Blood Red Road

This book kept me hooked from beginning to end - I read it in 3 days, which for me, is saying something.

Blood Red Road.  By Moira Young.  Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011.  464 pages.  $17.99

Saba lives in the dried-up area of Silverlake.  When her beloved twin brother is kidnapped, Saba promises to rescue him.  And boy, does she ever.  This dystopian young adult novel keeps readers rooting for a very strong heroine.  The book is written in Saba's rough language, which further impresses upon the reader Saba's rough-around-the-edges and kick-butt personality.  With an impressive amount of obstacles to overcome (each situation gets worse and worse), Saba draws on her inner strength and keeps right on trucking in the midst of evil villains and beasts.  Throughout this book, I loved watching how Saba grows from a follower to a leader.  Also, Saba keeps collecting more and more unique friends/followers to add to her band of rescuers, and as it turns out, perhaps her loyal crew can save something a lot bigger than Saba's brother.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved The Hunger Games, and pretty much to everyone else.  

*5 stars

Kindle Fire

I keep hearing little bits of information about the new Kindle Fire coming out in November.  So finally I had to look it up on Amazon for myself.  I have been wanting a Kindle for a long time now - it would allow me to read NetGalley books and now library books too - but I also wanted color for picture books and graphic novels.  Could it be true that the new Kindle Fire would solve this problem?  It sure does look that way - however, the Kindle Fire looks pretty much like an iPad to me.  The only thing, as far as I can determine, that the iPad has which the Kindle Fire does not is a webcam.  Is this true?  Do you think the Kindle Fire is a worthwhile investment, or should I just save up for the iPad while I'm at it?

Author Jennifer Allison at AADL

Author of the Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator series, Jennifer Allison, will be at the Ann Arbor District Library (downtown branch) on Thursday, October 13 from 7-8pm.  Come join us!

New Printz blog

There are several blogs up and running in anticipation of the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz Awards.

Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog is hosted by School Library Journal, and discusses book contenders for the Newbery Medal. 

Calling Caldecott is hosted by The Horn Book, and discusses picture book contenders for the Caldecott Medal.

Someday My Printz Will Come is a new blog hosted by School Library Journal which discusses contenders for the Printz Award (which is given to the best young adult book of the year).

My to-read list grows ever longer.

Have you read any of the books under discussion?  Do you have an opinion on which books should win an award?  (I'm a personal fan of Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt for the Newbery.)

Rick Riordan will write series on Norse gods

For those of you who love Percy Jackson, and/or the Heroes of Olympus, and/or the Kane Chronicles, there is good news!  Rick Riordan is scheduled to write a new series on Norse gods!  (For those of you who haven't yet read Percy Jackson, you really should.)  Here's the article.

First Things

Welcome to YASL Things!  We're excited to get this blog rolling!  Take a quick look around.  The "Home" tab will be for any new items of importance - YASL events, important news in the youth librarian world, etc.  The "All About Books" tab will be for book reviews, character discussions, and anything relating to books.  Last but not least, the "All About Library Services" is for library programming, technology in schools, or anything relating to youth library services.  I believe this setup will allow us to be pretty flexible in terms of what we want to post, and where we can post it.  As the year progresses, we can always change things for the better.  Happy blogging!