Public Libraries and At-Risk Teens by G. Neri

Reblogged from School Library Journal 

"All teens are at risk. They’re at risk of falling prey to ignorance, hatred, violence, and all the other negative influences that surround them. They’re at risk of failing to take advantage of the opportunities and resources available to them. Everything we do here in the Teen Lounge serves at-risk teens. The rules of the teen lounge are respect the space, respect the staff, respect each other. And that’s all we try to encourage." -Andria Amaral, Young Adult Services Manager, Charleston (SC) County Public Library

Public Libraries and At-Risk Teens

10 Creative Ways to Store Your Books

I love them all, but my favorites are #'s 1, 9, and 10.

Reblogged from the Reading Room

Books are beautiful – even more so when displayed on a gorgeous and creative bookshelf! Check out the images below to see some of the weirdest, most creative, and most beautiful bookshelves we think you'll love. You might just find some inspiration for your own home library!

Academic Minute: Writer’s Block

To all my writer friends preparing to tackle NaNoWriMo next month this one is for you. 

"Instead of focusing on the language of the piece of writing, the plan for the writing gets in the way." -Dan Chelotti

Reblogged from Inside Higher Ed.

Review: Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

Amy Harmon. CreateSpace, 2012. Ebook.
Rating: OMG

Good writing is said to be fluid, melodious, and uses figurative language and other literary devices correctly without beating the life out of a work. Then there's good writing that moves you and swallows you up. Running Barefoot is not a book that you devour in one sitting, but one that you savor and slowly digest its beauty, page by page. It's a story that softly caresses you, gently rocks you, tickles you from head to toe, while plying butterfly kisses along the column of your neck; pulling out of you everything you have to give and more.

Laura Jarratt’s top 10 YA thrillers with sisters

I've come across dozens of top ten book lists over the years, but I've never before encountered a top ten list featuring books about sisters—better yet, a top ten list of YA thrillers with sisters. Having three sisters myself, there's nothing like a sister's love. I could not resist sharing this awesome list.

Three of the ten are adult books that are suitable for teens, while the other seven are completely young adult (YA).

Review: Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words by Rachel Coker

Rachel Coker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. 247 pp.
Rating: Worthy

In rural Tennessee, ensconced in a world of Emily Dickinson, mythology, and piano lessons, thirteen-year old Alcyone "Allie" Everly cares for her cancer-stricken mother. Without a friend, save the irksome Sam Carroll, the boy who's always around, Allie is confined to her mother's introverted, fantasy world; until disaster strikes tearing it apart. Allie is then shipped off to Maine to the home of Beatrice Lovell leaving everything she knows behind only hours after the funeral. Forewarned by her mother to, "...look out for yourself and don't let your guard down. Don't ever forget your roots or your common sense," Allie subconsciously creates thick walls barring anything of her new life to creep in, especially her adoptive mother. Yet, it isn't until Sam's unexpected arrival in Maine that Allie's defenses begin to unravel. 

A Delightful Bargain

Found this little beauty today while book window shopping. Ah, the euphoric moment of finding a brand new hardcover copy of a book on your to-be-read list at an amazing discounted price. Score! :)

#278 on Goodreads TBR bookshelf

Review: '89 Walls by Kate Pierson

Kate Pierson. Minneapolis: Wise Ink, 2015. pp. 264.
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Goodreads Summary: College is not in the cards for Seth. He spends his minimum wage on groceries and fakes happiness to distract his mom from the MS they both know will kill her. It’s agony to carry around a frayed love note for a girl who’s both out of his league and beneath his dignity. 

Quinn’s finishing high school on top. But that cynical, liberal guy in her social studies class makes her doubt her old assumptions. Challenging the rules now, though, would a) squander her last summer at home, b) antagonize her conservative dad, and c) make her a hypocrite.

Teen Blog Spotlight + Giveaway

Welcome Danai Kamvoussiora, the writer behind the blog Books, Music, Beauty, Experiences. Be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of Danai's interview.

Books, Music, Beauty, Experiences 

Why did you decide to start a blog?
Well, I've always admired people who put their thoughts out for all to read. Blogging seemed to be the best manner for me to do that as well. 

What should readers expect from your blog?
I love books and music so I incorporate both of my loves in the blog. Readers should expect book reviews and piano videos mostly, but I will also post beauty tips, and share some of my life experiences.

Book Talk Tuesday: What Books Are Talking to You?

Picks of the Week

Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement-Set in rural Mexico, girls are faced with a choice: forgo their womanhood or become prey of the ruling drug cartels.

Why Do We Fight? Conflict, War, and Peace by Niki Walker-Conflict is an ever present component of society. Why Do We Fight? helps kids understand conflict and how best to deal with it.

What books are talking to you this week?

Nerdy Social Action by Sarah Mulhern Gross

After reading Sarah Gross' post, I had to share it. Provoking students to action is near and dear to my heart.

In Spring 2011, I was assigned to my first student teaching field experience. Twice a week for twelve weeks, I worked in an eighth grade Language Arts classroom. When I began, the English Department was just starting a four-week poetry unit spanning the themes: determination, cultures, love, and courage. During the last week of the unit, my supervising teacher confided in me that she hoped to inspire 127 social activists, at which my heart leapt with joy. For I believe that it is each and every adult's responsibility to teach, influence, and empower youth to support and fight for causes in which they believe. That Tuesday started off like any other. Mrs. Jennings and I prepped for the day's back-to-back classes during the first two periods of the morning.  Little did I know what I was about to experience.

Spell It Out Challenge

This year marks my fourth year participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Riding on a high from meeting and surpassing last year's reading goal of 45 books, I bumped it up ten books for 2015. In comes the new year, then BAM! I'm hit, knocked down, and run over. Every reader's nightmare, The Slump, the dreaded reading slump, pinned me down refusing to release its captive hold. Though my apartment overflows with books, the library is a half mile away from my home, and my to-be-read list is ever-growing, the slump remained constant.

Book Talk Tuesday: What Books Are Talking to You?

Picks of the Week

Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow-The second installment of Jarrow's deadly disease trilogy chronicles Mary Mallon, the infamous Typhoid Mary.

Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd- Kidd prompts students to notice the graphic design in the signs they see everyday.

What books are talking to you this week?

Review: Mary: The Summoning (Bloody Mary #1) by Hillary Monahan

Hillary Monahan. Los Angles: Hyperion, 2014. pp.248 
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Goodreads Summary: There is a right way and a wrong way to summon her. 

Jess had done the research. Success requires precision: a dark room, a mirror, a candle, salt, and four teenage girls. Each of them--Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna--must link hands, follow the rules...and never let go. 

A thrilling fear spins around the room the first time Jess calls her name: "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY." A ripple of terror follows when a shadowy silhouette emerges through the fog, a specter trapped behind the mirror.

It's No Surprise: Books Teach Life Lessons by Lee Ann Spillane

I love the Nerdy Book Club! Since joining this reading community three years ago, I've been connected to hundreds of kindred spirits from around the globe. A group of people who live, breathe, and eat the written word as I do. Each post is filled with a wealth of information, knowledge, and book love. Though I sometimes fall behind on reading my emails, I make sure to catch up on all missed Nerdy news because I know that whatever I read will feed my soul. Posts such as Lee Ann Spillane's does just that. Not only does it drive home the power of books, but it also demonstrates the impact of an international network of individuals sharing, learning, and reading.

IT’S NO SURPRISE: BOOKS TEACH LIFE LESSONS BY LEE ANN SPILLANE

POSTED BY CBETHM ON DECEMBER 7, 2014 IN PAY IT FORWARD,SURPRISE SUNDAY 

“Stories define us and nourish us–intellectually, emotionally–

stories teach us to be human.” – Linda Reif, NCTE 2014

2015...My Year of More

Nine days into 2015 may seem odd to proclaim a course for the new year, yet it's just the right time for me.  On New Year's Eve, in response to a post on Author Amy Harmon's Facebook page, I replied "My New Year's promise is to do more...exercise more...write more...read more...love more." Never one to take new year's resolutions seriously, breaking any I happened to make failed to register in my consciousness. However, a shift...a change had come.