Whip It based on Derby Girl

Entertainment Weekly just informed me that the upcoming film, Whip It, is based on the YA novel, Derby Girl.  We own four copies which are all currently checked in.  Check out the trailer here.  It will be released in early October.

Twilight Graphic Novel

It’s official, Twilight is being made into a graphic novel.  I don’t know when it will be out or how many volumes they will publish, but I expect demand will be high.  Check out EW.com for more info.

Movie News

According to Vanity Fair, Disney has acquired the rights to Aprilynne Pike’s YA novel, Wings and Miley Cyrus is set to star as the main character, a teen who sprouts wings and learns she’s a fairy. FVRL owns four copies with 12 holds.

Septimus Heap: Magyk is set to be released in 2010.  We have seven copies with one hold and four copies in the SEL collection.  Let Meg know if you’d like a copy from the SEL collection.

New Moon Trailer

On the off chance you missed the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night, you may have missed the much-anticipated New Moon trailer.  Check it out at MTV’s website here.

Chuck Bass heads to the Yorkshire moors

This loosely qualifies as a juvenile “books to movies” entry because we have ONE copy of Wuthering Heights in the system cataloged as YA and back when I was in high school, it was required reading. Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick who plays bad-boy hearth-throb Chuck Bass  will be playing Heathcliff in an upcoming film adaptation of the classic Wuthering Heights. I think his presence in the movie alone will drive young women into the library to read the original. It doesn’t come out until next year, so there is PLENTY of time to read the book first. How about a display that features Ed’s picture next to a copy of the book?

Christian Fiction

I’m working on an electronic booklist of J and YA Christian fiction and two recent titles caught my attention, both published by Living Ink Books.  The Ark, the Reed, and the Fire Cloud (J) by Jenny L. Cote is a retelling of Noah’s Ark from an animal perspective and Angela’s Answer (YA) by Pat Matuszak is the first in the Angel Light series and looks to be a combo fantasy/mystery.  I haven’t read either book, (yet?), but I’d love to hear feedback from staff or patrons who read one of these.

Diary of a Part Time Indian-Part II

I just read that Sherman Alexie is working on a sequel to his National Book Award winning novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.  More info here and here.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a film coming out in 2010 based on the YA GN series and will star Michael Cera. I’ve added it to the books to movies page.

Just the Good Stuff Booklist for Teens

Due to branch requests, I’ve created a “clean reads” or “gentle reads” booklist for teens called “Just the Good Stuff.”  This was a tricky list to create because I really had to carefully read the books paying particular attention to “bad” words, drinking, and sex.  I wasn’t just reading for enjoyment or looking at writing quality.  I picked up many books that were recommended for the list only to find some unacceptable language or behavior 1/2 way through.  Even books that I had already read I had to skim in order to assure myself that I was remembering them correctly as “clean” reads.  So that said, if you come across a title on this list that you don’t think fits the definition of the list, then please let me know.  This list will eventually live on the teens web page, but in the meantime, I am pasting it below for you to start using.

Just the Good Stuff

Great books without the sex, drugs, and swearing you’re not interested in reading about!

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale*

Ever by Gail Carson Levine*

Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs*

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial by Ronald Kidd

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison*

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata

Peak by Roland Smith*

Peeled by Joan Bauer*

Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock*

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George*

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar*

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld*

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix*

Please note: These are books that we recommend for those teens looking for a gentle read. They generally have no swearing, sex, drug use or drunkenness. If these don’t fit your definition of a “gentle read,” please talk to library staff.

Check out more “Just the Good Stuff” books by authors with the * after their names.

Clean Reads for Teens Booklist

So I’ve been asked to compile a clean reads for teens booklist for the district. I’m working on it and scouring the internet for other’s lists and now I’m taking suggestions from you! If you have any “clean” YA books to suggest, please pass them my way! I’m looking for YA books without swearing, drinking, drugs, and sex. It’s actually an incredibly hard list to create without reading (or re-reading) every title, and I don’t have time for that. I’m not concerning myself with topics that some might disapprove of…witches, sci fi, homosexuality, etc, just trying to avoid the stuff mentioned above. Even swearing is difficult to define, is damn a bad word? It’s all so subjective!

Oh, and do you have a suggestion for a snappy title??