Ghostopolis

Ghostopolis by Dough TenNapel

Bibliographic Information: TenNapel, Doug. Ghostopolis. NY: Scholastic Graphix, 2010. Paperback
ISBN 13: 978-0-545-21028-7. $12.99 US. 267 pages. 

Awards: 

• 2011 ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens
• IRA Children’s Choices 2011, Advanced Readers
• Kirkus Reviews 2010 Best Children’s Books
• VOYA 2009 Best Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
• 2012 ALA Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adults
• 2011 Eisner Award Nominee for Best Publication for Teens

Annotation: Garth Hale, a young terminally ill boy, is mistakenly transported to the ghost world. There, he needs to find his courage and defeat the realm’s evil Lord Vaugner. Best for ages 13 – 16, this is an easy but fun read. This work is a great collection to any school or public library. 

Index Card Trick:

• - Garth Hale, a young boy, is terminally ill
• - Frank Gallows works for the Supernatural Immigration                              Task Force
• Frank is chasing a skeleton horse that escaped from Ghostopolis and accidentally transports Garth back to Ghostopolis with the horse
• Garth meets his own grandfather, who never forgave himself for a fight with his daughter years ago
• Frank and his ex-girlfriend and ghost, Claire, travel to ghost world to rescue Garth
• Evil Lord Vaugner has oppressed the inhabitants of ghost world
• What forces in ghost world are working against Vaugner?
• Who is really on Garth’s side?
• Can Frank and Claire be happy together again? 
• Will Frank’s grandfather make peace with his life and help his grandson? 
• Can Garth use his new found powers he possesses only in ghost world to defeat the Vaugner?
• Can Garth make it back home and beat his terminal illness? 

The author's website has information on all of his work, provides his contact information, and provides a forum were readers can ask TenNapel questions. 

Young Adult Interview:

Joseph D. - I don’t have twitter or Facebook, just an email, but I do use Youtube.I like to read fiction, I really like ghosts and supernatural books. I’m reading Zombies Versus Unicorns right now, and have a book at home about the show “supernatural” that I’m going to read next. I usually one to two times a week, but read whenever I have a book at home. My favorite book is the third Harry Potter. I don’t read graphic novels because the library doesn’t have that many and I’ve just never found one that I really wanted to read.- 14 years old

Kill Shakespeare

Kill Shakespeare

by Conor McCreery, Andy Belanger, and Col Anthony

Bibliographic Information: McCreery, Conor, Andy Belanger, and Col Anthony. Del. Kill Shakespeare. San Diego, CA: IDW Pub., 2010. Print.ISBN 13: 978-1600107818. $19.99. 148 pages.

Awards:

• Nominated for a Joe Shuster Award

• Nominated for a Harvey Award

Annotation: Best for ages eighteen and up, especially young adults who are familiar with Shakespeare’s work, this inventive graphic novel is the tale of young Hamlet, seeking revenge for his father’s death. Hamlet embarks on a journey to find the evil Shakespeare’s quill and meets some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters along the way. This is an excellent addition to any public library’s graphic novel collection, and is also a great way to get young adults more interested in Shakespeare. 

Open ended booktalk: What if Shakespeare’s Hamlet was not quite the whole story? What if Hamlet, after mistaking Polonius for his traitorous uncle and accidentally murdering him, left his city and began a very different quest? What would happen if all of Shakespeare’s most famous characters existed in the same universe together? King Richard III convinces Hamlet to find and steal the evil Shakespeare’s pen. As a reward, the three witches will bring Hamlet’s beloved father back from the dead. But is Richard III as trustworthy as he seems? Or is Hamlet in for a twisted and treaturous journey? Can Hamlet bring Shakespeare’s quill to Richard III and see his father again, or will other forces stop him in his tracks? Can Hamlet accept his destiny as the “Shadow King” and Kill Shakespeare?
Watch the teaser trailer here:

Visit Kill Shakespeare's website for the authors' blog, updates, more videos, and artwork. 

Read Shakespeare's plays online for free and find out the back story for the characters from Kill Shakespeare. 

Science Fiction

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Bibliographic Information: Morgenstern, Erin. The Night Circus. NY: Doubleday, 2011. Hardcover.

ISBN: 978-0-385-53463-5. $26.95. 387 pages.

Awards/Honors:

•           Nominated for the 2011 Guardian First Book Award
•          Winner of an Alex Award from the ALA
•           New York Times Best Seller

Annotation: This fantasy novel detailing the mysterious night circus and its many followers, called “reveurs”, is a great addition to a public library’s collection. This book is best for older teens, eighteen and up.

Wrap Back to the Title/Book Whisper:

 “There are no nets” (Morgenstern, p.105) in The Night Circus. Here, trapeze artists fall with no warning and walk away unharmed. With no announcement, this turn of the century night circus pops up in a town, opens from dusk to dawn, and leaves on a whim. Far from your average circus, the night circus relies on real magicians to create a dazzling show. But behind this beautiful and magical facade, Celia and Marco, young magicians with a budding romance, are forced to compete against each other in a magical showdown to the death. Find out what lies behind the black and white tent and experience the magic of The Night Circus.  

Useful Links:

Erin Morgenstern's official website includes reviews of The Night Circus, a book trailer, and the author's blog. You can also sample the first twelve pages. 

Watch the book trailer below:

Graphic Novel

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Bibliographic Information: Brosgol, Vera. Anya’s Ghost. NY: First Second, 2011. Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1-59643-713-5. $19.99 US. 221 pages.

Awards/Honors:

• 2011 Cybils Award
• American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book
• ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults
• Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) Great Graphic Novel for Teens
• BCCB Best Book of the Year
• Graphic Novel Reporter Best GN of the Year
• Jezebel.com Best Female Creator of the Year 
•  2011 Eisner Award Winner
• Booklist Editor’s Choice
• Kirkus Best Book of the Year
• Library Media Connections Best of the Best

The Graphic Form:

Anya is a first generation Russian immigrant just trying to fit in and be a normal American high school student (flip through the first 10 pages). However, Anya’s search for normalcy gets a little complicated when she falls in a well (show page 13) and meets the ghost of Emily. Emily’s bones have been sitting in the well ever since Emily was murdered about a century ago.  One of Emily’s bones mysteriously winds up in Anya’s bag, and now Emily can go anywhere Anya can, as long as Anya has the bone (show p.101 of Emily flying) At first, everything is great. Emily helps Anya score higher on tests (show p. 35), helps her get closer to the boy of her dreams (show p. 111), and Emily enjoys her new freedom. However, once Anya starts digging into Emily’s past, things get a little complicated. Who exactly is Anya’s Ghost? 

Useful Links:
View a preview of the novel on the publisher's website, watch a trailer for the book, read the author's bio, and find out how to purchase a copy, all right here.  

Watch the book trailer here:

Multicultural

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 

by Mark Haddon

 

Bibliographic Information: Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. NY: Doubleday, 2003. Hardcover.

ISBN: 0-385-50945-6. $22.95 US. 226 pages.  

Awards/Honors: 

• Whitbread Book Award for Best Novel of the Year 
• Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best Book 
• Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize  

Snap’N Read:  

            Christopher John Francis Boone narrates this unconventional mystery. Christopher is an autistic 15-year-old living in a middle class English suburb. When Christopher goes for a late night walk and finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, murdered on the lawn, Christopher takes it upon himself to find Wellington’s murder. Along the way, Christopher unearths some very dark family secrets that take him on a frightening journey to London. In the end, he rediscovers the family he thought he had lost forever.  

     Christopher sees the world from a unique point of view. He is extremely intelligent and honest, and expects the same honesty from the rest of the world. He states on pages 19 to 20:  

A lie is when you say something happened which didn’t happen. But there is only ever one thing which happened at a particular time and a particular place. And  there are an infinite number of things which didn’t happen at that time and that place. And if I think about something which didn’t happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn’t happen… This is why I don’t like proper novels, because they are lies about things which didn’t happen and they make me feel shaky and scared. 

              However, Christopher’s worldview becomes shaken, and big lies are unearthed during his journey. Discover the secrets behind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.  

Useful Links:  Read Mark Haddon's blog, read his bio, view his artwork, and get his contact information all on his official website. 

Find out about a London theater's stage adaptation of the novel here.

 

Street Lit

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

Bibliographic Information: Souljah, Sister. The Coldest Winter Ever. NY: Pocket Books, 1999.
355 p. $14.00 U.S. ISBN 13: 978-7434-7010-6

Honors: Sold over one million copies

Annotation: Winter Santiaga, born to a wealthy drug-dealer in New York, has the life of a smart, modern-day princess. But life changes after her father is sent to jail.

Open End: Who can Winter Santiaga trust? When your father has seemingly endless money and gives you a fairytale life, what can go wrong? But when your father is a New York drug dealer, your life can never be stable. After her father ends in up in jail, what will happen to Winter? Will she follow in her father’s footsteps? Can she ever stop chasing after money and have a better life?

Index Card Trick:
- Winter Santiaga: born during a blizzard, told from her point of view
- Lives in Brooklyn, New York
- Sisters: Portia, Mercedes, Lexus
- Father (Ricky): Drug Dealer
- Daughters are really spoiled
- Mother is shot by father’s rivals
- Father is arrested: what will happen to his daughters?
- Can Sister Souljah,
- Will Winter follow in her father’s footsteps, or can she stop chasing after money?

Useful Links: Sister Souljah’s website has contact information, podcasts, crisis help, and information on all of her works.

Chick Lit

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Bibliographic Information: Cabot, Meg. Valentine Princess. NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
86 p. $8.99 U.S. ISBN 13: 978-0-06-084718-0.

Annotation: Volume VII and ¾ in the Princess Diaries series finds Princess Mia and her boyfriend, Michael, on the precipice of their  first Valentine’s day.

Booktalk: Open End: With Princess Mia’s Grandmere trying to convince her that Michael, Mia’s boyfriend, isn’t the “one”, and with Michael’s lack of enthusiasm about their first Valentine’s day, can anything go right for princess Mia? Mia has to watch her friends enjoy Valentine’s day with their boyfriends, but Michael doesn’t want to participate in such a commercial holiday. On top of all of that, is someone planning to kidnap Grandmere? Being a Princess is hard work, but why should it  be this hard to be Michael’s Valentine Princess?

Useful Links:  
Meg Cabot’s website has information on all of her title, join her fan club, and buy her titles.

Teen Reads gives a review and summary of the work.

The publisher’s website has information on Meg Cabot, interviews with the author, information on her other works, and reading guides to The Valentine Princess.