GreenBeanTeenQueen

What a whirlwind weekend!! Here are some of my highlights of ALA Part 2: -Saturday night I went to dinner with fellow librarians/bloggers and it was so much fun! We talked forever and it was a blast talking about teens, YA books, libraries, and sharing ideas. It made me wish everyone was close by so we could meet up all the time. Kelly , Tiffany , Katie , Drea and Michelle were all at my end of the table and I had so much fun talking to them. Can't wait til we can all meet up again-ALA Midwinter, right girls?? -The YALSA YA Coffee Klatch. This was my favorite event last year and it rocked again this year! We had great authors at our table but I'm too tired to remember them all. One of my favorite parts was meeting James Kennedy, author of The Order of Odd Fish . I hadn't heard of his book but I left the table wanting to read it (and so did Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan who hardly ever reads YA-score!). He gave us all mixed CDs inspired by the book-and it's the strangest soundtr

It's been a busy time at ALA which means not as much time for blogging. But I'm having a blast and I thought I'd share some of my highlights so far: -Visiting the Young Reader's Room at the Library of Congress. And yes, they had Hunger Games and Catching Fire on display, as well as five versions of Harry Potter and the Order and the Phoenix, including a set in Braille! -Blogger breakfast with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl-these two are super sweet and nice and they love bloggers! They're hoping to do lots of blogger outreach at every tour stop, so be sure to keep at eye for their tour stops and events. -Hanging out with my librarian friends Drea and Katie -they rock and are fellow teen librarians who also have book blogs you should check out! -Being the first person to purchase the Nathan Fillion READ poster . Apparently this news was enough to make the ALA flickr account , which I find flattering and also a little embarassing! I can't wait to take this b

Here are the winners for the recent contests on GreenBeanTeenQueen: Countdown Winner Sonia J Nice and Mean Winner Jessica- Confessions of a Bookaholic Deception Winner Carol M Congrats winners! You have all been e-mailed and should recieve prizes soon.

Waiting on Wednesday is brought to you by Breaking the Spine ! As you know, ALA is coming up fast-I leave tomorrow!! Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan is traveling with me and here's his ALA Waiting on Wednesday list: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud -Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan is so excited for this one, it would make his ALA trip! The Fiend and the Forge by Henry Neff As you can see, Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan loves fantasy, so he'll be on the lookout for great fantasy series and I'll of course ask him to write reivews for you all!

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme started at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens-because tweens need books too! Join the fun and leave your Tween Tuesday post in the comments. Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Mystery Release Date: 5/11/2010 Add to Goodreads Series: I So Don't Do Mysteries , I So Don't Do Spooky About the Book: Sherlock (Sherry) Holmes is on the case again! Someone is out to sabatoge the new makeup kiosk in the mall, Naked Makeup. When Sherry and her friends use the makeup, it burns their skin and now they're saying they so don't do makeup-and Sherry's not going to let that happen! Is it the competing vendor who wants Naked Makeup's prime kiosk space, the Janes, a group of girls who refuse to wear makeup, or Drew, the lovesick co-worker? If anyone can save Naked Makeup, it's Sherry! GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: This book was just too cute!! I loved that Sherry wasn't perfect (like Nancy Drew) and she was very spunky and fun. She h

Rating: 3.75/5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Release Date: 4/27/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Isabel is a shifter-an immortal creature bound to protect the king of Somorna. Years ago something happened to make Isabel disappear into the wood and now Prince Rokan needs Isabel's protection. But Isable knows Prince Rokan is lying to her and she finds her loyalties being tested-who can she trust, who should be protect, and can she trust her heart? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I picked this book up because of the blurb comparing it to Graceling . I could see how this could appeal to fans of Graceling , but I don't think it's complex and detailed as Graceling was. It's still an enjoyable read and I found myself compulsively reading Mistwood over the course of a couple of days. Isabel starts the novel not knowing anything about her shifter past-she really has no memories and we the reader feel Isabel's joltedness from the start. We're thrown in with her, with no ba

(from left to right: Holly Schindler, Jenny B. Jones, Me, Brent Crawford, Brian Katcher) On June 5th, my library hosted Teen Book Mania-our very first teen lit conference! We had a panel of four authors: Brent Crawford, Jenny B. Jones, Brian Katcher, and Holly Schindler. The event was great, the authors and teens had a great time, and I can't wait to do another author event. All the weeks leading up to the event were not smooth and happy. May was a month full of summer reading school visits. I was very lucky to be able to visit every classroom in all three of my library districts middle schools and about eight classes at the high school. But that meant all of May I was hardly at the library because I was out at schools-I did a total of 62 class visits and spoke to over 1700 students in May! I promoted the books and mentioned Teen Book Mania everywhere I went. I passed out flyers to the librarians to have at the schools. I put out flyers and posters at my own library. But I still s

The teen summer reading program at my library is all online and as part of that the teens are able to write book reviews. We have over 600 book reviews posted on the site-the reviews are always a big hit of summer reading! While I was reading over the reviews to preview them before posting them on the site today, I came across a great review from a teen that ended with this quote: "I just got into reading this year and I'm really glad I did." That dear readers is why I'm a librarian! Moments like that make it all worth it!

With Pretty Little Liars now a TV Show on ABC Family, my hold list for the series is up and teens are wanting to read the series. So what can you give readers while they're waiting? Here are other books to suggest: Private Series by Kate Brian -I haven't read this one yet, but it has boarding school secrets, mystery, and scandal, so fans of Pretty Little Liars should find similar themes. There's also a Private webseries , so readers can get hooked on another show. She's So Dead to Us by Kate Brian -Rich girls turns poor girl, this was recommend in the comments! Top 8 by Katie Finn -Another one I haven't read yet, but my teens have told me it's good. This one has social networking sabatoge-with someone hacking Madison's Friendverse profile. The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen -This one has gossip, secrets, jealousy, backstabbing mean girls, romance, and lots of fashion. Paper Towns by John Green -I read this for my lit class and I can't believe I

I get e-mailed about great things to share, so I thought I'd put them all in one big post. -I was contacted by the YA Reader's Advisor (I love that title) from Evanston Public Library about an interview the library hosted with YA author Ann E. Burg, author of All the Broken Peices . Check out the interview-and the teen blog/website. I love the site and hope I can get my library teen page looking as cool! -The Teen Fire Ning is hosting a Dream Up Your Own Romance Title contest in honor of the release of The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. Have you ever thought of a genius book title, even before you came up with the plot? We’re launching another contest and a chance to win copies of The Summer of Skinny Dipping . It’s time to get lovey-dovey in the sunshine and share your original title for a summer romance novel! -I love audiobooks, so when I found out about SYNC, an audibook community, I had to share! • SYNC is an online community that seeks to build the audienc

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine . With ALA coming up, I thought I'd share some of my wish list! Crave by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz -I loved, loved, loved Melinda Metz's books as a teen, so I was thrilled she had a new book coming out! I've only been checking Amazon obsessively for the last ten years!! I have no idea if this book will even be there-I'm just keeping my fingers crossed! The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud -the newest Bartimaeus book (no final cover art yet). This is my husband's top pick for ALA. He's not as excited about the conference as I am, although he'll go and help carry my books. So if he could get his hands on this one, it would make the trip worth it! A lot of my other wist list I've done WOW's on before, so I'm listing the titles mostly so I can remember them all! Matched by Ally Condie (she's there signing-can't wait) Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (finally she writes a

I need your help again Pretty Little Liars fans! 'A's mission for me today is watch tonights episode of Pretty Little Liars (on ABC Family 8/7 central) and finish this statement: "Someone should take those posters down..." I'm playing the game as Emily, so I'm thinking it might be something Emily says-but 'A' can be tricky! Will you help me out?

I'm a guest blogger at Kiersten White's blog today! I'm blogging about my undying love for Gilbert Blythe-sigh....really-how can you not love him-he's so crushworthy!! Won't you come join me and share your lit crush? Plus, Kiersten is awesome, her blog is awesome and she has a very cool book coming out called Paranormalcy-you should go pre-order it !

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme that features reads for tweens! Join in the fun and post your own Tween Tuesday post and leave a link in the comments. The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang by Amy Ignatow Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Comic Release Date: 4/1/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Lydia and Julie are not popular so these best friends decide to figure out what makes popular people so popular in the first place. The girls plan out different experiments and keep track of their results and observations in a notebook which they share. As the girls undergo their popularity research, they find themselves less popular, in trouble, and drifting apart. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I picked this book up because it was sitting on the new shelf in the children's department at my library and I was looking for good booktalk ideas for fifth and sixth graders. This book is another great ad

Lee Nichols is the author of Deception: A Haunting Emma Novel . Check out my review of Deception and have a chance to win a copy! GBTQ: Deception is your first novel for young adults. How did you decide to write for YA? LN: I originally conceived of Deception as an adult novel, but kept making the main character younger and younger until I realized I really wanted to write a YA novel. I love what's happening in YA right now, it's a really exciting place to be. GBTQ: Do you believe in ghosts? LN: Not in the way that I imagined them here, but I do believe places and things can feel like they're haunted by the spirits of previous occupants or owners. GBTQ: Emma has a lot of different powers as a ghostkeeper-what power of hers would you want? LN: Communicating would obviously be the best. I'd just want to talk to them. GBTQ: What books are currently on your nightstand to be read? Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy every book I read, which is why I love libraries. Ju

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars Genre: Paranormal/Mystery Release Date: 6/8/2010 Series: Haunting Emma Add to Goodreads Author Interview About the Book: When Emma's parents leave on a business trip and don't return, Emma's world turns upside down. Her new friend at school lets social services know that Emma's been living alone and Emma finds herself saved by her brothers best friend Bennett. Bennett takes Emma away to his family's museum-mansion and enrolls Emma in a fancy private school. Emma starts to have visions of ghosts like she did when she was a child-and last time that happened no one believed her and she ended up in a mental hospital. Bennett is hiding secrets that hold the key to Emma's visions and there's more to Emma's ghost-seeing abilities than she knows. She may just hold the key to solving a murder. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Ghosts, romance, mystery, a Gothic feel, a mysterious private school, secrets-this book has everything a reader wants in a pa

I've blogged about the Pretty Little Liars Secret Keepers game before but this time I need your help! 'A' has given me a mission that involves you! My mission today is to get readers of my blog, friends, family, anyone to write a story about how you got your friends to like your new boyfriend on the Pretty Little Liars message boards . Please give me, Sarah-aka GreenBeanTeenQueen, credit in your story. You can find my post under "Friends Liking Your Boyfriend" on the message boards . If I don't get enough stories shared, 'A' will spill my secrets! You'll help a girl out, won't you??

Rating: 3.75/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Fantasy Release Date: 5/25/2010 Add to Goodreads Other books in series: Eyes Like Stars About the Book: Bertie and company are traveling from the Theatre in order to save the pirate Nate from the sea goddess who kidnapped him. Bertie is a mistress of tales and can write the company's story, but her words don't always work out the way she plans and the journey takes many unexpected twists. Ariel travels with Bertie and occupies her days, while Nate takes up her dreams at night. Will Bertie be able to save Nate and the company? And who will Bertie's heart choose? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Eyes Like Stars , so I couldn't wait to read this one. Perchance to Dream brings the return of the characters that made Eyes Like Stars so wonderful-Bertie, Ariel, Nate and the fairies are all there, and there's an addition of some new characters that add to the story. Lisa Mantchev

I'm very excited to be starting my Graphic Novels and Comics class that I'm taking as part of my MLS. The last time I took a lit class, several of you wanted to see the reading list, so I thought I'd share the graphic novels I'll be reading over the next three weeks (yep-it's a three week summer class-I'm going to be busy!) I've kept in my professor's annotations for more info. Our textbooks: 1. Understanding Comics . by Scott McCloud 2. Developing and Promoting Graphic Novel Collections , by Steve Miller. Graphic Novel Required Reading: 1. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale , by Art Spiegelman.- Pulitzer Prize winner that explores the life and family dynamics of a Holocaust survivor. Adult content. 2. Watchmen , by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. -- Eisner award winners present their classic story, a complex murder mystery that explores absolute power, love and the medium of comic books.Teen and adult content. 3. Persepolis: Story of a Childhood , by Marjane Sa

Don't forget Pretty Little Liars premires tonight on ABC Family at 8/7 central! Who will be watching? And check out the show's website : there are some great message boards to talk about the show!

Please welcome Jessica Leader, author of Nice and Mean , to Tween Tuesday! You can visit Jessica at her website and find her on www.twitter.com/JessicaLeader Jessica was kind enough to answer some questions for Tween Tuesday: 1. Nice and Mean is the story of two girls who don't like each other yet have to work together on a project. Did you ever have to work with someone you didn't like-and how did you handle it? JL: Strange to say, I can’t remember getting stuck with any really awful partners. (It’s possible that I’ve blocked them out but channeled them into my poor characters’ lives.) I do remember prepping a presentation for history class, though, in which I worked with two good friends and one so-so friend, and it did not go entirely smoothly. The good friends and I would say, “Oh, we’ll do this and this,” and the so-so friend would say, “And I’ll do the map.” And when we made plans to work on it at someone’s house, we said, “We can run through the presentation,” and so-s

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme that features great reads for Tweens! Add your own Tween Tuesday links in the comments below and join the fun! Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 6/8/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Marina is mean, Sachi is nice. So when the two girls get paired up as partners in video class, working together is not going to be easy. Marina wants to do a video on fashion-and use it to show everyone how awful her friend turned frenemy Rachel really is. Sachi wants to do a video that people will remember and find important-not spoof a fashion show. She really needs her video to be something great because she lied to her parents about taking video and she needs to have something her parents will like. But middle school is never fair and Marina and Sachi are going to learn all about being nice and mean. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Nice and Mean is a cute and fun read-and tween girls will love it! Marina reminded me of someone who could be in The Clique

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 6/10/2010 Add to Goodreads This post is part of the Sea tour by Traveling to Teens . About the Book: As a surprise for her birthday, Sienna's father invites Sienna to be part of Team Hope's trip to Indonesia-the same place her mother's plane disappeared over the Indian Ocean three years before. Team Hope will be spending two weeks working at an orphanage and helping children heal from the tsunami that tore through their country six months before. While there, Sienna connects with Deni. Both haunted by nightmares from their past, Sienna and Deni help each other heal in ways they never imagined and together they find the answers they were searching for. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Love, Love, Love it! I love books with romance, but sometimes the romance genre feels oversaturated with paranormal or new girl falls for hot guy who finally notices her storylines. Sea stands out among these romances and is a breath of fresh air. I

I was invited to play in ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars Secret Keepers game to help promote the June 8th premiere of the show. I was sent a free Driod phone and I'm playing as Emily. 'A' has been texting me almost every day with a new mission I have to complete or else one of my secrets gets spilled-and I so don't want that to happen! Some of my more recent missions have been harder-I had to actually call Emily's boyfriend-ACK!! And today involved some counting and message boards and I'm hoping I was right with my answer that 'A' won't reveal my secret. And not only is 'A' sending texts saying she's going to spill if we don't do what she says, but she comments on our Facebook posts-she's everywhere and she always seems to know what's going on! I'm friends with many of the secret keepers on Facebook and reading about their missions I know 'A' has it in for me and I'm going to get a really hard mission so