And by further coincidence...did you know that December, in addition to being full of fun holidays, is also National Read a New Book Month? It's true! So stop in and check out our new additions, or unwrap one of the books featured in our current 'Tis the Season to Unwrap a New Book display (see above).
Winter Break starts at the end of today! (As if any of you needed the reminder. Two whole weeks off!) By lovely coincidence, we've just recently added a TON of new books to our collection, too! We've been featuring some of these new titles here on the blog over the past couple of weeks, but trust us when we say that's just a small sample. And by further coincidence...did you know that December, in addition to being full of fun holidays, is also National Read a New Book Month? It's true! So stop in and check out our new additions, or unwrap one of the books featured in our current 'Tis the Season to Unwrap a New Book display (see above). Happy Holidays, Happy Break, and Happy Reading, Wildkits!
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family |
"At my will, I walk your streets and am right out there among you." --Charles Manson |
Told in episodic verse, family is a fictionalized exploration of cult dynamics, loosely based on the Manson Family murders of 1969. It is an unflinching look at people who are born broken, and the lengths they'll go to to make themselves "whole" again.
REVIEWS...
"Terrifyingly good [...] and incredibly terrifying." --Lauren Myracle, author of Shine and the ttyl series
"Henry is fascinating, a pied piper hell-bent on reaching the masses, whether through love or terror." --Booklist (review written by Daniel Kraus, author of Rotters and Scowler)
"A mix of pared-down poems and more developed paragraphs of text, the form matches the content, which is dark, mesmerizing, and hazy." --Publisher's Weekly
"Ellen Hopkins fans will appreciate the use of verse to tell the gruesome story [...] an interesting psychological study of cults and the lost souls they attract." --VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
WANT MORE?
- Click on the Set In The '60s subject link on the right side of this page to see other blog entries featuring novels set in 1960s America.
- Click on the Verse Novels subject link to see blog entries featuring other verse-style novels (such as Ellen Hopkins's books).
- Click 'Read More' (below right on this entry) to see a short list of other books about living in (and/or escaping) a cult.
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone
by Adele Griffin
—Adele Griffin
REVIEWS...
"[An] intricate, intoxicating novel [...] This compelling story can be read on many levels, from a multi-voiced meditation on a brief, bright life in the Big Apple to an exploration of the biographer's almost impossible task: the discovery and distillation of another's complex self." --Washington Post
"An acute examination of a young woman's troubled mind as much as it's a mystery [...] that she remains an enigma, even at the fascinating novel's end, somehow makes Addison's death all the more harrowing." --Boston Globe
"A layered homage to the tortured painter, but also an exercise in structure and discipline, complete with pictures, paintings, media clips and more." --Parade
"Resembles an in-depth article one might read in The New Yorker [...] a compelling fictional biography." --Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A compelling look at the dark underbelly of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl fantasy, an exploration of the way a magnetic personality can imbalance relationships [...] There’s no shortage of romance in the portrayal of Addison [...] but perceptive readers will see beyond the glamour to the simmering dysfunction." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"A terrific experiment, something fresh and hard to put down. It gives a sense of both the artistic temperament and the nature of madness — and the sometimes thin line in between." --Booklist (starred review)
"Snippets of interviews sprinkled with color photographs and paintings form a portrait of a sassy and troubled young woman [...an] indictment of the shallowness of contemporary cultural life." --Kirkus Reviews
Want more? Click 'Read More' (below right of this blog entry) to find a list of other novels that feature multiple narrative perspectives on a person or event.
Through the Woods
by Emily Carroll
To see more of Emily Carroll's artwork and stories, visit her website. ("His Face All Red," which also appears in the book, and "Out of Skin" are both particularly creepy.)
"Through the Woods is, in every sense of the word, thrilling." --The New York Times
"A sure winner for any reader with a yen to become permanently terrified. Brilliant."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[A] beautifully rendered but deeply chilling collection of vignettes that will be most appreciated by teens and adults who are fans of fairy tales, horror, and the things that hide in the dark." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"[Carroll] amplifies the scariness of the stories [...] with startling page turns revealing grotesque, squeal-inducing images. A wonderful heir to the legacy of Alvin Schwartz and Stephan Gammell’s iconic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark." --Booklist (starred review)
"Through the Woods is a triumph, it's gorgeous, soft and bright, and it is dark, earthy and spine-chilling. [Emily Carroll] should be recognized as one of the best graphic storytellers out there." --Kate Beaton, author of Hark! A Vagrant! (the webcomics and the book)
"This book just seriously creeped me the heck out. Like, seriously." --Mrs. Chadwick, after finishing the book in about an hour.
- Click on the "Scary Spooky Creepy" link at right to see blog entries featuring other unsettling novels, short story collections, and graphic novels.
- Click on the "Graphic Novels" link at right to see other entries featuring our graphic novel collection.
Book summary borrowed/adapted from Amazon.com
Knockout Games
by G. Neri
That's where Erica comes in. She's new in town. Awkward. Shy. White. But she's got a good camera and a filmmaker's eye. She could learn. Kalvin could open her eyes to the power he sees in the knockout game; he could make her see things his way. But first she'll have to close her eyes to everything else.
For a while, Kalvin's knockouts are strangers. For a while, Erica can ignore their suffering in the rush of creativity and Kalvin's attention. Then comes the KO that forces her eyes open, that makes her see what's really happening.
"[T]hrilling [...] the author's meaty ideas and exciting action sequences blend together perfectly. [...] Harsh and relentless, a tough but worthy read." --Kirkus (starred review)
"The indispensable Neri (Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty) delivers another strong shot to the chin with this bracing look at the initiations of sex and violence."
--Booklist
"Neri skillfully portrays the moral and emotional turmoil of a teen desperate for acceptance. Racial and social undercurrents further give this story an intense, thought-provoking edge."
--Publisher's Weekly
Want more? Click the "Urban Fiction" link to see other blog entries featuring
similarly-themed novels.
How It Went Down
by Kekla Magoon
In the aftermath of Tariq's death, everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events line up. Day by day, new twists further obscure the truth.
Tariq's friends, family, and community struggle to make sense of the tragedy, and to cope with the hole left behind when a life is cut short. In their own words, they grapple for a way to say with certainty: This is how it went down.
REVIEWS...
"The layered voices tell a story both simple and complicated, heartbreaking and maddening." --The Chicago Tribune
"A hard-hitting look at the ripple effects of one act of violence on an entire community. How It Went Down is engrossing and real — it's the right book at the right time." —Coe Booth, author of Tyrell and Kendra
"Magoon masterfully captures the cycle of urban violence and the raw emotions of the young people who can’t escape its impact." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Heartbreaking and unputdownable." --School Library Journal
"[A] stark yet captivating read that is both relevant and necessary." --Los Angeles Times
featuring similarly-themed novels.
This Star Won't Go Out:
The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl
by Esther Earl & Lori Earl
Or do nothing with the people that make you happy." --Esther Earl
"This moving read will have you reaching for the tissues and smiling with delight. Stunningly alive on the page, Esther shows that sometimes the true meaning of life — helping and loving others — can be found even when bravely facing death." --–People Magazine
"[This] collection — part autobiography, portfolio of her fiction and drawings, and photo album — is a touching eulogy, and it fulfills [Esther's] dream to be an author. An intimate portrait of a vibrant, deeply engaged teen." --Booklist
"This unique title will be appreciated by fans of John Green and those looking for an uplifting and emotional tear-jerker." --School Library Journal
"This Star Won’t Go Out will make you sob (unless you don’t have a soul). But it will also make you smile [...] You might not expect a 16-year-old with a terminal illness to be funny, but Esther is cleverly so while eschewing bitterness." --Metro New York
- Click on the "Autobiography & Memoir" subject link to see other true-life stories, written by the people who lived them.
- Click on the "Grief & Terminal Disease" link to see blog entries featuring similarly-themed novels.
- You can also learn more about Esther Grace Earl at tswgobook.tumblr.com.
Because you know how every time you check out a book we remind you that you'll have to return or renew it in two weeks, or else risk having to pay overdue fines? Well... where are you going to be in two weeks? Not here at ETHS!
Since we obviously don't expect you to bring books back during Winter Break, you get to keep any material checked out now for an EXTRA TWO WEEKS! That means now is the perfect time to start making a dent in your "to read" list, to catch up on those series you started way back when, or to check out what's new in our collections!
Consider it our holiday gift to you, Wildkits. :)
Rotters
by Daniel Kraus
Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.
REVIEWS...
"A new horror classic." --Fangoria
"This is an unforgettable book. An unforgettable character. And an adventure that leads to unforgettable horror. I loved it." --R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series
"Grueling, demented, and so crammed with noxious awesomeness that I had to read it twice." --Scott Westerfeld, author of Leviathan and Uglies
"Profoundly affecting and deeply disturbing, Rotters kept me reading to the wee hours of the morning." --Rick Yancey, author of The Monstrumologist and The 5th Wave
"This is a bold, utterly fearless, uncompromising story told with such skill, with such beauty, and with such depth of focus it just warps the fabric of reality. I'm in awe of this book." --Michael Grant, author of the Gone series
As suspenseful and masterfully told as it is gruesome and terrifying." --Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother
Click on the "Scary Spooky Creepy" link on the right side of this page to see other blog entries featuring similar novels, booklists, and authors.
Zac & Mia
by A.J. Betts
REVIEWS...
"While comparisons to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars are inevitable, Zac & Mia holds its own as a smart, well-crafted story about the importance of friendship and feeling understood." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"Betts portrays cancer as hard, scary, and isolating, but beatable — or at least bearable — if one isn't facing it alone." --Publishers Weekly
"Above average in this burgeoning subgenre; it’s the healing powers of friendship, love and family that make this funny-yet-philosophical tale of brutal teen illness stand out."
--Kirkus
"There's complexity in their sometimes thorny relationship that makes this compelling as more than just a romance, but their connection is ultimately satisfyingly heartfelt. Hand this to readers looking for a love story with shadows but not inevitable doom." --Bulletin
Want more? Click on the 'Grief & Terminal Disease' subject link
on the right side of this page to see other blog entries featuring similar books.
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