“I’m sorry. But you’re hurting my friend.”
What’s the story?
In Utero starts with a brief setup of a large nuclear-looking explosion in the middle of an Australian city then jumps to 12 years later where we meet our (almost) 12-year-old protagonist Hailey. While the cause remains something of a mystery people have moved on and Hailey is being dropped off at an abandoned mall, now housing a daycare, near the site of the explosion. Hailey is much older than most of the other members of the daycare and since the setting is a whole mall it’s pretty easy for her to slip off unnoticed. Which allows her to meet Jen. Jen appears to be an older teenager, but it quickly becomes apparent that Jen isn’t really human as she displays unusual powers while giving Hailey a tour of the decrepit mall. This culminates in Jen introducing Hailey to her real self, which is a car-sized egg. Jen invites Hailey into a sort of mental space, where a lot of the book takes place, and we learn more of Jen’s backstory and that she is not the only strange thing hiding out in the abandoned mall. Continue reading “Book Review: In Utero”
You are in good company. Board games are one of my all-time favorite ways to bond with people. There are so many options. Wanna learn more about someone? There’s a board game for that. Wanna play a game for the next 12 hours straight? There’s a board game for that too! Want something on butterflies? It exists. Dinosaurs? Yup. Zombie kittens? Absolutely. Pretty much anything you can think of has a board game. They’re also beneficial to the brain, which makes me feel good when playing them. If you can’t already tell, I really like board games. But not all games are created equal. For me to truly love a game, I have to want to keep existing with it past when I’m done playing. Essentially, I like games that stick with me in some way, whether because of the theme or the gameplay. Luckily for me, there are often books that can match the general vibe of a game, so I can stay immersed past the gaming experience itself. With these books, the experience of your favorite board games doesn’t have to end with the final move taken. Because of the sheer volume of games I want to talk about, we’re gonna start with just the classics. I couldn’t make a list about board games without talking about…
The most classic board game: Chess
Continue reading “If You Like Board Games – Part 1: The Classics”
At the Daniel Boone Regional Library, since the early winter months, you voted on 16 of our most popular young adult books.
Each week in March, teens voted to narrow down the list of contenders until a single title emerged as the Mid-Missouri teen book champion! Each round of voting entered teens for a chance for cool prizes and we’ll be announcing the winners of the drawing soon!
Thanks to all the teens, teachers, media specialists, and librarians who voted, created brackets and promoted the tournament!
And now without further ado: Continue reading “2024 March Madness Champion Announced!”
For whatever reason, all my books this time feature romances. I say whatever reason, but obviously “romantasy” is huge right now, and publishers are paying attention to that. So if you enjoy romance, read on! And if you don’t, I promise I’ll try to include non-romances next month.
“What Monstrous Gods” by Rosamund Hodge
This fantasy starts with Sleeping Beauty vibes, but quickly dives deep into political and divine machinations. 500 years ago, the sorcerer Ruven placed the entire royal family under an enchanted sleep, and raised up impenetrable briars around the palace. The royal family were the kingdom’s connection to the gods, so now the gods are silent and no longer working miracles through their human saints. Lia was born with magic, and has been raised to kill the sorcerer and break the enchantment. Once she does, the gods will be able to save the kingdom from plague and neighboring enemies. But Lia’s reward for saving the royal family is an unwanted betrothal, and the assignment to travel the kingdom and restore shrines to the old gods. As she travels with her prince fiancé, she learns that the gods aren’t at all what she expected, and that Ruven may have made the right choice in silencing them 500 years ago. At least, that’s what Ruven says, as he’s also traveling with them in the form of an annoyingly attractive ghost that only Lia can see. Lia navigates faith, obedience, lies and love in this compelling standalone fantasy. Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: March 2024”
In honor of Women’s History Month, I’m celebrating the growing genre of “Good for Her.”
Good for Her stories have a female main character that fights against an unjust power or system. She often subverts the expected rules to obtain her justice and doesn’t feel bad about it. Good for Her stories present systemically oppressed people with dreams come true. We love seeing a woman triumph, whether it’s against an abusive lover, a rigged contest, the school bullies, or the patriarchy. There is so much we can’t control in life, from the families we are born into to the potentially toxic teachers, classmates, and coworkers with whom we must get along in order to survive. This is why witnessing other unseen, underestimated, and exploited women win feels so, so good.
So if you’re craving some righteous, delicious feminine retribution, peruse the titles below.
And for some more options, including movies, check out this list. Continue reading “Good for Her”
I’m back! I’m all settled in at work (literally, I’ve got multiple blankets and a space heater), and I’m ready to tell you about some new books! As always, if you prefer reading digitally, check the catalog after the books’ publication date to see if we have the e-book or e-audio.
“A Tempest of Tea” by Hafsah Faizal
Arthie Casimir is an orphan who has created a criminal empire for herself based on secrets. She runs a teahouse that caters to wealthy humans by day, and at night becomes an illegal bloodhouse for vampires. She’s proud of her success, especially in a city where her brown skin closes more doors than it opens. But now someone is threatening her business, so naturally, she decides that a dangerous heist is the best solution. As she gathers her crew from the fringes of society, she prepares to steal information that will help her take down the corrupt and colonizing East Jeevant Company. With a setting reminiscent of Victorian London with some nods to Arthurian legend and the 1920s, this historical fantasy has been described as “Peaky Blinders” but with vampires. Continue reading “The Selector’s Selections: February 2024”
It’s finally here! It’s award season … for books! Early every year, the American Library Association (ALA) hosts its annual Youth Media Awards Press Conference. At this time, authors and illustrators of children’s and young adult literature are honored for the outstanding works they have published over the last year.
Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work. Below are the awards honoring distinguished books for young adult readers. Be sure to check out the book lists for the complete list of winners and honorees!
Continue reading “Award Season for Books – Youth Media Awards 2024”
Trust me, you are not the only one. There are lots of reasons to not be the biggest fan of the holiday. Personally, when I was in high school, I actively dreaded the day. For many reasons, I never really dated in my teens. I struggled a lot with my mental health. I wasn’t quite sure of my sexuality. And on top of it all, I went to a very small school and was very unpopular, so no one even wanted to date me. It was a sore spot on a regular day. On Valentine’s Day, it became an active wound. When I started seeing how based in consumerism the holiday is, my dislike turned to active hatred. If you feel like I did back then (some mix of unlovable and alone), first of all, you’re not alone and you are so so worthy of love, in whatever form fits you. Secondly, you might desperately want something NOT love-related during this frankly unpleasant period. Or you might want some examples of love that aren’t horrifically painful and awful. If either is the case, I’ve got you covered. Continue reading “If You Hate Valentine’s Day…”
Let’s start the new year by looking back at 2023! Last year Brianna recommended 27 books, but there were three that you all loved. Below are the top three books that were checked out in 2023. Here’s to 2024 and many more excellent books! Continue reading “Selector’s Selection: Top 3 in 2023”
You knew it was a pretty good blog post because it told you so in the title. It was right there at the top. Still, the title of a blog post would usually be something more along the lines of Top Fifteen Dog Breed and Drink Pairings! (number 1 is, of course, Keeshond and Masala Chai) Or is it More Environmentally Friendly to Zorb to Work? (important scientists are still searching for the answer to this one). How then could a blog post be so self-assured that it was “pretty good” if it didn’t even follow commonly accepted practices of blog posting? For that matter how could a blog post be self-assured? It doesn’t even have a self, it’s just ones and zeroes on a server somewhere.
Well, blog posts are like any form of writing, they have a narrative and therefore a narrator and sometimes a Narrator! A Narrator here means an active and eccentric or otherwise unusual voice that is often humorous in its absurdity. Most books and writing tell you what happens with possibly some nice simile or metaphor thrown in here and there. But more unusual forms of narration will happily insert their own voice, use mixed media, or might even outright lie to you. xopoɥʇɹoun ʎllɐǝɹ ʇǝƃ uɐɔ ʎǝɥʇ sǝɯᴉʇǝɯoS. By now it should be apparent that I love finding stories told in unique ways but here’s the thing, it’s hard to categorize them because they can be any genre. So, outside of lists people make, it can be hard to find them. You’ve peaked ahead, haven’t you? You can see there’s going to be a list of books with unusual narration. Well, let’s get to it then shall we? Continue reading “This Was a Pretty Good Blog Post”
