Sharon Reads: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

December 7, 2013July 9, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a young adult novel. Cassie is seventeen and living with her father’s extended family. Her mother was a stage psychic, before being murdered. Thanks to her mother’s lessons Cassie excels at reading the body language and little details about the people around her. Cassie is approached by the FBI to join a special team of other teens with natural abilities. Joining the team would mean moving to Washington D.C. and helping to solve cold case files. Cassie cannot pass up the chance to solve her mother’s murder. However, no one on the team is quite what they seem and danger is close to home. Cassie and the unique team need to solve this case before one of them becomes the next victim.

The Naturals has just about everything you could want from a young adult novel. There is a cast of quirky and well fleshed out characters that still defy categorization, a mystery or two to solve, action scenes with life and death scenario, teenage ‘I do not fit in’ angst, and romance (a triangle of course). There are strong characters that while flawed hold true to their values and an ending that had resolution but still left me wanting more. Cassie is an independent, caring, and strong character. She is willing to risk herself to help others, but does not take foolish risks. Michael is snarky and seems overconfident but seems to be wearing that personality as a mask to protect himself, he is naturally skilled at reading emotions. Dean, a profiler like Cassie, is the strong silent type who isolates himself and tries to control his temper. Lia is a vain, pretty teen who can tell when others are lying and the ability to lie to anyone. Sloane is a statistical genius and is more than a bit quirky. The team work with the FBI agents and are under the watchful eye of a caretaker while in the house. Of course, you throw this many teens in the house and there will be power struggles and romantic entanglements- however for the most part this is secondary to the set up of the plot and the mysteries that need solving. Cassie does spend a significant amount of time over-thinking everything, but that is part of being a sixteen year old girl.

The Naturals is at its heart a teen drama and a thriller. The danger is slow to evolve, and I was completely surprised by the final answer, even though I had the ‘bad guy’ narrowed down to just three people by the time the full story was revealed. While readers might need to suspend their disbelief as they deal with the idea of people with the innate abilities or the idea of the FBI working with a teen of talented teens, others will just be able to shrug and move on.

The Naturals is a good start to a new series and I gave it four stars on Goodreads. I really enjoy Barnes’ writing style, and everything I loved about the characters in the Raised by Wolves series is here as well. Readers that like Cold Case, Criminal Minds, or any of the shows with a psychological look at crime solving will see something that they like in this series. I have not seen anything about the sequel to this book yet, but I will definitely be reading it when it is released.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

Not Just for Teens: Young Adult Graphic Novels

December 3, 2013July 9, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Graphic novels are not just about super heroes, nor are they just for kids. The market and format has grown and evolved quite a bit in the last ten years, gaining a main stream legitimacy that it has often been denied in the past. These days graphic novels are created for everyone from toddlers to grandpas, but the teen and market in particular seems to have grown in wonderful ways. The current collection in our young adult department is growing steadily, and offers a wide range of stories of interest to adult and young adult readers. Check out these titles aimed at teens but full of the humor, complexity, and characters that reel in adults as well. Do not be afraid to explore the great titles that you might otherwise never see!

Kin, The Good Neighbors Book 1 by Holly Black & Ted Naifeh
Sixteen-year-old Rue Silver, whose mother disappeared weeks ago, believes she is going crazy until she learns that the strange things she has been seeing are real, and that she is one of the faerie creatures, or Good Neighbors, that mortals cannot see.

Amulet Book 1, The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi.
After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids’ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all, and Em finally has the chance to save someone she loves.

Bone Vol. 1, Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith with color by Steve Hamaker.
Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are run out of their home, Boneville, and become separated in the wilds, but better fortune begins when the three cousins reunite at a farmstead in a deep forested valley, where Fone meets a young girl named Thorn. In Out From Boneville, volume 1 of this 9-book epic, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran’ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them, and their adventures are only just beginning!

One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry.
Buddhism teaches that each person must overcome 100 demons in a lifetime. In this collection of 20 comic strips, Lynda Barry wrestles with some of hers in her signature quirky, irrepressible voice. Color illustrations throughout.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan.
In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family.

Mu shi shi Volume 1 by Yuki Urushibara, translated and adapted by William Flanagan.
Mushi have been around since shortly after life came out of the primordial ooze. They’re everywhere; some live behind your eyelids, some eat silence, some kill, and some drive men mad. Ginko is a mushishi, or mushi master, and has the ability to help those who are plagued by mushi.

Still want more? Well, while I fully encourage just walking into the young adult section and browsing, here are some more titles that are particularly interesting for teen and adult readers; Laika written by Nick Abadzis with color by Hilary Sycamore, Epileptic 1 by David B. Translated from the French by Kim Thompson, Death Note. Vol. 1, Boredom story by Tsugumi Ohba with art by Takeshi Obata and translation and adaptation by Pookie Rolf, Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, and Tales of the Slayers, story by Joss Whedon.

Cookbooks to Tempt Kids into the Kitchen

November 27, 2013July 11, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Do you have a child that wants to help in the kitchen or wants to try cooking on their own? Perhaps you just want to learn some more kid friendly dishes or are hoping to get some help from your children in the kitchen? The library has a wide variety of cookbooks in the children’s section. There are books that focus on ethnic food, special diets, celebrity chefs, and even some more unexpected themes. Check some out to help inspire or teach your children about cooking, and just might make cooking less of a chore and much more fun for you as well.

Noodlemania!: 50 Playful Pasta Recipes by Melissa Barlow, photographs by Zac Williams and illustrations by Alison Oliver.
The American-style recipes range from the everyday to the elegant, and the six chapters are divided according to the class of pasta needed for the recipes. Most ingredients are readily available, and the recipes are simple to make, given the adult supervision. Barlow adds twists to dishes to indeed make them playful (making robots out of macaroni and pretzels, etc.).

ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with your Family by Sally Sampson, photographs by Carl Tremblay.Simple, healthy, delicious dishes for children and parents to make together.

A Princess Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Kids by Sarah L. Schuette.
Provides instructions and close-up step photos for making a variety of simple snacks and drinks with a princess theme

A Pirate Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Kids by Sarah L. Schuette.
Provides instructions and close-up photos for making a variety of simple snacks and drinks with a pirate theme

One World Kids Cookbook: Easy, Healthy, and Affordable Family Meals by Sean Mendez. This healthy eating cookbook is aimed at encouraging young people to think about what they eat through emphasizing the importance of a balanced diet. It contains kitchen tips and suggests vegetarian substitutes to the meat recipes. One World Kids Cookbook aims to instill a passion for good, wholesome, healthy food as well as a passion for life. Includes fabulous dishes from around the world, from jollof rice to fajitas.

Salad People and More Real Recipes: A New Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up by Mollie Katzen. Introduces children as young as three the basics of cooking.

Want even more ideas? Our variety of cookbooks is staggering. Here a few more notable samples of the culinary fare offered up on the library shelves: Chinese Food by Wendy Blaxland, The Young Chef’s Italian Cookbook by Rosalba Gioffre, The Kids’ Holiday Baking Book: 150 Favorite Dessert Recipes from Around the World by Rosemary Black, Cooking the Swiss Way by Helga Hughes with photographs by Robert L. and Diane Wolfe, Cool Raw Food Recipes: Delicious & Fun Foods without Cooking by Nancy Tuminelly, The Multicultural Cookbook for Students by Lois Sinaiko Webb and Lindsay Grace Roten, Paula Deen’s Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set by Paula Deen with Martha Nesbit, illustrated by Susan Mitchell, Emeril’s There’s a Chef in my World!: Recipes that Take you Places by Emeril Lagasse and illustrated by Charles Yuen with photographs by Quentin Bacon, Grandpa’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Cookbook written by Judi Barrett and drawn by Ron Barrett, Cool Nut-Free Recipes: Delicious & Fun Foods without Nuts by Nancy Tuminelly, Cooking Rocks!: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids by Rachael Ray and illustrated by Chris Kalb, Vegetarian Food by Susannah Blake, and Kids Cook 1-2-3: Recipes for Young Chefs Using Only 3 Ingredients by Rozanne Gold and illustrated by Sara Pinto.

Female Role Models in Young Adult Fiction

November 23, 2013July 11, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Raising a teenager is hard, but if you think back to actually being a teenager, it was even harder. There are so many influences in your life it can be hard to know who to trust, what to do, and how you are supposed to be feeling. As you might have guessed, I spent many of those years reading books about other teenagers and adults in order to discover if I was ‘normal’ and if the feelings and doubts I had made me weird. Finding books that can reassure girls and young women that they are powerful, they can be strong, and that there is nothing wrong with diverging from what society expects can be hard. Convincing those same girls that it is better than just alright to follow their hearts and trust in themselves is terribly difficult, but sometimes a book with a heroine that does just that can be a good start. Here are some books for the thirteen and older crowd that feature strong, positive, female role models.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
On her way to marry a prince she’s never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers. The Books of Bayern series continues with the sequel, Enna Burning and Hale’s Princess Academy series is also worth a read.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
A young witch-to-be named Tiffany teams up with the Wee Free Men, a clan of six-inch-high blue men, to rescue her baby brother and ward off a sinister invasion from Fairyland. The Tiffany Aching series continues with A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg’s father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
Meg’s adventures continue in the sequel, A Wind in the Door and for a graphic novel version of this classic novel, check out A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel.

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl “passes” for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Lame and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Living with a foster family in Germany during World War II, a young girl struggles to survive her day-to-day trials through stealing anything she can get her hands on, but when she discovers the beauty of literature, she realizes that she has been blessed with a gift that must be shared with others, including the Jewish man hiding in the basement.

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s.

If you have a tween that is not quite ready to hit the young adult section or a teen willing to cross over into the juvenile fiction area, then some of these books might hit the spot; Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich, The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente ; with illustrations by Ana Juan, Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, or The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages.

And as always, I am sure to have missed some fabulous books that offer female role models for teens and tweens. I know I let a few of my favorite authors out in the interest of space and a varied list. If I missed your favorite, or one you would like to recommend to others, please let us know in the comments so fellow readers can add it to their lists.

On Our Shelves: New Children’s DVD’s

November 20, 2013November 20, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The library’s DVD collection (including regular and blue ray discs) grows rapidly and is often hard to keep up with. This holds true with the children’s collection just as much as it does with the family film and adult collections. There are feature films, favorite television shows (old and new), as well as educational programs. Here is just a small sample of some new DVD’s in the children’s room, though it barely scratches the surface!

Regular Show Fright Pack
The adventures of Mordecai and Rigby, two park groundskeepers who seek out various ways to escape the everyday boredom of their job.

Ivan the Incredible
After constantly being bullied by kids at school and ridiculed by his father, Ivan Olsen is given the chance to be the best at everything after a witch mixes him a magic potion.

Robot Zot
This is a tale of a robot determined to conquer the earth. But once discovers the princess – a toy cell phone – he must learn how to be a hero.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. Hurray! It’s Valentine’s Day!
It’s Valentine’s Day with The Cat in the Hat, a great time to make friends with the Cat. Spend the whole day with wonderful friends in a place where adventure and fun never ends. Yes, friendship’s the key on this special day, and the Cat is the one who will lead the way.

Minnie’s The Wizard of Dizz
Minnie and Pluto end up in the silly but spectacular land of Dizz. It’s an amazing place, with rainbow trees, butterfly bows, and friendly ‘Chipmunchkins,’ but what Minnie wants most is to get home. Together, Minnie and her new friends Scarecrow Goofy, Mickey the Tin Mouse, and Donald the Lion, set off to ask the wonderful Wizard of Dizz to make their dreams come true. But look out! Bad Witch Pete wants Minnie’s magical, sparkly green shoes, and he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. Includes bonus features.

Fish ‘n Chips
Hilarious adventures of a young fish, Fish, and his nemesis Chips, a cat, as they tear across land and sea, facing off for the love of the same catfish and bones of Fish’s ancestor.

Phineas and Ferb, the Perry Files. Animal Agents
So you thought Perry the Platypus, a.k.a. Agent P, was the only crime-fighting animal in the Tri-State area? Meet Perry’s animal agent comrades who are all members of the O.W.C.A., ”Organization Without a Cool Acronym.” This hilarious collection of animal agent-themed adventures will leave viewers wanting to join forces with the O.W.C.A. to help shell out trouble for evil-doers.