Book Review: Team Human

Team Human
By Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
****

“Also, vampires don't eat food. You never get to eat chocolate again. Ever. I'd rather die.”
 

Mel lives in New Whitby, a town founded by vampires. But Mel isn't a vampire, doesn't know any vampires, and has no desire to change either. And then a vampire comes to her school, dressed in a ridiculous astronaut-type suit to keep off the sun, and her BFF promptly falls in love with him. And once Cathy makes up her mind about something, she's not going to change it...not that Mel won't fight tooth and nail to break them up.

Mel is a great character - she loves her friends and will do anything for them. She believes she's the caretaker of their little group and is determined to set all things to rights (not considering that she may, in fact, be in the wrong). She's snarky and strong, and in the end, supports her friends and realizes that she can't make choices for them.

I really enjoyed this book. It's got mystery, snark, relationship issues, and great friendships. I highly recommend it!

Banned Books Week - Meg-A-Rae Style: Read the FORBIDDEN

It's Banned Books Week and we're celebrating in style! My coworker and friend, the MEGA-fantastic Miss Meg, and I have been working hard for this week and we have a lot to offer our patrons!

With the help of some of our friends and teens, we've wrapped about 50 books that have been banned, censored, and challenged over the years. Inside each book is a card explaining why the book was challenged and a bookmark proclaiming "Join the Banned!" We finished the whole shebang off with caution tape. When you come to the library, make sure to grab one of these books - you won't know what's inside until you leave the library, but it's a fun surprise - like Christmas!

The Teen/Tween/Youth books are wrapped in red.

Notice the FORBIDDEN in the background.

We firmly believe in everyones Freedom To Read, as well as Intellectual Freedom, which is why we think Banned Books Week is so important! Find out more about MPL's Banned Books Week in our MEGA-awesome Meg-A-Rae Episode! One of the books I talk about is John Green's Looking for Alaska: you can find my full review here.

 

Then watch our hi-larious dramatic reading of the first two books in Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson series:

Please ignore my facial expressions in both of these video screenshots. They are...unfortunate.

 

Make sure to stop by and celebrate with us this week and read the FORBIDDEN! If you'd like more information about Banned Books Week and books that have been banned or censored, check out the American Library Associations page on Banned Books Week! (The PDF links at the bottom will take you to the banned and censored books from 2004-2011.) Or come to the Teen Room (the YAZ) at the library and take a look at our booklist binder for these titles!

Meg-A-Rae Episode 6: A Very Special "Talk Like A Pirate" Episode

On this week's episode of Meg-A-Rae, Meg and I discuss piratey things! We are also lucky to have a surprise visit from MPL's own Sammy the Toucan, who fully embraces the pirating look, if not lifestyle.

In addition to buckling swashes, we also review the Pirate King and Bloody Jack!

Join us for our next episode about Banned Books Week!

Meg-A-Rae Episode 5: A Very Heartfelt Episode

On this week's episode of Meg-A-Rae, Meg and I discuss (and fight) vampires! Mooresville Public Library was fortunate enough to have IU Health Morgan Hospital bring their giant interactive heart to our facility! It was super exciting; too bad the giant heart drew in an undesirable element. Good thing Meg and I are fully prepared and capable librarians and we were able to take care of the problem!

In addition to fighting off the fanged menace, we also review the Sookie Stackhouse series and Team Human!

Join us next week for a Very Special Sammy Takeover Episode!

Audio Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)
By Laini Taylor
Narrated by Khristine Hvam
****
(I downloaded this title for free from the www.audiobooksync.com summer reading program.)

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.” 

Karou is a teenager who attends a school for the arts in Prague. She has blue hair and tattoos, most obvious of which are the eyes on each palm and "true" and "story" on each wrist. She's also a brilliant artist and her friends love to look at her sketch book for the fantastic creatures she draws there. In addition to the beautiful drawings, Karou tells stories of the different "characters." What her friends don't know is that these creatures are real, and they're Karou's family.

Karou's family are Chimera - creatures made up of different animal parts (kinda like the Sphinx). Unbeknownst to Karou, her family has been fighting a war for a century; a war against the angels.

Enter Akiva, a beautiful angel who comes to earth to close the portals Karou's family uses to access our world. Akiva meets Karou and the sparks (and flames) fly. They fall in love, but there's far more to their story than either could possibly guess.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a mesmerizing mix of love and hate, peace and war, romance and tragedy. Taylor has fused together two worlds in a fascinating and believable way and Hvam narrates it beautifully. And just when you have hope that everything will work out for our star-crossed lovers, Taylor comes along and sucker punches you. Thank heaven's there's a sequel! (It'll be available in 2 months.)

This is a great story for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance, mythology, or stories that take place in foreign locales. Highly recommended.

P.S. Check out this book trailer I did for Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?







I'm currently reading:

Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1), by Heather Brewer
The Lost Code (The Atlanteans #1), by Kevin Emerson

I recently finished:

I've been reading up a storm (and it's great)! I've read a number of books in the last month, some already reviewed, some still waiting for my brain to catch up and able to write. I'll start with the "Already Reviewed"

Rot & Ruin (Benny Imura #1), by Jonathan Maberry. I thought this was a great book, despite my anti-zombie book feelings. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loved the teens-fighting-against-a-world-gone-wrong aspect of The Hunger Games. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and that's mainly because of the previously mentioned zombie book feelings.

Polterguys (Volume 1), by Lauriann Uy (Graphic Novel). This was pretty good. I think it has a lot of potential, it just needs a bit more meat to the story. 3 out of 5 stars.

Hourglass (Hourglass #1), by Myra McEntire. I really liked this one. It's very Timey-Wimey (and if you don't know that reference, I feel very sorry for you). My friend and co-worker, Meg, and I talk about this book and all things Timey-Wimey in our exciting new video blog: Meg-A-Rae! We are VERY silly, but we have a ton of fun! 4 out of 5 stars.

Click on the title links for my full book reviews!

I've also finished, but haven't had a chance to review:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. I listened to the audio version of this book, and both the story and the reading was really good. It was an interesting world to lose myself in for a few days, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. I'm actually thinking of dressing as Karou (the heroine) for Halloween! Check out my book trailer here. 4 out of 5 stars.

Team Human, by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. Oooh, I LOVED this one! Full of snark! Mel is trying to keep her friend from dating a vampire (and isn't having a lot of luck). I'll be reviewing this soon, but I'll also be talking about it in our next Meg-A-Rae episode! So much win! 5 out of 5 stars!

What I'll read next:

I'm not really sure. There are some sequels I want to read, like Hourglass #2, plus several other new books coming through the library. So many books, so little time...

Meg-A-Rae Episode 4: A Very Special Fairy Tale Episode

In this installment of Meg-A-Rae, Meg and I discuss Fairy Tales. Meg reviews Grimm's Fairy Tales, whilst I review Neil Gaiman's Stardust!

Next Up: A Very Special Heartfelt Episode

Meg-A-Rae Episode 3: A Very VERY Special Timey Wimey Episode

In this installment of Meg-A-Rae, Meg and I are joined by our very special guests Olivia and Miss Kate! We discuss all things Doctor Who in an awesome round table, then Meg and I talk time travel stories before we're interupted by some unexpected guests. Meg reviews Deborah Harkness' Discovery of Witches and it's sequel, Shadow of Night, whilst I review Hourglass by Myra McEntire. This episode is long, but a lot of fun!

 

 

Next Up: A Very Special Fairy Tale Episode!

Meg-A-Rae Episode 2: The Meg-A-Rae Invasion

Welcome to Episode 2 of Meg-A-Rae! We discuss some new things in the library, fall programming, tea, and books!

Next Up: A Very VERY Special Timey Wimey Episode!

Introducing Meg-A-Rae! Meg-A-Rae Episode 1

I am very excited to announce that Miss Meghan and I have started a video blog! She's Meg, and I'm Rae, and together we are Meg-A-Rae!!! We talk about all kinds of things, but mostly tea, Doctor Who, and book reviews. Meg focuses on the Adult titles, whilst I discuss teen titles. Check out our first video here:

We've completed four videos as of today, but we'll be filming again tomorrow! Keep an eye out for our latest installments!