Eleven First Quarter Favorites

Posted here are my picks for favorite books read so far in 2013, as of March 31.  Out of the 42 I have read, eleven are now in the running for my top ten reads of 2013.  If I had to put them in order of favorites from 1 to 11, the four realistic fiction titles would be wrestling for top spot.  This is a surprise since although I like realistic fiction it is not my favorite genre.  So, if realistic fiction is not usually your favorite genre too, you might consider giving one of these a try.  If you read something on this list, I would love to hear your opinion.  Titles are linked to the Library's online catalog.

HISTORICAL FICTION

A Time of Miracles, by Anne-Laure Bondoux, 2012.

In the early 1990s, a boy with a mysterious past and the woman who cares for him endure a five-year journey across the war-torn Caucasus and Europe, weathering hardships and welcoming unforgettable encounters with other refugees searching for a better life.

HISTORICAL FANTASY

Dodger, by Terry Pratchett, 2012.

In an alternative version of Victorian London, a 17-year-old Dodger, a cunning and cheeky street urchin, unexpectedly rises in life when he saves a mysterious girl, meets Charles Dickens, and unintentionally puts a stop to the murders of Sweeney Todd.

Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger, 2013.

In an alternate England of 1851, spirited 14-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is surprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage.

HISTORICAL MYSTERY

Out of the Easy, by Ruta Sepetys, 2013.   Josie, the 17-year-old daughter of a French Quarter prostitute, is striving to escape 1950 New Orleans and enroll at prestigious Smith College when she becomes entangled in a murder investigation.

REALISTIC FICTION

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell, 2013.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz, 2012.  15-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

My Sister Lives on theMantelpiece, by Annabel Pitcher, 2012.

With his family still grieving over his sister's death in a terrorist bombing seven years earlier, twelve-year-old Jamie is far more interested in his cat, Roger, his birthday Spiderman T-shirt, and keeping his new Muslim friend Sunya a secret from his father.

Now is the Time for Running, by Michael Williams, 2011.

When soldiers attack a small village in Zimbabwe, Deo goes on the run with Innocent, his older, mentally disabled brother, carrying little but a leather soccer ball filled with money, and after facing prejudice, poverty, and tragedy, it is in soccer that Deo finds renewed hope.

SCIENCE FICTION

Homeland, by Cory Doctorow, 2013.  (sequel to Little Brother, 2008)

When Marcus, once called M1k3y, receives a thumb drive containing evidence of corporate and governmental treachery, his job, fame, family, and well-being, as well as his reform-minded employer's election campaign, are all endangered.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, 2012.
Immersing himself in a mid-twenty-first-century technological virtual utopia to escape an ugly real world of famine, poverty, and disease, Wade Watts joins an increasingly violent effort to solve a series of puzzles by the virtual world's creator.

S U S P E N S E

How to Lead a Life of Crime, by Kirsten Miller, 2013.

A teenage pickpocket, haunted by the ghost of his brother killed by his father, is recruited for Mandel Academy, a school for criminals where only one student survives each semester.

Teen Think Tank Enters 2013 Teen Video Challenge

For the second year the Library's teen advisory board, the Teen Think Tank, has entered the Teen Video Challenge contest sponsored by the Collaborative Summer Library Program.  The challenge is to interpret the 2013 teen summer reading slogan: Beneath the Surface, with a 30 to 90 second video.  Best of luck Teen Think Tank!

Ideas for the video were generated by the Teen Think Tank over a couple of meetings. The script for the video was written by Josh Hunt.  The video was directed and edited by Nathan Mente.  The actors are: Ella Hunt, Larissa Louissaint, Jeffrey Mente, Chris Shepard, and Nate Shepard.  I know there were a couple of "visions" cut from the contest version so that it would conform to the time limit.  Maybe there is hope for an extended version or Director's cut? 

To see other contest entries from Massachusetts, go to YouTube and search: 2013-TVC-MA. Leave off the state abbreviation to see entries from around the country.

3rd Annual Teen Poetry Contest

Put on your metaphorical thinking caps and observation specs, the 3rd annual Teen Poetry Contest starts February 1, and ends on April 30th. The Library's teen advisory board, the Teen Think Tank, voted on the theme for this year's teen poetry contest at their November meeting.  The result is you have two themes to choose from when you write your poem(s) for the 2013 poetry contest: Nature or Animals.  Please read the contest rules carefully on this blog's Poetry page.  The link for submitting your poem online is also on the Poetry page.
I lived in England for three years, and during two of those years I attended speech training classes at Peredur Centre for the Arts where I was required to memorize and recite many poems and stories.  Two of my favorite poems were Samuel Taylor Coleridge's (1772-1834) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (I memorized a section of this for a group performance.), and Kubla Khan (used as a class exercise).  Following are three quotes attributed to Coleridge to help you on your way to writing this year's winning poem.

Coleridge in 1799 from a pastel by an unknown German artist:

“A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine nature accurately, but write from recollection, and trust more to the imagination than the memory.” ―Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Specimens of the Table Talk of S.T. Coleridge (1835).

“What if you slept, and what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if in your dreams you went to heaven and there you plucked a strange and beautiful flower, and what if when you awoke you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?” -attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
 
"I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose = words in their best order, poetry = the best words in the best order." -attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Make an Origami Bookmark for Valentine's Day

Recently I taught myself to make an origami heart bookmark, and now I can teach you.  I have purchased fancy origami paper (thank you Friends of the Library) for you to choose from, and there will also be heart stickers for the finishing touch.  Or, you may want to cut out a square of white paper then draw/decorate or write a message on the paper before folding.  Or, you could strategically cut a square from a magazine page and then fold.  Stop by the library on Wednesday afternoon the day before Valentine's Day to make a few of these nifty bookmarks to give on Valentine's Day.

Happy New Year - Funny Stories

Check out one of the titles listed below, and start 2013 with a chortle, a giggle, a chuckle, a laugh, or a smile.  This past weekend I wrapped up 2012 with the Sons of the 613, by Michael Rubens.  This darkly humorous, action-packed story made me realize that I needed to create a funny stories book list for this blog.  Sons of the 613 is a story that will have you laughing and crying, and I can't think of too many other books that have done that in the past year besides John Green's, The Fault in Our Stars.

Sons of the 613, by Michael Rubens, 2012.

Isaac is struggling to prepare for his Bar Mitzvah when his older brother Josh, a self-proclaimed "Super Jew" and undefeated wrestler, forces him into a quest to become a man by shooting a gun, riding a motorcycle, falling in love, and more.  Realistic Fiction.

Humorous Fiction

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, 1989.  Chronicles the off-beat and occasionally extraterrestrial journeys, notions, and acquaintances of galactic traveler Arthur Dent.  Science Fiction; Witty; Offbeat; Adult books for Young Adults.  BBC Radio audio book version; Book to Movie.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, 2007.  Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.  Realistic fiction; Native American fiction; Upbeat; Diary format.  Audio book read by the author.

Burger Wuss, by M. T. Anderson, 1999.  Hoping to lose his loser image, Anthony plans revenge on a bully which results in a war between two competing fast food restaurants, Burger Queen and O'Dermott's.  Realistic Fiction.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, 2011.  Immersing himself in a mid-twenty-first-century technological virtual utopia to escape an ugly real world of famine, poverty, and disease, Wade Watts joins an increasingly violent effort to solve a series of puzzles by the virtual world's creator. Science Fiction; Adult books for Young Adults; Offbeat; First person narrative.

Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford, 2009.  Awkward freshman Will Carter endures many painful moments during his first year of high school before realizing that nothing good comes easily, focus is everything, and the payoff is usually incredible.  Realistic Fiction; First person narrative; First book in trilogy.

Deadline, by Chris Crutcher, 2007.  Given the medical diagnosis of one year to live, high school senior Ben Wolf decides to fulfill his greatest fantasies, ponders his life's purpose and legacy, and converses through dreams with a spiritual guide known as "Hey-Soos.".  Realistic Fiction; Sport Fiction; Bittersweet; First person narrative.

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos, 2011.  12-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help a neighbor with an unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.  Autobiographical; Gross.  Audio book read by the Author.

King of the Screwups, by Kelly L. Going, 2009.  After getting in trouble yet again, popular high school senior Liam, who never seems to live up to his wealthy father's expectations, is sent to live in a trailer park with his gay "glam-rocker" uncle.  Realistic Fiction; GLBT Fiction.

Son of the Mob, by Gordon Korman, 2002.  Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.  Realistic Fiction; Fast-paced; First book of two.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar, 2005. While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.  Realistic Fiction; Angst-filled.

Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, 2006.  After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.  Realistic Fiction; Sports Fiction; First person narrative; First book in trilogy.

Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett: Color of Magic, published in 1983, is the first book in this 34 book series.  A slightly disorganized and somewhat naive interplanetary tourist named Twoflower joins up with a bumbling wizard and embarks on a chaotic voyage through a world filled with monsters and dragons, heroes and knaves.  Fantasy fiction; satirical humor.

Tiffany Aching Discworld series by Terry Pratchett: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, published in 2001, is the first book in this 5 book series.  A talking cat, intelligent rats, and a strange boy cooperate in a Pied Piper scam until they try to con the wrong town and are confronted by a deadly evil rat king.  Fantasy fiction.

Guys Read: Funny Business, edited by Jon Scieszka, 2010.  A collection of humorous stories featuring a teenaged mummy, a homicidal turkey, and the world's largest pool of chocolate milk.  Short stories.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, by Louise Rennison, 2000.  The humorous journal of a year in the life of a 14-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie.   Realistic Fiction; Diary format; Book to Movie; Angst-filled; First book in series.

It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, 2006.  A humorous account of a New York City teenager's battle with depression and his time spent in a psychiatric hospital.  Realistic Fiction; Book to Movie.

Humorous Non-Fiction

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous, by Georgia Bragg, 2011.  A look at the deaths of 19 famous people throughout history and the circumstances surrounding those deaths.  Biographies; Offbeat; Journalistic.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Mostly True Stories of Growing Up, by Jon Scieszka, 2008.  Babysitting mishaps, lazy summer days by the lake, and silly childhood pranks are remembered in this amusing memoir of the life of an adventurous young boy growing up in a family with six brothers.  Autobiography; Fast-paced. 

Smile, by Raina Telgemeier, 2010.  An autobiography in graphic novel format describes how the author lost two of her front teeth in an accident when she was twelve, and her subsequent struggles with various corrective dental techniques throughout adolescence.  Autobiography; Angst-filled.

CakeWrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong, by Jen Yates, 2009.  Presents pictures of and commentary on cakes with mistakes, organized into such categories as literary lols, beyond bizarre, and wedding wrecks.

Totally MAD: 60 Years of Humor, Satire, Stupidity and Stupidity, 2012.  Introduction from Stephen Colbert.  Collects humorous articles from the past six decades of MAD Magazine, including classics from "Spy vs. Spy" and the "Fundalini Pages," in a volume that includes reproductions of twelve iconic cover prints.  Satire.

Holy smokes Batman, it’s a Puffin’ Lizard!

Merlin's Dragon, by T. A. Barron, 2008.  Basil, a small, flying lizard who is searching for others like himself, discovers that there is more to him than he knows, as he becomes engaged in Avalon's great war between the evil Rhita Gawr and the forces of good.  Book 1 in Merlin's Dragon trilogy.

Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey, 2007.  In 1145 A.D., as foretold by Merlin, 14-year-old Rosalind, who will be the 21st Pendragon Queen of Wilde Island, has much to accomplish to fulfill her destiny, while hiding from her people the dragon's claw she was born with that reflects only one of her mother's dark secrets.

Dragonswood, by Janet Lee Carey, 2008.  In 1192 A.D. on Wilde Island, Tess, the daughter of a cruel blacksmith, is accused of witchcraft and must flee. She meets the enigmatic warden of Dragonswood, who offers her shelter, and does not realize that he too harbors a secret that may finally bring about peace among the races of dragon, human, and fairy.

The Fire Within, by Chris D'Lacey, 2005.  When college student David Rain rents a room in an unusual boardinghouse full of clay dragons, he has no idea that they, along with some lively squirrels, will help jump start his writing career.  Book 1 in Last Dragon Chronicles

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde, 2012. 
As magic fades from the world, Jennifer Strange is having trouble keeping her magician employment agency business afloat, until she begins having visions that foretell the death of the last dragon and the coming of Big Magic.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, by Alison Goodman, 2008.  Eon has disguised herself as a boy in order to study Dragon Magic and become a Dragoneye, one of a select group that forms a conduit to the power of energy dragons, but if the secret of her sex comes out, she will be killed.
 
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman, 2012.  In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Dark Lord of Derkholm, by Diana Wynne Jones, 1998.  Derk, an unconventional wizard, and his magical family become involved in a plan to put a stop to the devastating tours of their world arranged by the tyrannical Mr. Chesney.



Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey, 1968. At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for safety and only one Weyr trains the creatures and their riders, the Red Star approaches Pern, threatening it with disaster. Book 1 in Dragonriders of Pern

The Dragons of Darkness, by Antonia Michaelis, 2010. Two boys from very different backgrounds are thrown together by magic, mayhem, and a common foe as they battle deadly dragons in the wilderness of Nepal. (Translated from the German.)

 
The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley, 1984.  Aerin, with the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the blue sword, wins the birthright due her as the daughter of the Damarian king and a witchwoman of the mysterious, demon-haunted North.

Fireborne, by Rosaria Munda, 2019. When a brutal revolution opens dragonrider classes to everyone, two orphans from very different backgrounds become rising stars in a new regime that is challenged by violent survivors of the former government. First book in the Aurelian Cycle series.

Burn, by Patrick Ness, 2020. A story of revenge, redemption and dragons from the twice Carnegie Medal-winner Patrick Ness. "On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron Gas Station for the dragon he'd hired to help on the farm." This dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye.

A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1991. During a spell recalling the dead, the boy Sparrowhawk, a sorcerer's apprentice, unwittingly unleashes evil on the land. He grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world. Book 1 in Earthsea series.


Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, 2003.  In Alagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. Book 1 in Inheritance Cycle.

Dragonspell, by Donita K. Paul, 2004. When Kale, a slave girl, finds a dragon egg, she is freed and sent to the city of Vendala, but her journey there is interrupted when she becomes involved in an attempt to recover a meech dragon egg stolen by the evil wizard Risto.

Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce, 1992.  The mage Numair, the knight Alanna, and Queen Thayet enlist thirteen-year-old Daine's help to battle the dreadful immortal creatures that have recently begun to attack the kingdom of Tortall.  Book 1 in Immortals series.

Dealing with Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, 1990.  Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards who want to steal away the dragons' kingdom. Kazul's story!  Book 1 in Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

Dragon's Blood, by Jane Yolen, 2004.  Jakkin, a bond boy who works as a Keeper in a dragon nursery on the planet Austar IV, secretly trains a fighting pit dragon of his own in hopes of winning his freedom.  Book 1 in Pit Dragon Chronicles.