GreenBeanTeenQueen

I love when books get a cover redesign. I think it's so interesting seeing how a books cover can evolve and change. Sarah Dessen's books are getting a redesign and I'm bringing you the new cover of Dreamland ! What do you think? I think it's beautiful and simple and very eye catching! You can follow the cover reveal tour to see the rest of the new covers:  May 28: That Summer (Mundie Moms) - http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/ May 29: Someone Like You (Penguin Teen Tumblr) - http://penguinteen.tumblr.com May 30: Keeping the Moon (Frenetic Reader) - http://www.freneticreader.com/ May 31: Dreamland (Green Bean Teen Queen) - http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com/ June 1: This Lullaby (Steph Su) - http://stephsureads.blogspot.com/ June 4: The Truth About Forever (Forever YA) - http://www.foreveryoungadult.com June 5: Just Listen (Princess Bookie) - http://www.princessbookie.com/ June 6: Lock & Key (Presenting Lenore) - http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/

My very first ALA Conference was in 2009. I had been a librarian for a little over two years by then and all I really knew about ALA was that I would be surrounded by librarians and book enthusiasts for the next five days. Opening day I made my way over to experience the craziness that was the exhibit hall. The next thing I knew I was being pushed, pulled and handed books. Books were on the floor and on the counter for you to take. And before I knew it, I had a full tote bag, my head was spinning in circles, and I had missed the giveaway for Catching Fire which was the one giveaway my teens were begging me to attend. Exhibit floors can be exhausting and overwhelming. Then stick all those people into a conference session after they've been walking everywhere carrying heavy books and swag around and partying a bit too late the night before, and you're bound to get a bit cranky. Trust me, I've been there! So what exactly does conference professionalism look like? Is there a

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun, share your links below and discover a new tween read! Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 5/10/2012 Add To Goodreads About the Book: After her stepfather hurts Carley and her mother in a fight, tweleve-year-old Carley has just been told that she is being placed in a foster home until her mother gets better. Carley doesn't belong in the Murphy's foster home-it's too good,  too nice, and too affectionate-not for Carley at all. But the Murphy's, especially the kind and caring Mrs. Murphy, slowly are able to break down Carley's walls and Carley is able to help the Murphy family more than she thought. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: If you're looking for a touching and heartwarming read, add this to your summer reading pile now!! I was captivated from the first page and absolutely fell in love with Carley and the Murphy famil

It's summer! Which means a lot of my friends on Facebook have been asking for summer reading suggestions. After answering this question multiple times over the past few days, I decided to share my ideas on my blog. I think summer is a great time to find something new or catch up on those books you've been meaning to read. But the key thing to summer (or really anytime reading)-read what you enjoy. This list is mostly MG and YA (because hey, that's what I read!) with a few adult suggestions thrown in. This is pretty much made up off the top of my head from books I've read and enjoyed (or had teens read and enjoy) and based on suggestions for genres I've received from friends. Some are old, some are new, but they are books that are in my librarian suggestion arsenal. And if you want to check out audiobooks this summer, (which I highly recommend!) check out my post on getting started with audiobooks. Please add your own suggestions below! You Liked The Hun

Have you guys seen the new trailer for Baz Luhrmann's newest film Gatsby ? I love the book and I adore Baz Luhrmann's films, so I can't wait to see this film! Who else is excited?

I'm not sure when it was I first heard about Lindsey Leavitt's new novel, Going Vintage , but I was sold on the premise: A girl is brokenhearted after her boyfriend cheats on her with an online girlfriend. So she decides to give up modern technology and live by a list of goals written by her grandmother in 1962. If I could, I would totally be a mod 60s girl (too bad being fashionably vintage is also terribly expensive!) So the next best thing is to read about it, right? And when I saw the cover release for Going Vintage I knew I had to share! Who else shares my affinity for 60s culture? And isn't this the greatest cover ever??

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great middle grade reads for tweens! Join the fun, add your post below and discover a new read! Rating: 3/5 Stars Genre: Mystery/Suspense Release Date: 8/1/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: While out biking and hunting for a geocache, Chase comes across a cache with a message inside: WE NE. He's not sure what it means or if it's a joke. So he returns the next day and the message has more: WE NEED FOOD. Chase wants to help and he begins to worry that maybe someone is lost in the desert. When Chase finds two boys that need his help, he's not sure if he should believe all their stories or not. Something about what they're telling him just seems off. Can Chase help the boys? And what exactly is the truth? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I picked up Hide and Seek because it's on our state book award list for next year. And if your award reading lists are anything like ours

If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would it say? What do you wish you had known back then that you know now? What encouragement and advice would you tell teen you? Those are the questions posed to sixty-four award winning authors and illustrators writing to their younger selves. It's touching, emotional and beautiful. I mean just the book trailer brings warm fuzzies to you, doesn't it? Doesn't it make you want to go back and hug your younger self? Would you like to win a copy? Thanks to Scholastic, I have two copies of The Letter Q: Queer Writers's Notes to Their Younger Selves to giveaway! About the book: In this anthology, sixty-four award-winning authors and illustrators such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline, Woodson, Terrence McNally, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin, make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their l

In committee news, committee reading is kicking my butt! And I can't share what I've read, which makes it hard to post. I'm going to be posting a lot more audiobook reviews though! :) Flash reviews are short reviews of lots of titles. I have an audiobook addiction which means I have a lot of audiobooks to review! I don't read a lot of adult titles, but I sneak some in sometimes, so here's what I've listened to recently: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen Rating: 3/5 Stars The Waverley family has always been eccentric. Their garden has rumored prophetic fruit that will show you the greatest moment of your life. Claire avoids the fruit trees, but uses her family's mystical garden and her talent in the kitchen to create a catering company. When Claire's estranged sister Sydney returns home after escaping their small town years ago, Claire's carefully constructed life comes crashing down. And a new neighbor who has shown an interest in Clai

When I need to take a break from all my committee reading, I turn to my trusty TV! I have to share my current obsessions-anyone else hooked on these shows? I have to thank Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan for getting me hooked on Game of Thrones . He'd read the books and couldn't wait until the show aired. I'm trying to read book one in the series, but it's slow going (have you seen how huge those books are?) It's fantasy, but not so much fantasy that non-fantasy fans won't enjoy it. The TV series is amazing-wonderful writing and storytelling, a fantastic cast, everything is done so well! My favorite characters are Jon, Arya and Tyrion. Jon because he's a bit sensitive and he's smart (and OK, Jon Snow is pretty cute!), Arya because she kicks butt, and Tyrion because I love his wit and every scene Peter Dinklage is in, he just rocks. I also have hopes that the actress who plays Arya grows up and plays Katsa in a Graceling movie-it would be so perfect! There

I have an obsession with Downton Abbey . And since this season ended, I've been wanting anything I can find that has a similar feel of drama and family secrets. I don't know what it is about historical period dramas with secrets and scandal that make me love them, but they make for perfect reads on a rainy afternoon, don't you think? If you're a Downton Abbey fan like myself, be sure to check out the new YA novel, Wentworth Hall . There's plenty of family drama, secrets, scandal and lots of upstairs/downstairs happenings. You'll want to get caught up in the happenings of Wentworth Hall, the household and the staff- it's a good book to have on hand while we all wait for Downton Abbey Season Three! Sound like your kind of read? It's your lucky day because I have a copy of Wentworth Hall and your very own gilded journal (to keep track of your own scandals and secrets, of course!) to give away! (Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the prizes!) Abou

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted here at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens. Add your link below and discover a new read! Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Mystery/Humor Release Date: 2/14/2012 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Poor Madeline. All she wants is some new white shoes to attend her school graduation ceremony and accept an award from Prince Charles. It's a very big deal, except her hippie parents don't seem to agree. They're too busy celebrating Luminara. When some foxes need the help of Madeline's code-decoder relative Uncle Runyon, they kidnap Madeline's parents instead, hoping they can lead them to Uncle Runyon's address. Good thing Mrs. and Mrs. have just taken up detective work-all for the fedora, of course. The bunnies are on the case! GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: It's rare that I find a book that appeals to my inner 9-year-old self and my adult self all in one. But that's just what Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Dectec