Teen ServicesMy money is on Lego!
Lego Versus Star Trek
March 19th, 2013Limit Volume One
March 18th, 2013
Limit Volume One by Keiko Suenobu
This manga shares the same themes as The Lord of the Flies. A high school class camp retreat goes wrong when their bus crashes in a remote part of Japan. Stranded, alone, and with most of their peers dead five students are left to survive.
Unfortunately all the social cliques have disintegrated. The girl everyone picked on is now armed with a scythe and is punishing the other four students. As each deal with the tragedy they have to compete also for favor with their new leader.
Will they survive or has the worst yet to come?
Limit is and interesting manga. It spends a lot of time unpacking cliques and what it feels to be in one as well as what it feels to be on the outside of the popular crowd. This emotional underpinning to the story makes it a great suspenseful read. Appropriate for ages 14 and up due to it’s intensity and theme of revenge.
Etiquette & Espionage
March 18th, 2013
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
Sophronia is more a tomboy than a young lady and young girls simply do not climb and explore in Victorian Age England. That’s why her mom wants to ship her off to finishing school. However the school that is interested in Sophronia wants her exactly for the talents she already has: getting into and out of trouble. This school is actually a training ground for lady spies. Sure they will learn to curtsy, but they will also learn to throw a knife. 
Gail Carriger is an excellent author and she brings a sharp wit to this alternative history/steampunk adventure story. It is set in the same universe as her Parasol Protectorate series (marketed for adults but appropriate for ages 14 and up). So expect vampires, werewolves, fashion, and all sorts of clockwork creatures.
I can’t recommend this book enough. Its funny, suspenseful, and such an enjoyable romp in a highly creative narrative world. If you need something different definitely give this new series a try! Its appropriate for all ages.
Beautiful Creatures
March 13th, 2013
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Ethan is just a normal boy who suffers from abnormal nightmares. He is always dreaming of a girl who he is trying to save. When he wakes up his dreams leave a physical manifestation, for instance he will be covered in mud or soaked in water. He tries to ignore what is going on but he cannot; since the girl in his dreams happens to be Lena, the new girl at school.
Soon they begin a romance together and Ethan learns that Lena is a caster, someone who has supernatural abilities. History calls them witches but casters prefer not to use that term. He also discovers that Lena will either become a dark caster or a light caster, evil or good, when she turns sixteen later n in the year.
Can Ethan and Lena uncover the mystery behind her caster family? And if they do will they survive?
Beautiful Creatures is a great Twilight alternative. It has everything that series doesn’t: plot and character development, as well as a better romance. However this book is long at times and drags a bit in the middle. If you need a new supernatural romance you can’t go wrong with this series. It is appropriate for ages 14 and up because of the intensity of angst filled love. 
Curses! Foiled Again
March 5th, 2013
Curses! Foiled Again by Jane Yolen & Mike Cavallaro
Aliera, the new defender of the Seelie Court, is back in a second adventure. Unfortunately there are trolls on the loose and they are after Aliera’s cousin Caroline; whom they soon kidnap.
Avery is back as well as Aliera’s protector and part time troll. Can his knowledge of Trolls help Aliera in saving her cousin?
And what about the weird old lady she met on the bus? Was it really Baba Yaga? Is it safe to make a deal with her to save Caroline?
Aliera will need to learn to trust her self and fully choose to be the Seelie’s defender in order to get out alive, rescue her cousin, and save the day.
Just as in the first book, Aliera’s adventures are appropriate for all ages and highly recommended for those who love comics and fantasy.