The Pretty Dead is a gory, suspenseful read for teens who are music minded, really listen to the poetry of lyrics, and enjoy some dark comic relief. The main character, Blake, inventor of the virtual rock band Posterband, is one of several uniquely described co-protagonists, all of whom are sympathetically written. Blake directly addresses the reader, […]
Book Review: Intertwined by Gena Showalter
June 21, 2014Aden Stone isn’t your typical sixteen-year-old. Instead of spending his time playing games on his Xbox 360, he’s dealing with the four souls that share his body. One is a time traveler, one can see the future, one can raise the dead, and one can possess the body of another human. Aden speaks to each of the […]
Book Review: Elphame’s Choice by P.C. Cast
June 19, 2014Elphame, the Chosen of the Goddess Epona, is half-centaur and half-human. She leaves the luxury of home, and her mother, the Goddess Incarnate, to travel to a crumbling castle. Elphame is determined to revive the site, once the scene of slaughter, and find her place in the world. When she arrives, she finds the half-breed descendants of the Fomorians, […]
The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses is a first book in a wonderful new series by Ty Drago. In it we meet young Will Richter. Will’s father Karl was a cop in the Philadelphia police department until his untimely death a year ago. Now that Will’s twelve, he’s started to notice something strange; people all around […]
Booklist Online’s Top Ten Books for Youth: Horror
June 14, 2014This is an older list, but still a great starting place for librarians looking to build a great teen section. Tweet
Book Review: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins
June 12, 2014Floored, that’s how readers will feel even when they are only part of the way into this breathtaking tale of three teens admitted to a mental care center after each has attempted suicide. While the book is large, 666 pages, it’s written in poetry form, so it’s a fast read. The terrible story of how […]
Book Review: Zombies Don’t Cry by Rusty Fischer
June 10, 2014A stray lightning strike burned out Maddy’s life, but not her existence, and after a few hours of unconsciousness she wakes up undead. Not that her life was wonderful (or terrible) to begin with, but now that she’s a zombie it’s definitely more complicated. And so are the things she wished could change—namely her pseudo-relationship […]
DVD Review: Batman Beyond: Season 1
June 7, 2014Batman Beyond is an older series (2006) but one not to be missed by either comic fans or science fiction fans. Some time in the future, well after Batman’s glory days, teenager Terry McGinnis tries to chase down his father’s killer and instead ends up employed by Bruce Wayne…to be the new Batman. Beyond seems […]
Thanks to AMC’s The Walking Dead, interest in zombies has risen once again! In The Zombie Handbook, Curran gives background on zombie lore, ways to identify a zombie, and how to avoid a zombie attack. For example, in Voodoo beliefs, the word “zombie” doesn’t refer to the walking dead at all, but instead a serpent that is the […]
Book Review: The Dead by Charlie Higson
June 3, 2014The Dead is the prequel to Higson’s book The Enemy. Unlike books in most series, this book can be read as a stand-alone. As a prequel, there are no references to Higson’s previous work, which is refreshing. The book is once again set in present day London, and follows a small group of survivors from a boarding […]