelic glow. Desperate, Shane uses the last of his heavenly abilities to enroll in the prestigious former high school of the wannabe star who stole his angel wings. Determined to reclaim what is rightfully his, he's about to find out that high school is hard -- but it's even harder when you're a fallen angel.
Written by Maya J, age 15

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Are you as blown away as we were? I'd totally read some of these books, if they were real! Join us for creative games, writer talk, and fun writing prompts like these at Writer's Block, the teen creative writing club. Check out our event calendar to register for this month's sessions!

Teen Review: Quarantine by Lex Thomas

When a virus that kills adult is quickly spread through a high school, a lockdown is enforced and students find themselves thrown into a fight for survival. Supplies are limited, and cliques quickly become gangs. The jocks rule the school, and the outcasts are left to fend for themselves. But if they work together, they just might be able to make it out alive.

Rating: 3 out of 5, "a good read"

Reviewed by: Marissa C., Age 16
 
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This teen reviewer was able to read Quarantine months before it was released to the public, through Writer's Block ARC Review program!

ARCs (or Advance Reader Copies) are preview editions of soon-to-be-released books, which publishers send to libraries and reviewers to create buzz and entice them to order copies. At Writer's Block you can browse through the many ARCs we receive every month and even take one home as long as you agree to write a review! Writer's Block meets every other Wednesday from 6-7:30 PM. Register today!

Staff Pick: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

From goodreads:

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas' life...

Pick It: For the jaw-dropping horror sequences! Anna’s story will haunt you (pun most certainly intended) for weeks after reading this book. She is one scary ghost – she truly earns her grisly nickname.

Skip it: If you don’t want to get caught up in another series. A sequel, Girl of Nightmares, comes out this summer.

Pair with: Carrie by Stephen King, another spine-tinglingly (yes, that’s a word) scary book about a girl dressed in blood.

Reviewed by: Melissa

 

Win Prizes for Reading This Summer!

It’s a simple process, really.

 Step 1: Read! Read anything – books, audiobooks, manga, graphic novels, magazines and newspapers, comic books, the backs of cereal boxes – whatever! 

Step 2: Track your minutes online (create an account by clicking on “Sign Me Up” on our Summer Reading homepage)

 Step 3: Wait to hear from us! For every 30 minutes you read, you’ll be entered into our weekly prize raffle, where you can win awesome prizes like gift cards, free books, and free DVD/video game rentals from the library. 

BONUS STEP: Submit book reviews online to be entered into the raffle even more times!

For more information, check out our summer flyer!

New Releases for Summer 2012: Series!

School's almost out and you need books to read this summer! Take a look at all of the new additions to your fave series that are being released in the next few months:

5/22: The Enchantress by Michael Scott
(Book #6, The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel)
6/5: Stunning by Sara Shepard
(Book #11, Pretty Little Liars)

6/12: Rapture by Lauren Kate
(Book #4, Fallen)

8/7: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
(Book #2, Anna Dressed in Blood)
8/14: The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan
(Companion to Heroes of Olympus)
7/31: Hide and Seek by Sara Shepard
(Book #4, The Lying Game)

7/10: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer
(Book #8, Artemis Fowl)
8/14: UnWholly by Neal Shusterman
(sequel to Unwind)
8/14: The Kill Order by James Dashner
(prequel to The Maze Runner)

Mark your calendars! You're gonna be busy this summer :P

Comic-Con Highlights!

Last weekend was our first ever CHPL Comic-Con and not to toot our own horns, but IT WAS AWESOME. We had a great turnout and we hope everyone who came enjoyed themselves as much as we did!

Thanks to all our vendors, volunteers, and all who just showed up to join in on the fun!

Teen Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Vee has narcolepsy. Or at least that's the clinical term. In reality, when she has one of her "episodes," she doesn't just pass out. She slips into someone else's body and sees the world from their eyes. That's how she knows that her sister's best friend's suicide isn't a suicide. Because she was in the murderer's body when it happened. The only problem is Vee is the only one who knows.

Slide is a book worth reading if you're into paranormal/sci-fi type novels. The characters are likeable and the writing is engaging. The only problem I had with the book was that it was a little far-fetched, even for a sci-fi novel. However, if realistic plot elements are not a requirement for you, and if you enjoy strong female characters, put Slide on your reading list.

Rating: 3 out of 5, "a good read."

Reviewed by: Maya J, Age 15.

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This teen reviewer was able to read Slide months before it was released to the public! Want to read and review books before they even hit the shelves? Introducing the new Writer's Block ARC Review program!

ARCs (or Advance Reader Copies) are preview editions of soon-to-be-released books, which publishers send to libraries and reviewers to create buzz and entice them to order copies. At Writer's Block you can browse through the many ARCs we receive every month and even take one home as long as you agree to write a review! Writer's Block meets every other Wednesday from 6-7:30 PM. Register today!