The Teen Top Ten for 2009!

The votes are in and the winners have been announced! Drum roll please...

Number 10: Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. This is a great read for fantasy fans.

Number 9: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart. Contemporary fiction about a most unusual high school girl.

Number 8: Untamed, by P.C. & Kristin Cast. It's easy to get hooked on the House of Night series about a vampyre finishing school. Don't miss it!

Number 7: Wake, by Lisa McMann. Believe me, you don't want dreams like Janie gets in this book.

Number 6: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. How would you like to grow up in a graveyard, with ghosts for parents and friends? For a special treat, check out the audio version read by the author.

Number 5: Identical, by Ellen Hopkins. You can always count on this author to deliver a heavy-duty, gut-wrenching story. This one's no exception. Not for the faint of heart.

Number 4: City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare. If you liked the first in this series, City of Bones, you'll love this one. Our Teen Book Club gave it 5 stars!

Number 3: The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. You won't be able to put this one down, and luckily you can jump right into the sequel, Catching Fire. I loved these books!

Number 2: Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer. Enough said.

And the best book of 2009, according to teens across the country, is:

Number 1: Paper Towns, by John Green. This book would be most appreciated by high schoolers who have suffered through a difficult relationship. Serious and funny at the same time, it really makes you think.

There are some really great books here, so check one out the next time you're in the Library!

Make Your Voice Heard - Vote Now!

Now's the time to vote for your favorite book of 2009. Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year. Nominators are members of teen book groups in fifteen school and public libraries around the country. Teens across the country vote on their favorite titles each year. Readers ages twelve to eighteen can vote from August 24th through September 18th. Click on the image to start voting!


There are some great books on the list of nominations this year. It wouldn't surprise me if some of you have read most of them on the list! Make your voice heard, and vote today!

Back to School

Summer Reading Wrap-Up

We had great participation in the Teen Summer Reading Program, with lots of entries into the weekly drawings. Seven winners received gift certificates for iTunes, the Candy Store on Main Street, and Paradise Hamburgers and Ice Cream.


Our grand prize winner of a beautiful blue iPod Nano was Brigette! She wrote lots of book reviews and had a good number of entries into the drawings. See - it pays to read!

Our new Teen Book Club got off to an exciting start with The Hunger Games, a gripping story of survival. At our meeting to discuss the book, we had food that might have appeared in the book. It was great fun with a turnout of 10 teens! If you'd like to join the book club, contact me at 415-789-2665, ext. 238 or email me at jschafer@bel-tib-lib.org.


School Starts! I hope you all get the classes you want and the best teachers available. Stop by the Teen Lounge on Tuesdays after school for snacks, games, socializing, and, oh yeah, homework! Starts September 1st.

Welcome to Summer!

By now you should be falling into your summer routine – stay up late, get up later, eat, lounge around, shoot some hoops, eat, lounge around, eat some more, hang out with friends, eat, read a hot, fun book til 2 in the morning, and start all over again.


Or maybe you’re one of those teens that has camps, jobs, volunteer gigs, babysitting and a mom or dad that has signed you up for everything they can find to keep you from being in the first category.



In any case, I hope you are enjoying your summer and are looking for something to read. Now’s the time to get in those fun books that you didn’t have time for during the school year because you were reading the Odyssey, or Julius Caesar, or some other heavy-duty book for your English class.


We have lots happening at the Library this summer – get involved in the Summer Reading Program, where you can win gift certificates to The Candy Store on Main, Paradise Hamburgers & Ice Cream, and iTunes. Our grand prize drawing for an iPod Nano will be on August 7th. Check out how to enter the drawings.

Join our brand new Teen Book Club – for teens 6th grade through 12th grade who LOVE TO READ!

The Book Club is reading a goodie this month – The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. It’s one of those page-turners that you just can’t put down. Here are some other popular books to check out this summer:

Graceling - In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Project Sweet Life - When their fathers insist that they get summer jobs, three fifteen-year-old friends in Tacoma, Washington, dedicate their summer vacation to fooling their parents into thinking that they are working, which proves to be even harder than having real jobs would have been.

Generation Dead - When dead teenagers who have come back to life start showing up at her high school, Phoebe, a goth girl, becomes interested in the phenomenon, and when she starts dating a "living impaired" boy, they encounter prejudice, fear, and hatred.

Absolutely Maybe - When living with her mother, an alcoholic ex-beauty queen, becomes unbearable, almost seventeen-year-old Maybelline "Maybe" Chestnut runs away to California, where she finds work on a taco truck and tries to track down her birth father.

The Juvie Three - Gecko, Arjay, and Terence, all in trouble with the law, must find a way to keep their halfway house open in order to stay out of juvenile detention.

House of Night series - A vampyre series about Zoey Redbird and her trials and adventures at the House of Night school.

Mortal Instruments series - Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizzare world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.



If you're going to be a couch potato this summer, or if you're making the most of everything you can, don't forget to READ! And don’t forget to participate in the Summer Reading Program or the Teen Book Club!

Stop by any time to say hi and get help finding the perfect book.

Help Choose the Best Books of 2009

Impossible, Evermore, Identical, Paper Towns, The Hunger Games, Graceling – What do these books have in common? They are just six of the 25 books nominated by teens for the best young adult books of the year, the Teen Top Ten. You can vote for your favorites starting August 24th. Voting ends September 18th, and the results will be announced during Teen Read Week, October 18-24.

In the meantime, start reading! Check out as many of these books as you can, lobby your friends, and vote in October. If you can’t find a book on the shelf in the library, ask the Teen Librarian or a Reference Librarian to request it for you (it's free).

Here are some of the nominees:

The full list of nominees is:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Untamed by Kristin & P.C. Cast
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Truancy by Isamu Fukui
Truancy: Origins by Isamu Fukui
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Paper Towns by John Green
Runemarks by Joanne Harris
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott
Wake by Lisa McMann
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Bloodline by Katy Moran
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Geek Charming by Robin Palmer
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

If this isn't enough for you, check out last year's winners!

Teen Top Ten for 2008

What is "What is the What"?

Have you read the book, What is the What, by Dave Eggers? It tells the true story of one of the Sudan's "lost boys" who survived the terrible civil war that has raged in that country for over 25 years. The book has been chosen as the One Book One Marin's read for this year, and there are some great events to go along with the book.

I went to the launch party at Book Passage last week and was happy to see lots of high school students in the audience. Dave Eggers made a point to talk with them - you can tell he has a special affinity for young people. With that in mind, here are some events you might want to check out. For more, go to the One Book One Marin Events web page.

Tuesday, February 24, 7:00 p.m.
“Lost Boys of Sudan” Movie Screening & Conversation
Movie director Jon Shenk and Santino Majok Chuor, one of the documentary’s central characters, will lead a discussion about the making of the movie and the story behind it. The screening and conversation will take place at Sir Francis Drake High School’s Little Theater.

Thursday March 5, 6:30 p.m.
Adult and Teen Writing Workshop with Stan Heller of Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia Street: The Writing Center
An evening workshop for adults and teens wishing to learn more about how to creatively tell their own unique story. Writer, producer, and tutor Stan Heller will give present writing tools needed to participants. Event will be held at Corte Madera Library.

Tuesday March 10, 7:30 p.m.
What is the What Book Discussion led by Carol Benet, PhD
Teens and adults are invited to a lively discussion of What is the What led by Carol Benet. Dr. Benet received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she won an Outstanding Teaching Award. She currently conducts 8 book discussion groups in San Francisco and Marin in which she encourages participants not only to enjoy the chosen books, but also to develop skills in the selection, reading and criticism of all books. Event will be held at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library.

Saturday March 21, 11:00 a.m.
African Village Celebration with African Drummer Onye Onyemaechi of Village Rhythms
Belvedere Tiburon Library invites children ages 5 & up to hear the marvelous rhythms of Nigerian drummer Onye Onyemaechi. In full colorful native garb, Onye exhibits his mastery of a myriad of traditional instruments including the African congas and balafon, Gambian djembe, Ghanaian gongon, Nigerian and Ghanaian talking drum, Brazilian berimbau and more. For more information call the Library 415-789-BOOK or email jdesk@bel-tib-lib.org. Event will be held at the Belvedere-Tiburon Library.

Wednesday April 22, 7:00 p.m.
Teen Forum at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Sausalito
All teens are encouraged to attend this special evening with Dave Eggers. This interactive program will provide an opportunity for Marin’s teens to learn more about the Southern Sudanese plight, and how writing becomes a tool for empowerment and overcoming adversity. Transportation is provided by Dreyer’s Ice Cream and Black-Tie Limousine service from San Rafael, please phone 510-839-3100 to reserve your space. No RSVP for the event is required, but limited seating, so plan to arrive early. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.