YA: Your Athenaeum

Photos of J.K. Rowling’s notes in rare ‘Philosopher’s Stone’...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:01:33 -0400

Photos of J.K. Rowling’s notes in rare ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ book released

The Guardian has published photos of three pages containing a sketch and handwritten notes by J.K. Rowling from a first edition… READ MORE

Did you know June is Novella Month? …And what is a novella? Well, according to Writers Box,...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:01:22 -0400

Did you know June is Novella Month?

…And what is a novella? Well, according to Writers Box, the word itself comes from Italian for “piece of news”. It has the same root as novel, and the line between a novel and novella is a little blurry - a novella is longer than a short story, but not quite a novel.

Is the difference in quantity or quality? Word count or narrative arc? It’s a little of both, and up for debate, but Josh Weil offers this definition: “a novella, I think, looks through the narrow lens of a short story, and with a short story’s intense focus, at a small, precise part of the world, but it treats what’s within that lens with a novel’s generosity and care.”

While we might think of novellas in terms of older works - Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Hemingways’ The Old Man and the Sea, Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle - there has been a recent surge of YA novellas. Writers of young adult series can use novellas to flesh out a character’s history or show us the world they’ve created from a new point of view. You can find a list of recent YA novellas on goodreads.

Do you have a favorite novella?

Magical Creature: An Interview With Francesca Lia Block

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:01:20 -0400

Magical Creature: An Interview With Francesca Lia Block:

Rookie Magazine talks with the author of Weetzie Bat about clothes, music, writing, and the light and dark sides of living in L.A.

lazydayliterature: School’s Out: 5 Great Summer Reads For...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:55:03 -0400

lazydayliterature:

School’s Out: 5 Great Summer Reads For Teens

A great list of summer reading recommendations from NPR!

Many of the books mentioned are available here at the Athenaeum, and we’re always happy to help you find any book you’re looking for - just ask us at the circulation desk!

bibliolectors: Without stopping to read / Sin parar de leer...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:01:35 -0400

bibliolectors:

Without stopping to read / Sin parar de leer (ilustración de Anna Grimal)

fastcompany: Google honors Maurice Sendak’s birthday with a...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:33:40 -0400

fastcompany:

Google honors Maurice Sendak’s birthday with a moving Where The Wild Things Are doodle.

"Books are meat and medicine and flame and flight and flower steel, stitch, cloud and clout, and..."

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:01:12 -0400

“Books are meat and medicine
and flame and flight and flower
steel, stitch, cloud and clout,
and drumbeats on the air.”

- Gwendolyn Brooks, former poet laureate of the United States and the first African American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Brooks was born on this day, June 7th, in 1917.

missoulapubliclibrary: To kick off their summer reading...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:30:39 -0400

missoulapubliclibrary:

To kick off their summer reading program, Seattle Public Library tries to break a world record for the longest domino book chain.

As if we needed another reason to love them.

So cool! Anyone else tickled to notice that the first book in the chain is titled Before The Fall?

Libraries Changed My Life

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:01:31 -0400

Libraries Changed My Life:

Real life accounts from library patrons whose lives have been changed for the better by libraries.

My new favorite bookish tumblr!

schoollibraryjournal: Congratulations to all! “Bean, Rowell,...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:01:14 -0400

Rebecca Stead & Roger Sutton. Photo by Josephine Marc-Anthony

Rebecca Stead, Jonathan Bean, & Roger Sutton. by Josephine Marc-Anthony

Rebecca Stead, Rainbow Rowell, & Roger Sutton. Photo by Josephine Marc-Anthony

Boston Globe-Horn Book Winners. Photo by Josephine Marc-Anthony

schoollibraryjournal:

Congratulations to all!

“Bean, Rowell, Byrd win 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards”

Read the Horn Book reviews of the winners here.

What's New: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:01:04 -0400

New to the Athenaeum’s YA corner is The Fifth Wave, a New York Times bestseller by Richard Yancey. From the author’s website:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Happy June! The Providence Athenaeum is now on its summer...

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:01:02 -0400

Happy June! The Providence Athenaeum is now on its summer hours:

Monday - Thursday: 9 AM - 7 PM
Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM
Saturday: 9 AM - 1 PM
Sunday: Closed!

What's New: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:01:08 -0400

New to the Athenaeum’s YA corner is I Hunt Killers, a thrilling young adult mystery by Barry Lyga. Fans of Dexter will want to check this one out. From the author’s website:

Jazz is a likable teenager. A charmer, some might say.

But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, “Take Your Son to Work Day” was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal’s point of view.

And now, even though Dad has been in jail for years, bodies are piling up in the sleepy town of Lobo’s Nod. Again.

In an effort to prove murder doesn’t run in the family, Jazz joins the police in the hunt for this new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

KidLitCares for Oklahoma

Thu, 30 May 2013 13:01:34 -0400

KidLitCares for Oklahoma:

Donate $10 or more to the Red Cross via KidLitCares by June 7th and be entered to win one of more than one hundred books.

What's New: Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Wed, 29 May 2013 11:01:19 -0400

New to the our YA corner is Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland - a member here at the Athenaeum! Her book about friendship, finding yourself, young love and beautiful beaches has arrived just in time for summer. From Teenreads:

Seventeen-year-old Cricket appears to have a pretty fabulous life. She’s a talented athlete, has a great best friend and may possibly be the love interest of one of the cutest boys in the school. Cricket becomes even more lucky when her best friend, Jules, asks her to come to Nantucket with her for the summer. Cricket is thrilled because she won’t be subjected to another boring summer of babysitting. Plus, her crush, Jay, will be on the island, too.

Unfortunately, Jules’s family experiences a tragic event just before summer starts, shredding the summer plans for Cricket. Crushed but determined, she decides to go to Nantucket on her own… The summer is shaping up to be quite different from Cricket’s original plan, but could it still be her best one yet?

In writing NANTUCKET BLUE, Leila Howland has created the perfect summer beach novel. The characters were achingly real, and the descriptions of their surroundings were incredibly vivid…

I devoured NANTUCKET BLUE in two afternoons (despite attempts to pace myself) and was devastated when it ended. It was most certainly one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves beaches, romance, and excitement.

You can follow Leila Howland on tumblr!

yasimon: Oh books, we just can’t stay away.

Tue, 28 May 2013 13:01:25 -0400

yasimon:

Oh books, we just can’t stay away.

What's New: Darius and Twig

Mon, 27 May 2013 11:01:14 -0400

New to the Athenaeum’s YA corner is Darius and Twig, the newest book for young adults by Walter Dean Myers, author of the Printz Award winning novel Monster. From Kirkus Reviews:

Darius is a writer. Twig is a runner. Best friends since they were 9, the two 16-year-olds struggle with growing up in Harlem and, even more so, with making a better future for themselves. Through Darius’ poignant first-person narration, readers will sympathize with his feelings of hopelessness and being trapped in a life he doesn’t want, though Twig’s success on the track gives him faith that he might one day succeed as a writer. Darius also finds solace imagining himself as a falcon named Fury, soaring far above all of the problems that plague him. But the challenges Darius faces are constant and threaten to pull him back to earth—from bullies to his depressed mother and absent father to his own feelings of being overwhelmed, especially as the consequences of his past choices threaten his future.

Darius and Twig’s conversations are both lyrically poetic and endearingly heartfelt as they fight to forge a brighter future than the limited options they see before them. Set in opposition to the bullies who make their lives difficult, Darius and Twig exemplify true friendship—two people who have been fortunate enough to find each other, who encourage one another and push each other to do their best—and the life-altering difference having a true friend can make.

Myers at his impassioned best.

ollieling: waterfire in providence, ri WaterFire returns...

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:41 -0400

ollieling:

waterfire in providence, ri

WaterFire returns tonight at sunset.

What's New: The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:01:24 -0400

New to the Athenaeum’s YA corner is The Summer Prince, a unique science fiction story by Alaya Dawn Johnson. From io9:

Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Summer Prince takes place in Palmeres Tres, a far-future Brazilian city ruled by women, where every five years a Summer King is elected to help rule for a year. Feted like a rock star, at the end of the year the Summer King selects a new Queen and is killed to guarantee his selection is incorruptible. Part apocalyptic cyberpunk, and part celebration of friendships forged through art, it’s a gorgeous, memorable novel.

The action begins when Enki, a wild and beautiful boy from the lower classes, has been selected. Meanwhile, June Costa is a privileged kid who skirts the strict rules of Palmeres Tres with body mods and graffiti that are just this side of illegal. Eventually June develops a relationship with Enki based on creating art…

Art is vitally important to Palmares Tres, and every form of it, from programming to clothing design to dance, is shown as both a purely artistic statements and as political ones. Considering how art is generally ignored in speculative fiction, it’s refreshing to see it represented as a valuable and fundamental part of a society. Now that we know that animals make tools and call each other by name, art is really all humans have left that is uniquely ours. But science fiction in particular tends to ignore it.

The focus on art sends the plot down unexpected paths… The surprising plot, fascinating world, and characters who felt like they really lived in the future combine to make this one of the better YA books to come out in a while.

Steampunk: An Introduction for Teens | The New York Public Library

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:19:44 -0400

Steampunk: An Introduction for Teens | The New York Public Library:

What is Steampunk? For a way to explain a fantasy subgenre, Steampunk is not very descriptive. According to The Steampunk Bible (2011), it can be explained most easily by this equation:

Steampunk = Mad Scientist Inventor [invention (steam x airship or metal man/ baroque stylings) x (pseudo) Victorian (or Edwardian) settings] + progressive or reactionary politics x adventure plot. (p. 9)

This article from the NYPL includes a great list of steampunk classics and modern YA steampunk tales!