GreenBeanTeenQueen

Hi all! Just a quick note to let you know I'm still recovering from hosting Thanksgiving and having ten family members at my house over the week! I'll be back soon with contests and ideas for bookish holiday gifts. If you have any favorite books or bookish gifts, I'd love to hear about them!

I got a special surprise from 'A' this week! I got a package from A with this note inside: The note says "Time to turn up the heat and see what secrets are revealed. Happy Thanksgiving!-A" And then I found this: An Apple Pie from 'A' with her initials all over it! Of course we had to bake it on Thanksgiving! Thanks A! And it got me very excited for the upcoming premire of Pretty Little Liars. I'm ready for the show to start back up! Don't worry, I've got the videos to get you caught up. Here's a recap of everything that's happened so far in case you missed it: And of course a preview of the new season:

Our newest state booklist will be released soon-our ratings for the books on the shortlist are due December 1st! I'm compiling my thoughts on some of the Gateway Award Nominees since our ratings are due soon. These will be shorter than normal reviews aka "flash reviews." While these books are shortlisted on the Gateway Award List and I am a reader selector for the list, these reviews reflect my own personal opinion and not that of the committee or the Missouri School Library Association. (And this isn't all of the books-I'm still working on several and I've reviewed many others already on this blog!) I'll keep you updated on the final list and try and post more of my reviews as I read. If you've read any, I'd love to know your thoughts! Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas Rating: 3/5 I really wanted to like this book since I typically love novels in verse. But this one fell short for me. The characterization was lacking-there were seve...

So I participated in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge (I set a goal of 15 books and right now I'm at 24!) I love reading Debut books so of course I'm going to participate again next year! The challenge is hosted by The Story Siren and you can find more info on her site. Be sure to join in-the prize packs each month are very cool and you get to read lots of awesome YA! So what am I planning on reading? 1. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand 2. Across the Universe by Beth Revis 3. Timeless by Alexandra Monir 4. Choker by Elizabeth Woods 5. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Crystal Allen 6. Rival by Sara Bennett-Wheeler 7. A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford 8. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton 9. Entwined by Heather Dixon 10. Clarity by Kim Harrington 11. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys 12. Kat the Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis 13. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton 14. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder 15. Divergent by Veronica Roth 16. Awaken by Kate Kacvinsky 17....

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen! Join the fun and share your great tween reads below. Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Non-Fiction/Humor Release Date: 5/11/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Everyone poops. So why don't we ever talk about it history class? How did they go to the bathroom in the Middle Ages-they sure didn't have indoor plumbing! Who invented the modern toilet? How to astronauts go to the bathroom in space? Poop Happened is a look at the history of the world from the bottom up. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I'm always looking for fun, creative non-fiction to booktalk during my school visits. Poop Happened fits that description perfectly! The book is full of fun facts and illustrations and I know many middle school boys (and girls) will be excited to pick this one up. I love the way the book is set up. The chapters are short and quick to read. In addition to the main chapter information, there's a lot of sidebar information and bo...

So there's been a lot of talk lately about negative reviews and I felt like I wanted to give my view on negative reviewing. I work very hard to review honestly on this blog, which means there will be times when I don't like a book and I will post about it. I know that not every book is for every reader-I'm a librarian, I preach that philosophy every single day! But my blog is my place to share my thoughts on the books I read and I will post honestly-meaning the good and the bad. I do try my hardest to explain every review I write and really examine each book I read and look at it and see what worked and didn't work for me-and share that in my reviews. I honestly get a little tired of seeing the blogging world turn into a gushing review society. Really, every YA blogger adores every single YA book they've ever read? Really? That's the beauty of reading-we all have different ideas, thoughts and experiences with books. What works for us might not work for someone ...

Ok, seriously how hot is this cover??? I've got MAJOR cover lust, what about you? About the Book: Luis Fuentes is a good boy who doesn’t live with the angst that his big brothers, Alex and Carlos, have always lived with. Luis is smart, funny, and has big dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when he falls for the wrong girl, Luis enters a dark world he’s never known, and just when he thinks he’s got life all figured out, learns some disturbing news about his family that destroys his positive outlook on life. Will that Fuentes bad boy streak come out with a vengeance and lure Luis to live on the edge like his new girlfriend and his own father? Add to Goodreads Now!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One is almost here! So to celebrate, I thought I would share what it is I love about the series. (And there are spoilers-you've been warned!! But seriously, if you need spoiler warnings, than I'm sad-you need to read the series!) I got in on the Harry Potter phenomenon late-I read all the books in a month before the sixth book released. And you all have Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan to thank for that because he told me to read them. I had actually started reading book one aloud with my brother a couple of years before, but we stopped reading because I had to back to school and we just never caught back up. But after I read them, I immediately called my mom and told her she had to read them with my siblings! I didn't really hear much about Harry Potter until I was in college (and yes, it makes me feel old when my teens say they grew up reading Harry Potter ), and while I had friends that read them, I was very busy and not reading as much...

I don't normally post Waiting on Wednesday posts (at least not on a regular basis) but there have been so many lust worthy covers out recently, I had to share!! Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine . Wither by Lauren DeStefano March 2011 This cover goes into the cover dresses I want in real life pile The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell March 2011 Another dress I love-I like this cover much better than the other one I've seen floating around! Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis April 2011 I've been waiting for this book forever- I've serious got a waiting list already at my library of girls who want to read it! I love this new cover! Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker July 2011 I've been wanting to read this since I heard Melissa was writing it which seems like forever ago-can't wait to read it! Divergent by Veronica Roth May 2011 There's lots of early buzz around this one, and author Veronica Roth is awesome! She lives...

I've seen a lot of fan made videos for various things, but this fan made Hunger Games clip featuring Katniss and Rue is pretty impressive!! I just hope the movie is this good!

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Join the fun and add your link for Tween Tuesday below! Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Graphic Novel/Comic/Fantasy Release Date: Originally published in 1996, full color copy from Scholastic published 2005 Add to Goodreads About the Book: The three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone have been run out of Boneville. Shortly after the start of their journey the cousins are seperated. Each cousin travels into a strange forest with new creatures and the hope of finding a way back. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I feel like such a terrible librarian for admitting this, but I hadn't read Bone until this year! The comics are always checked out from my library and I always have tweens and teens asking for them, but I had never sat down and read them. When I was at a Scholastic warehouse sale earlier this year, I saw the full color versions of Bone and decided to pick up a copy of v...

Teen Book Mania Last week, I did an interview at YA Librarian Tales for Sarah's feature on " Life Behind the Reference Desk. " I talked about my Teen Library Council and was asked to give more information. So here it is!! -Basically, my Teen Library Council (TLC) is what I call my "teen brain"-I always tell them I hate growing up and sadly I'm not a teen anymore, so they need to tell me what teens want, what's hot, what's not and what I need to know about teens. -TLC meets once a month (we meet on a Saturday but other libraries have good luck meeting on weekday afternoons). We meet anywhere between 1 and 2 hours and I keep track of who attends the meetings. They can count council time as volunteer time for the library. -TLC helps me plan library programs for teens-that's their biggest job. They help me with ideas, crafts, events, and even program prep, set up and tear down. In December the TLC members will even be presenting a stor...

Sarah of YA Librarian Tales has a new feature called "Life Behind the Reference Desk"-and guess who her first librarian guest is? Me! Be sure to check out the interview to see what life as a librarian is really like! And thanks Sarah for the interview- check out her blog -she totally rocks!:)

I don't know what it is about the holidays, but they make me want to curl up with a sappy holiday romance or watch cheesy made-for-TV movies. As much as I enjoy romance, I honestly can't take too much sap and cheesiness, but I love it this time of year! And I love reading holiday books, so the Holiday Reading Challenge at All About {n} is always a ton of fun! Here's the rules: Challenge Requirements: 1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31. 2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, if you're like me, you are more than welcome to surpass that number. 3- And now, here's the clincher... they must be holiday related books. That's right, the holiday doesn't really matter, but it would be more "jolly" if your choices were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. 4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The...

Photo Credit: Nick Lacy Please welcome author Lisa Rowe Fraustino to GreenBeanTeenQueen! I asked Lisa to share her thoughts on libraries: In early childhood, I don’t remember having many books at home. I remember being told all the nursery rhymes and traditional fairy tales that my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all knew by heart, but it was when I got to school that I first discovered shelves full of children’s books. Learning to read in the first grade changed my life. What, you didn’t need another person to tell you a story? You could learn the magic code of written language and tell all the stories in the world to yourself? My teacher even let us borrow her books, take one home each night to read over and over. I loved reading aloud to my younger sister and brother. Wow, could life ever get any better than that? Yes, yes it could! I found out the next summer, after my mother had started working full-time. Mama and Daddy left us with a sitter all day, Mrs. Murphy, who had ...

Rating: 3/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Fantasy Release Date: 11/1/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Strange things are happening to Seb. He's started to notice strange colors in his secret hideaway he's dubbed the hole in the way. Then he finds a rock that shares those strange colors. But when the eggs start to harden and raw cookie dough gives Seb the stomach ache of the century, he and his sister set out to uncover the truth about what's happening in their small town. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: It took me awhile to get into this book. There's not a lot of action right from the start and it took me a bit to get used to the author's storytelling style. Seb is an interesting character and he takes a bit to get used to. He has quite an imagination, so his mind wanders and he imagines new situations and he takes the reader there with him. Because of this, his narration takes a bit to get adjusted to. A lot happens in the story and there's a big mystery th...

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tween readers! Join the fun and add your Tween Tuesday post below. Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Comic Book Release Date: 1/1/11 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Pilot and Huxley are best friends who are about to get pulled into the biggest adventure. The video game they rented, Alien vs. Terminator vs Predator vs Robocop vs Jim Carry is overdue-and just happens to hold the password to activate an alien race's weapon of doom. The aliens send the Grim Reaper to collect the game, but he just sends Pilot and Huxley to a strange new world. Now they have to find the leader, find a way home-and oh yeah, find a way to defeat evil aliens. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: When you work with tween readers you can never have enough gross out humor and Pilot & Huxley offers up a new comic series with plenty of gross out humor. The banter between Pilot and Huxley is tween perfect-exactly h...

Rating: 4/5 Stars Genre: Paranormal Release Date: 10/19/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Nora is happily dating Patch and life seems to be going great-until the moment Nora let's it slip that she loves him. Nora should have known her life couldn't stay perfect. Patch begins to pull away and Nora feels betrayed and hurt as Patch's attention turns to her nemesis, Marcie Millar. As Nora begins to learn more about her father's death she finds out about a group of rogue Nephilim and a mysterious leader, the Black Hand. Patch isn't answering her questions, so it's up to Nora to find out the truth for herself. But is she ready for the what the truth may uncover about her past? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I had a love/hate relationship with this book (and I mean that in a good way!) Nora and Patch would make me love them one minute and than get so frustrated and annoyed at them the next. Especially Patch-why couldn't he at least clue Nora in a bit? And Nora was ve...

Hey everyone! Don't forget to sign up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap ! This is a great way to spread the holiday cheer and share books and meet new bloggers. I partcipated last year and had a blast finding the perfect gift for my blogger and I was able to find two new blogs thanks to the swap (my blogger match and the blogger that sent my gift!) The deadline is November 14, so sign up now!

This one is for all you library school students: (thanks to LibrariYAn for the link!) And thanks to Betsy Bird for pointing me to this one.

So we all know I love books. I'm a librarian and an avid reader. I grew up going to the library and my house has always been filled with books. During most of my conversations there will be some talking about books and reading. I love discussing what it is I love about a book or what makes me really dislike it. I love sharing my thoughts and hearing what others have to say. I want to know why someone loves a book, what it is about that book that makes it their favorite book they've read, and why it meant so much to them. And when I see support for books and reading from celebrities, I get excited, really I do. I mean, I was the first person to purchase the Nathan Fillion READ poster! And I proudly display the new Harry Potter posters in my office. But there's also something about celebrities hocking books that really bugs me. It's not enough for me to see some popular person holding a book on an ALA READ poster-I want to know why they picked it. I even thought that ...

Rating: 5/5 Stars (If I had a gold star to give this book, I totally would!) Genre: Contemporary/Romance Release Date: 12/2/2010 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Anna has just been shipped off to a Paris boarding school because her father thinks she needs more culture. She's not too happy-just when things were finally working out with her cute co-worker Toph now she has to spend senior year away from possible romance, her adorable younger brother and her best friend. But then Anna meets Etienne St. Clair-cute, charming, funny-and taken. St Clair has a serious girlfriend and Anna's not the type to try and steal a boy away. So it's friendship instead. But can Anna really only be friends with St. Clair? In a city full of romance, will the lights shine on Anna? After a year of missed connections and mixed signals will she find romance after all? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Librarians take note: when you have a reader come into the library asking for a contemporary romance ala Sa...