TEEN READ WEEK October 19, 2009
Posted by Ms. Klemundt in Reading Recommendations.trackback
Teen Read Week, which is sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) started yesterday. TRW is a celebration of, you guessed it, teen reading! I hope you’ll check out the programs and events at your local public library. The Library Club here at Res has invited librarians from the Niles and Park Ridge public libraries to come and talk about some new books they are recommending.
This year’s theme for TRW is “Read Beyond Reality” and I thought I’d share a couple of books I’ve read recently that I thoroughly enjoyed and that fit with this theme.
Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman. This book is set in a future Australia where time-travel student Joss Aronson is teamed up with Makvel, an alien who has come to earth to study. It’s a kind of sci-fi thriller that works because Joss is such a great character. She’s smart and sarcastic and about to be expelled from yet another school, but she’s also courageous and kind-hearted and willing to risk everything for what is right.
The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Although this is the 3rd book in the series (following The Thief and The Queen of Attolia), you don’t need to have read the first two to enjoy this one. Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, having married the Queen of Attolia, is now installed as the King. But some in the Queen’s court and some neighbors and rivals of Attolia, are doing their best to get rid of him. I thoroughly enjoyed the humor in the interactions between the King and Queen and how that humor was a sign of the strength of their relationship. I also identified with Costis, a good and loyal foot soldier whose determination to do the right thing played a crucial role in support of his Queen and King against those who would sacrifice others for their own self-interest.
Feed by M.T. Anderson. Like Singing the Dogstar Blues, this book is set in the near future, a future where most people have computer implants in their brains — “The Feed.” Titus meets Violet at a party on the moon and the book traces their relationship as Violet’s “feed” begins to malfunction. It’s an intriguing, yet discomforting, story as you see how easily people give up thinking for themselves.
One that I haven’t read yet, but is on my list, is Terrier by Tamora Pierce. This is the first book in a new series that connects with Pierce’s character, Alanna. School Library Journal summarizes the plot as follows:
“Orphaned Beka Cooper, 16, is a trainee-a “Puppy”-in the Provost’s Guard. Having spent the first half of her life in Tortall’s slums, she is driven by the need to do what is right and see justice done. Paired with two of the best Guards, or “Dogs,” in the organization and aided by her own gifts of magic, Beka learns her job, makes friends with two mages and a thief, and uncovers two serial killers who prey on the poor and unnoticed.”
I’ve not read any Tamora Pierce and I’m looking forward to “reading beyond reality” in her new book!
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