Teen Read Week 2012!

Are you a teen? Did you know it's Teen Read Week? Teen Read Week started in 1998 and is celebrated annually the third week of October (this year it's October 14-20). It encourages you to read for the fun of it and every year it has a different theme. It's important to celebrate Teen Read Week because, even though there are lots of really great entertainment options out there, reading for fun is free, entertaining, and proven to help improve test scores!

This year's theme is It Came From The Library! It can be interpreted however you want, but why not check out some of these popular and wonderful YA books that are both spooky and mysterious?

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Horowitz Horror: Stories You'll Wish You'd Never Read by Anthony Horowitz

Oddest of All: Stories by Bruce Coville

Skeleton Creek: [Ryan's Journal] by Patrick Carman 

Wolf Rider by Avi

And be sure to click here to vote for the theme of Teen Read Week 2013! You have the power to choose!

2011 Teen Read Week "Choose Our Next Book" Results

Teen Read Week took place a few short months ago and following last year's successful "Choose Our Next Book" challenge, we decided to do it again.  We asked you to give the staff titles that YOU thought WE should read.  Staff members looked at the list and got started reading your recommendations!  Below are the results on a scale of 1-5. (1= No good; 2= Eh; 3=Good; 4=Great; and 5=The Best)

Maximum Ride #1: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Summary: After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "bird kids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.  Rating: 2 (The reader wished the characters would have grown more throughout the story, instead of making the same mistakes over and over again.)

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Summary: After a night of indiscriminate partying, Rachel gets close to her friend's fiance and is consumed with guilt, until the intensity of her feelings forces her to make a difficult choice.  Rating: 2.5 (The reader thought the content was a bit fluffy, but definitely mature- it was definitely for an older reader.)

Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
Summary: After winning a coveted spot on the high school cheerleading squad, 16 year old newcomer, Jess Parker, is still treated as an "outsider" by the majority of the student body thanks to the harassment campaign led by the popular cheerleader she displaced.  Rating: 2 (The reader felt like she has read too many stories similar to this one, but says that if you like this type of story you'll probably love this book.)

Heroes of Olympus #1: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn they are demi-gods, and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself. Rating: 4 (The reader found great pleasure in returning to the familiar world of Camp Half-Blood, revisiting some favorite characters and meeting new ones.  The action was intriguing as always!)

Heroes of Olympus #2: Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Summary: Demi-god Percy Jackson, still with no memory, and his new friends from Camp go on a quest to free Death, but their bigger task is to unite the Greek and Roman camps so that the Prophecy of Seven can be fulfilled.  Rating: 4 (The reader liked this book a lot and can't wait to read more in the series.)

Crash by Jerry Spinelli
Summary: Seventh grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been uncomfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.  Rating: 3.5 (The reader thought this story was very realistic and liked the ending very much.)

Clique #2: Best Friends for Never by Lisi Harrison
Summary: A bet about wardrobes between the wealthy Massie and the middle-class Claire results in a testing of old friendships, a forging of new ones, and a change for the student body at Octavian County Day School.  Rating: 4 (The reader liked this book because the story was very relevant to what kids are going through in their own everyday lives.)

A Boy at War by Harry Mazer
Summary: While fishing with his friends off Honolulu on December 7, 1941, teenaged Adam is caught in the midst of the Japanese attack and through the chaos of the subsequent days tries to find his father, a naval officier who was serving on the U.S.S. Arizona when the bombs fell.  Rating: 5 (The reader thought this book was a very realistic and personal snapshot of the events from that period in history.)

Thank you to all the teens who gave us recommendations and all the staff members who took the time to read these books and give their opinions.  This was a fun project!  Look for it again next October during our annual Teen Read Week celebrations!

Teen Read Week 2011

Teen Read Week officially starts on Saturday! It runs October 16th through 22nd, and this year's theme is "Picture It @ Your Library", encouraging you to read graphic novels and other creative or illustrated books just for the fun of it!

Teen Read Week started in 1998. Libraries across the world celebrate by encouraging teens to read for pleasure and (by using their library) to read for free.

It's important to celebrate Teen Read Week because, even though there are lots of other really great entertainment options out there, reading for fun is free, entertaining, and proven to help improve test scores.

Visit the library for a few awesome graphic novels, or put one or two of these great ones on hold:

The Eternal Smile: Three Stories by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

Maus I : A Survivor's Tale : My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Miki Falls: Book 1, Spring by Mark Crilley

Mail Order Ninja: Vol. 1 by Joshua Elder

Kitchen Princess 1 art by Natsumi Ando, story by Miyuki Kobayashi, translated by Satsuki Yamashito, adapted by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life. Vol. 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Jellaby by Kean Soo

Dramacon Vol. 1-3 by Svetlana Chmakova

Plus!!!

If you check out any book during Teen Read Week, you'll automatically get... (drum roll please)... a free book + CANDY + a raffle ticket to win one of the lovely prizes below:


(One per teen, per day)

Enjoy reading for the fun of it!

Teen Read Week Review Results

Unwind by Neil Shusterman

Recommended by: Daniel Nasta

Reaction by: Catherine Berntsen, Librarian

Here's the official summary from the library catalog:
In a future world where those between the ages of 13 and 18 can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs- and, perhaps, save their own lives. 

Here are my thoughts:

With subject descriptions such as: genetic engineering, revolutionaries, survival, abortion, bioethics, terrorism, organ harvesting, and dystopia--  I knew from the start that the book Unwind was going to be thought-provoking… and, boy, was I right!  This book puts a face to the concept of medical progress and makes you examine at what point are we are crossing the line into scary territory. 

Extremely deep and at times unnerving, this book is not at all for the faint of heart.  There are some heavy-hitting and horrifying concepts presented here- one scene in particular (where we witness an “unwinding”) I know will stay with me for a very long time.   But even though the story is deep, there is an overall feeling of hope as well. 

It made me think about the complexity of life: how there is always two sides to every story or issue and how we all are capable of even having two sides within ourselves.   All of the classic story-telling devices are here:  Good vs. evil; monster vs. hero; right vs. wrong; theory vs. practice; myth vs. reality- but I think I enjoyed this book in particular because the questions are not presented in an overbearing way.   I always appreciate a book that makes me explore what I believe in and/or where I stand on issues, whether they are current or in the not-too-distant future.    All of this was wrapped up in a suspenseful plot with well-drawn characters.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of science fiction.

Thank you, Daniel, for recommending this book…  I’m so glad I read it.  

Teen Read Week Review Results

This past October, during our celebration of Teen Read Week, we asked you to recommend a book to the library staff.  The idea behind this was that adults are always telling you what you should read, whether it's a school assignment, or for a library program, or just a book we think you'd love.  We recognize that there are books that you read that may not be on our adult radar.  So, we asked you: What do you think we should read?  We got 19 responses of very good titles!   So we put the list out to the whole library staff and asked people to choose a title.  In the next few months, as we finish reading our selections, we will be posting our thoughts on what we read.

Here are the first two book reactions:

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Recommended by Christine Phelan

Reaction by: Kristen Brewi, Librarian
Hunger Games, Hunger Games, Hunger Games... what can I say about a book that pits 24 teenagers against each other in a challenge to the death?  I found that I both liked and disliked this book.  I rooted for the 16-year-old main character, Katniss, and was never disappointed with her quick thinking that seemed to save her time and time again, but secretly I was rooting for Peeta to win it all!  I couldn't help but fall in love with Peeta!  His intentions weren't always clear but that just made him more mysterious... and more dangerous!  The twists and turns, and sometimes brutal violence of the book kept me turning the pages... always wondering what could possibly happen next!  And although I didn't love the book, I am intrigued enough to continue reading the series.  In fact, as soon as I finished the book, I already had the second book, "Catching Fire," on hold!

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Recommended by: Jaclyn Kolsen

Reaction by: Andrew Salomon, Librarian
Milkweed was an excellent book.  Although the Holocaust is a very sad topic, Jerry Spinelli tells a tale of a young boy who lived through this very tough time and was able to help many people along the way.  Through his adventures sneaking out of the ghetto at night, Misha feeds many people who were otherwise starving for food.  Unfortunately, however, many of his loved ones pass away during the ordeal, along with many other Jewish people.  Misha learns an important lesson, however, that loved ones are always with us in our memories.  Ripe with many true details about the Holocaust, this historical fiction tale makes the reader feel as though they have a sneak peek into a very difficult but historically important time period.  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction, the Holocaust, or anyone looking to read a good book about a boy who grew up without many of the advantages most of us take for granted today.

Teens' Top Ten- Place your Vote Now!

 Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, sponsored by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association, where teens across America nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year! 

Voting is open Aug. 23 through Sept. 17, 2010. Winners will be announced in a webcast at www.ala.org/teenstopten during Teen Read Week, Oct. 17-23. 

Check out the list of nominees and place your vote for your favorite title!

Teen Read Week Raffle Winners!

Congratulations to all of our 2009 Teen Read Week raffle winners: Katelyn Moss, Erika Seeger, Varun Mehta, Casey Johnsen, Heather Hoeffner and Julia Castello.  And thanks to all the teens who participated by checking out books all week long... keep on reading everyone!!

Teen Read Week 2009

Celebrate "Teen Read Week" at the Hauppauge Public Library!

As you know, we always encourage teens to read... it's kind of what we do here at the library. But from Sunday, October 18th - Saturday, October 24th we will be encouraging you with gifts!

Every October, we join forces with libraries across America in an organized fashion to celebrate teens and the act of reading. Every day this week, after you check out an item from the circulation desk, head on over to the reference desk to get a free book of your choice. We have a cart full of books to choose from! If you also have a Hauppauge Library card, in addition to the free book you will be entered into a raffle for either a Borders gift card or an I-tunes gift card- your choice! (There is a limit of one free book and one raffle ticket per teen/ per day.)

And check out this cool bit of info: our librarian Ms. Tracy has contacted numerous Young Adult authors and asked them to answer one question for us at the Hauppauge Library. The question: what are you currently reading? Check this blog all week long to hear what some of your favorite authors are reading- and while you're at it, tell us what YOU'RE reading too! We'd love to know!

It seems only fair to let you know what I'm reading right now, right? Well I can't. Seriously... I've been sworn to secrecy. I'm reading one of the three books that are going to be battled in the Advanced Division Battle of the Books (for high-schoolers) this coming Spring. The titles are going to be announced to the public on December 1st and I can't wait cause I'm bursting at the seems here wanting to tell people about these books!!! Trust me, they are good!! I've said too much already.