 Hello everyone and welcome to En Compass Live. I'm Sally Snyder here at the Library Commission. Christa's out of the office so I'm doing my best to run the show today. I hope it works okay. So keep your fingers crossed. Today we're in the studio. Well in the meeting room with me is Jill Annis from Elkhorn Grandview Middle School and we're going to be talking about the team, best new team books of 2015 and I should have, let me find it, oops that's not what I wanted. Don't panic. That's it. Yeah but I want to go to, well we'll put that up, but I also want to go to our web page to show you where you can download a copy up. This is Windows 10. It's my first exploration in it so please forgive me. What we'll do is we'll, we'll discontinue this and hopefully I don't get rid of that one. Yay! There. Oh that's where I needed to go. Let's go to LC. There. Now if you go to the Library Commission's home page which is nlc.nebraska.gov and you type in the search box the word handouts. Come on handouts. Oh you're going to make me do that. Okay sorry. The top thing that comes up as a best bet is Nebraska Library Commission handouts which is so far only, I'm the only one using this page. I asked for it and I have quite a bit from the past on here but here is the list of the NLA, NSLA conference handouts so you can click on this one and get our basic handout. Whoops that's the children's. Sorry about that. I should have been doing teens. Here we go. Best new teen books and these are the books we'll be talking about so if you want to call that up on your computer and follow along with us. The other one sorry is with our blurbs so you can follow along as we read our blurbs and I want to explain the reason we're reading our blurbs is it's all my fault. If you if I don't control myself I will talk for three hours and nobody's going to stay with me that long not even Jill she'll leave I'm sure because I won't give her enough time to talk about her books so I read it from my notes and that keeps me on track and keeps us moving so we can get through all these books but I did want you to see where you can find the handout so that you can look at it and we'll also connect the handout page with the the recorded version of this when Krista gets back so she can handle that for us. Now I'm so sorry I don't know how to get our picture up too bad and Jill oh darn it I know you're upset I think if I just shrink this well no I don't remember how to do that that's all right but we'll just get on a move on here and get into our presentation if you have questions why type type into the question box and we'll answer those as we go along I just reading something that Molly Kellum told us that our mics were on when we were trying to get the thing to work right so sorry about that but things are good now and we'll just get a move on. So here's my name and Jill so you know who and where we are and we have our contact information at the end of the handout page so if you need to get a hold of either of us you can do that. So we'll start with fiction for younger teens and I use these generalizations because we all know that any one kid or teen is a child unto itself or a person unto itself and might be reading higher than you expect or lower than you expect or just looking for something they enjoy that might be higher than we expect or lower so I try not to be too strict about what age group these these are for so you know what younger teens are in general and later we'll have older teens and that's the purpose of that is to give you your range of things you can talk about. The iron trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Claire is book one in the Magisterium series. Callum Hunt 12 has been warned by his father to stay away from magic but he is called to be tested to enter the Magisterium to be trained in magic. He tries hard to fail but instead succeeds. This is the account of his first year at the school for magic where against his better judgment he continues to succeed and begins to enjoy his lessons. Saving Mr. Terrupt by Rob Boyer. Students Peter, Jeffrey, Alexa, Anna, Danielle, Lou, and Jessica have returned for the third installment in the Mr. Terrupt series. Starting middle school without Mr. Terrupt as their teacher has been a challenge for some students and a breeze for others. One thing is for certain they all still need each other and Mr. Terrupt just may need their help as well. Audacity by Melanie Crowder. Historical verse novel inspired by the real-life story of Claire Lemlic, a teenage Russian immigrant who stood up for equal rights for women in the workplace during the turn of the century. Claire gets bullied, beaten, and sent to the hospital on numerous occasions but she doesn't give up the fight. Inspiring and powerful story about struggling for a purpose with the added bonus of learning about the women's rights movement. The Badger Night by Katharine Erskine. Adrian 12 is small, sickly, and an albino. While people in his village are used to him, strangers usually run from him thinking he's a devil or maybe an angel. This is sat roughly in the Middle Ages. I'm not sure if I'd looked in my history I would have done a better job of that but. Adrian has practiced with his bow and arrow and is skilled in his use but when a war between the Scots and the English breaks out his best friend Hugh runs off to join the battle. Adrian follows certain that the English can use his skills. As he encounters a battle, people who fear him, and his friend who has saved a Scott and is caring for him, Adrian begins to learn that things are not simple, enemies are not completely evil, and those charged with caring for others are not always true. The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein. 12-year-old Billy is stuck spinning the summer with his mom on a mysterious island that belongs to Dr. Libris. Why are there security cameras all over the place? Why does Dr. Libris have a locked bookcase? Can Billy unlock the secrets of the island and bring book characters alive using his imagination? Maybe being on an island without electronics could be a fun and adventurous summer. Another great book by Grabenstein but it was hard to top escape from Mr. Limoncello's library. I recommend to third grade on up. Princess Academy, The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale is book three and probably the final book in the series. In this one, Mary, Peter, and friends are leaving the palace to return to Mount Eskall their home when the king calls Mary to report to him. He assigns her the duty of traveling to a little known swampy area and conduct a princess academy for three sisters living there, their cousins of the royal family. Mary finds things very different than what she had expected and realizes she has she has become used to a more privileged life. She knuckles down and slowly begins to make progress after first making several mistakes. Then more problems appear. Hale's excellent writing continues in this addition to the series. Blood Will Tell by April Henry. Blood Will Tell is the second installment in a Point Last Scene mystery series. Oregon Search and Rescue team members find a woman's dead body in a vacant lot and foul play is suspected. Nick Walker only lives a few blocks away from the murder scene and he assists in the evidence collection but later becomes the prime suspect. Can fellow team members Ruby and Alexis help to prove Nick's innocent and who is the real killer? Rhyme Schemer by K. A. Holt. 13-year-old Kevin Johnson does not fit in with the home full of doctors and older brothers. He starts making fun of his classmates and begins to act out in middle school which lands him in the principal's office. Kevin also secretly rips out pages from library books and writes poems using the words on the page. One day Robin blackmails Kevin by stealing his writer's journal and repays Kevin for his prior mistreatment. With with the tides turned Kevin ends up hiding in the library and Mrs. Little discovers his talent in poetry writing. Will Mrs. Little help Kevin and Robin work out their differences? I was pulling for Kevin as he was bullied by one of his brothers and I really love the librarian too. Quick verse novel for fourth grade on up. Raising Heaven by Patrick Jones. This is one of a title in a set of four books the Locked Out series written by Patrick Jones about teens with an incarcerated parent and there's a need for these in all kinds of communities because you don't know who might relate to this character. Deja is 17 and she lives with a grandmother. Her mother is in prison again. She has been in and out of prison all of Deja's life and makes promises she doesn't keep. This time her mom is pregnant and Deja has agreed to care for the baby for six months until her mom is out of jail. Plans are different from reality. Even with the special program at school for babies of students Deja needs more help than she is getting and she has no idea if her mom will really take care of the baby when she gets out. A School for Brides by Patrice Kindle set in the same time and place the early 1800s in the town of Lesser Who in Yorkshire England as her book Keeping the Castle from 2012. The author has provided another enjoyable Jane Austen-esque escapade. The eight young ladies of the Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy studied their lessons in math, French, comportment and stitching but their real purpose at the school is to find a husband. Too bad Lesser Who has only one sort of eligible bachelor. Things look up when a young well-to-do gentleman is thrown from his horse. A broken leg necessitates his stay at the school and soon some of his friends come to visit. A couple of mysteries and some ne'er-do-wells in the mix make a humorous gratifying tale. Master Minds by Gordon Corman. Thirteen-year-old Eli and his best friend friend Randy live in the perfect town of Serenity where everyone gets along in perfect harmony. Something strange happens one day when they decide to go outside the city limit on a bike ride. Eli becomes deathly ill and a helicopter full of town security rush him to the hospital. The next day Randy is moving to a relative's house far from Serenity. Eli knows something is wrong with this picture but it takes Randy's clue and an investigation with his buddies Malik and Tori to find out the truth about the town and their identities. Told in multiple perspectives this middle grade science fiction adventure should have students wanting to read the second installment. Legend the graphic novel by Marie Lou adapted by Lee Dragoon. Beautifully illustrated graphic novel in full color had me reliving the story of day and June. Day is the Republic's criminal while June is the prodigy out to capture him until she finds out the truth. Great plot and word choice with detailed pictures throughout the novel. I don't usually reread books but this was one way for me to remember one of my favorite sci-fi books and the 2013-14 Golden Sower winner. Great for middle school on up. Baba Yaga is assistant by Marika Makula. Masha feels unwanted when her widowed father plans to marry and bring home a stepmother and step sister. She sees an ad in the paper stating assistant wanted ASAP and decides to apply for the position. Her grandmother had told her many tales of Baba Yaga so she is not overwhelmed when she finds a house on chicken legs and she knows the way inside. Baba Yaga is clever and has several tasks for her but Masha is up to the challenge but when the witch brings several young children home and one of them is her step sister Masha has a new whole new challenge to face. This graphic novel has full color illustrations that help further the story. Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Nick a slave for five years in ancient Rome is forced to go into the formerly sealed mine holding the treasures of Julius Caesar. He finds the bullah or a medallion he was sent for but he also finds a life griffin apparently there to protect it. He does escape riding the griffin and from there he is either held captive or running from those who want the bullah something he is now reluctant to give up. Two more tokens must be found in the next book. Rise of the Wolf book two is out on January 26th. We are all made of molecules by Susan Nielsen. Stuart 13 and Ashley 14 are thrown together when Stuart's father moves in with Ashley's mother. Stuart is not high on the social scale at school and Ashley one of the mean girls and not happy with this arrangement is extra angry when he has placed in her grade having switched from his former school. She avoids him or any mention of him at school hoping no one will find out he is her stepbrother. Bullying, adjusting to change, sexual orientation, facing reality and humor are included. I am Princess X by Sherry Priest. Friends starting in fifth grade May and Libby create a superhero they call Princess X. May wrote the stories and Libby drew the comic books but then Libby died in a car accident and May was lost for a time. Summer five years later while staying with her father important Oregon she lives with her mom in Atlanta the rest of the year. Max now 16 sees a sticker of Princess X on a dilapidated store window. It could only be from Libby. Max begins her search for Libby who must still be alive and help find some help from a neighbor guy a hacker and computer help person. This includes occasional excerpts from a new comic that apparently Libby is creating and placing on a web page with clues only Max could understand. The boy in the black suit by Jason Reynolds. Matt 17 his mother has just passed away. His father was drinking too much in his greed and ends up in the hospital after being hit by a car excuse me. Mr. Ray offers Matt a job at the funeral home and that begins to learn how to handle his greed by attending the funerals of others and watching them. The higher girl by Laura Amishlitz Joan 14 when she leaves her father's farm is convinced a better life waits for her as a maid in a well-to-do household. Here she puts her thoughts and experiences into the journal her teacher gave her. She has her share of ups and downs with some meddling and developing crushes on young men out of her reach. Still she begins to find a way and has hope for the future. Edison's Alley is booked to by Neil Schusterman and Eric Altman excuse me is booked to in the Accelerati trilogy. 14 year old Nick and his family have moved to Colorado Springs from Florida after the deaths of his mother in a house fire. The attic his choice for his bedroom was full of weird old stuff so the first thing he did was have a yard sale. Now Nick and his new friends know he has to get them all back. Making it more difficult is a group called the Accelerati who all want the items for themselves. They were designed by Tesla who Nick is certain had a plan for their use to help the world. So in this second book they're tracking down people who have had purchased the items and some people are very willing to give them back to him because they're acting they don't do what they thought they were going to do and other people are reluctant to give it up because it's kind of cool to have something that helps you float in the air for example. Geet Girl by Holly Smale Harriet Manners isn't your typical 15 year old girl. Her head is full of trivia knowledge and her classmates notice notice her differences and are continually calling her a geek. When her best friend Nan convinces her to go on a school field trip to a fashion show Harriet tries to play sick but Nan doesn't fall for it. While at the show Harriet accidentally gets discovered by a modeling agency. Will Harriet risk hurting Nan's feelings to become discovered? Can she turn from her geek ways and join the cute model Nick? Beneath by Roland Smith What lies beneath the streets of New York City? This is what Pat must find out when his older brother Coop runs away and leaves him cryptic messages on a digital voice recorder one year later. The biggest problem for Pat is he is claustrophobic after a digging accident with his brother so searching for an underground tunnels poses major problems. Pat must follow clues to the community but then finds out he must go even deeper. Will Pat be able to overcome his fear of tight places and rescue Coop? Fast-paced middle school book that leaves a reader satisfied with the conclusion but hoping for a sequel. The Whisper by Aaron Starmer The Whisper is the second installment in the Riverman trilogy. Alastair Cleary 12 years old seems to think he's in the magical land of Aquavania where children can create the world of their dreams just by using their imaginations. The problem is that all the creators are missing and their worlds are beginning to disappear. Alastair must find Fiona and get back home before it's too late. He embarks on a journey going from world to world to correct his past mistakes. He must concur monsters and confront the Riverman himself. Will he find Fiona and will they survive? Nimona by Noel Stevenson Based on her webcomic this graphic novel tells the entire story of Nimona who applies to be the sidekick of the realms villain Lord Ballister Blackheart. She has little patience for his rule-following and as soon string up mayhem in his name and he keeps pulling her back and saying no that's not how we do things you have to do things properly. The good guy Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin really doesn't seem to mind shortcuts or cheating. So who is the good guy really? Kirkus Review says if you're going to read one graphic novel this year make it this one. The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp. Kit Bristol 16 once a trick writer for a circus is now the only servant for Master Rattle who turns out to be the notorious highwayman with Sling Jack. When Jack is fatally wounded Kit takes his horse to get help but soon he is mistaken for the highwayman. Danger, adventure and associating with a variety of friendly and unfriendly magical beings keeps Kit busy and will capture readers. The accidental giant will be booked too. Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave by Jen White. 12-year-old Liberty and her younger sister Billy have just lost their mother and had to spread her ashes in the ocean. The girls are sent to live with their father who they haven't seen in years. They get in a camper to travel the U.S. as their dad is a nature photographer. They stop at a gas station to use the restroom and their father is nowhere to be found. Now Liberty must be brave for Billy and find a way out of this mess. We have a variety of non-fiction titles for teens so we'll start with... I will always write back how one letter changes two lives by Caitlyn Aleferenka. Thank you. This is a true story that follows American Caitlyn and Martin from Zimbabwe during their middle school years through the challenge of entering college. It began as an English assignment in which Caitlyn could choose a pen pal from another country. She was intrigued by the country of Zimbabwe so she and Martin were matched up. A long distance connection was immediately formed between the two that could not be broken with the many ups and downs of their lives. Told in alternating chapters with actual excerpts from letters this novel will connect with readers emotionally. Things I'll never say stories about are secret selves by Ann Angel. Author Ann Angel has compiled short stories written by 15 different young adult authors in a variety of genres. Stories are written in different perspectives and teenagers will relate to the unique characters struggling with self-identity, family issues, or they've discovered unexpected truths or hidden secrets. A unique blend of authors such as Chris Lynch, Katie Moran, Lois Howes, J.L. Powers, and Mary Ann Rodman. Students who pick up this novel will surely find a story that hits home. Drowned City, Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown. As he did with The Great American Dust Bowl the author uses a graphic novel approach to a non-fiction book about Hurricane Katrina's effect on New Orleans. It includes source notes and a big bibliography and has some very moving illustrations throughout. Laughing at My Nightmare by Sean Burkaw. Shane, excuse me, Shane Burkaw hops around a bit while explaining what his life is like with spinal muscular atrophy, SMA. He tells it like it is. Bathume humor and quips are included as well as clear information on how he and his brother or father or friends get something done. He was 21 years old when he wrote the book and so includes vignettes from his early memory through college, though not in order. It includes offensive language as one would expect and plenty of humor. He has a webpage readers may wish to visit also called Laughing at My Nightmare. This title was a 2015 finalist one of four for the Yalsa non-fiction award. Terrible Typhoid Mary, a true story of the deadliest cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. There are two books about Typhoid Mary this year. This is the first one and each have their merits. This one by Bartoletti is written in a straightforward manner and is mostly text as the author provides what we now know about Mary Mellon and her steadfast determination that she never had typhoid fever and so could not have spread the disease. The author includes a large list of source notes and also includes a timeline, bibliography, and in-depth so it's an excellent title. The second title that came out this year is Fatal Fever Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow. Jarrow's version also follows the individual Mary Mellon and those who were trying to locate her. Each chapter is interspersed with photographs, signs, and notices of the time. These break up the text while adding an interesting perspective to the information. Jarrow also includes source notes, a glossary timeline, bibliography, a list of famous typhoid victims some died and some survived, and an index of the two if you're only going to purchase one which i assume many of you are. I would I would purchase this one Fatal Fever because of the added attraction of the the visuals from the time. Enchanted air, two cultures, two wings, a memoir by Margarita Engel. Writing in free verse the author tells of her life from a young child to age 14. It is a beautifully written memoir that touches on her feelings of abandonment when she is living in the U.S. but no longer able to visit her family in Cuba due to the politics of the two countries. Taking hold by Francisco Jimenez, the fourth book about his life as an immigrant from Mexico, here he tells of working to get his master's degree and PhD from Columbia University in New York. The conversational tone draws in the reader who gets a glance at one man's life, his feelings of being out of place, making friends, missing his family and the choices he makes. Turning 15 on the road to freedom, my story of the Selma voting rights march by Linda Blackman Lowry. Linda Blackman Lowry's memoir during the middle of the civil rights movement. Linda was the youngest person to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 in protest of the inequality in voting rights for African Americans. Before she was 15 years old she had been jailed nine times because she believed that everything would be better if African Americans could vote because there's power in voting. Told in words, pictures and and photographs, this book will help students gain an insight into the hardships that Linda and her family went through on their journey for equality. This side of wild by Gary Paulson. This is a collection of experiences Gary has gone through that have affected his view of nature and of animal intelligence. Some of them seem extraordinary and mind-boggling. You can doubt his interpretation of the events but it seemed that they did happen. This will be popular I'm sure with many young readers. Fiction for older teens we'll start with. Simon versus the Homo sapiens agenda by Becky Albertelli. Sounds good to me. Have you ever forgotten to log out of your email account on a public computer? This is exactly what happens to 16-year-old Simon Spear and one of his emails gets into the wrong hands. Simon hasn't come out to his friends or family yet but Martin is threatening to share his identity with the entire high school. Worst of all, the privacy of blue, the pen name of his new love interest could be put in Jeopardy II. Can Simon save himself and his secret in his crazy junior year? Emma by Jane Austen, adapted by Crystal S. Chong. This is one of book in the manga classic series. This year is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Emma. This book is well adapted to the format and readers may look for the original after reading it or they may also look for more manga classics. Right now they also have Out Pride and Prejudice, The Miserable, The Scarlet Letter and Great Expectations. Red Queen by Victoria Avillard. 17-year-old Mayor Barrow is a red living in the slits ruled by the elite silvers who have powers or extraordinary abilities. After stumbling into a job at the Silver Palace, Mayor figures out there is something quite different about her. Mayor's blood is red but she has electrical abilities of her own. Since her power is dangerous and unique, the king and queen decide to betroth Mayor to their youngest son and pass her off as a silver. Can Mayor keep up the act or will she decide to use her power to aid the red rebellion? I recommend this book to sixth grade Anna and fans of Cinder and the Selection. The second book it will be coming out in a few days as well and this is on the golden sewer list for next year for YA. The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Tess who is 16 has lived with a grandfather on his ranch in Montana ever since she can remember. The past year his forgetfulness has become harder to hide until her older sister Ivy, whom she doesn't really know, whisks in and packs them both up. Now Tess is living with her in Washington DC and grandpa is nearby being evaluated. At her new school, Tess learns that Ivy is a fixer. Political troubles, Ivy will fix it for a price. When Tess stops the bully at school, the students think she is a fixer like her sister and soon she and her new friends are in the middle of a messy situation. There's lots of political intrigue, danger, and power moves and kidnapping. All fall down by Allie Carter. Grace, 16, is now living with her diplomat grandfather in the fictitious country of Adria in the capital city of Valencia. She saw her mother die when she was 13 and she knows a man with a scar killed her before the building they were in burned down. She is determined to find the killer even though everyone else says it was an accident. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. 16 year old Hazel and her brother Ben live in the town of Fairfold where humans live along the side of fairies which makes the town a tourist attraction even though some fay can be extremely dangerous. Ben and Hazel are both in love with the main attraction a fairy prince who has been sleeping for years in a glass coffin in the forest. Someone frees the sleeping prince and now Fairfold people are being attacked by a monster terrorizing the town. Hazel and Ben must team up and remember their childhood of pretending to be knights in order to save Fairfold from complete destruction eerie and suspenseful until the very end. The Detour by S.A. Bodeen. Livy Flynn is a teenage New York Times best-selling author. She's pretty, rich, famous and not modest to say the least. She has made it into the spotlight and has accepted an invitation to an author's retreat across the country. After purchasing a brand new car Livy decides to drive to the retreat for some alone time. As bad luck would have it a fan has set up a detour and Livy has fallen right into her trap. Her car is wrecked, she's been beaten up and kidnapped with no way out. Why has this fan and her daughter kidnapped Livy and how can she get out of this dire situation alive? Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray. This is a sequel to The Diviners and there may be a third book in the future. Livy is on the radio as the sweetheart seer and she is loving the attention. Diviners, both real and fake, are coming out of the woodwork to capitalize on the popularity of this new phenomenon. But a new trouble has arisen. People are succumbing to the sleeping sickness. They are dying because they can't leave their dreams to wake up and no one is able to help. Things get pretty scary but not quite as scary as the first book for me because I am a chicken and man these are a little hard for me to read but kids will teens will love them. Atlantia by Ali Condi. Twins Rio and Bay have recently lost their mother and now is the time they must choose to stay below in the water in Atlantia or go above to live their lives on land. Rio has always wanted to live on the land but she stays below for her sister. Bay chooses the land and Rio feels betrayed. As she tries to learn why her sister chose as she did, Rio learns more about the underwater city's precarious position and searches for an answer to save the people. Combining myth and the future in this story of family and of survival will draw in readers. The Death Code by Lindsay Cumming. The second installment in the Murder Complex series. Told in alternating chapters of Meadow and Zephyr a few short weeks after the first book. Zephyr must keep the secret that Meadow holds the key to the murder complex so if she dies the murder complex will be destroyed. Meadow is on the hunt for her father, brother, and little sister. She will continue to fight until she has rescued each one of them even if it means sacrificing herself or her friends. Action-packed read that leaves a reader wondering if Meadow or Zephyr will survive. I recommend to fans of Hunger Games and Divergent. Hellhole by Gina Damico. Max 17 is in over his head. His mother is very ill, in vetted home waiting for a heart transplant. They have piles of unpaid bills. He has a rotten job at the Quickmark gas station and school is school. One day he swipes an ugly glittery kitty keychain as a gift for his mom and this act sends a demon to his house. Now Max must find a way to get rid of the demon but he also wants to make a deal so his mom can get the transplant. He keeps making bigger promises to the demon bird and his new friend Lore, a girl with a secret, may be his only hope. The Hunted by Matt de la Pena is a book to the sequel to The Living and I think there's going to be three in this series. Shy 16 and his friends Carmen and Marcus and Shushine have reached the devastated California shore, Venice, after 36 days at sea in a small sailboat. Massive earthquakes destroyed much of the cities and now zones have been set up to keep out people with the deadly Romero disease. The group must get to Arizona to turn over the vials of vaccine to the scientists who can use it to duplicate the formula. In their way not only the vigilantes protecting their zones but also assassins for the lazo tech company, the people who created the disease. Boys Don't Knit by T.S. Said in England, Ben Fletcher 17 is talked into being the lookout while his friends Nick a few bottles of booze as the entry fee to attend a party. Ben of course is the only one caught and now he is on probation. He must attend a class in a nearby community school so he signs up for knitting to be taught by the hot new teacher at school. But it turns out that that was a typo so now he is the only guy in the class and he is astounded to find he has a knack for knitting. Soon he has entered in the regional junior committing competition and he knows it is only a matter of time before his well-kept secret becomes well known. It includes instances of bullying at school and in the neighborhood and a good dose of humor for the reader. Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff. 15 year old Sam has just had the shock of his life finding the body of his best friend Hayden after he committed suicide. Hayden had been bullied by his older brother and his friends but Sam also had a fight with Hayden the night before his death. A music playlist and a note was left for Sam stating for him to listen and he would understand. Sam continuously listens to Hayden's playlist in order to find the answers but struggles to cope because Hayden was his only friend. Astrid befriend Sam but she has secrets of her own. Will Sam figure out the mystery of Hayden's death and will Astrid help with the process? I recommend this book to high school on up and fans of 13 reasons why and if I stay. Also each chapter has a music a song that some people who have read the book have listened to that music before they have read the chapter and it somehow ties in to the chapter. The Dark Water by Seth Fishman. The second book in the Welles End series 17 year old Mia and her friends had to escape Blake Sutton's army so they plunged into the fountain of youth to swim to safety. Instead of finding peace the group found at underground civilizations of humans who are the keepers of the well and they are not happy to see intruders. A battle begins and Mia must locate the source of the well to help cure the terrible virus from spreading on land. Will Mia and her friends find the source and will they make it back home before it is too late? I was here by Gail Foreman. This is kind of a little bit of a spoiler. 19 year old Cody is trying to solve the mystery of her best friend Meg's death. Why would a perfectly happy college freshman drink poison and leave a strange suicide note behind? Cody travels back to Meg's college town and meets her roommates to try to come to terms with her death. She meets Ben and a strange connection occurs. A good book that may open reader's eyes to the online suicide community. I recommend this book to fans of all the bright places and 13 reasons why. Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant. An accessory to a crime manages to escape the authorities and so will not pay for his or her deed. Then in steps the messenger justice and the balance must be served. It is his duty to offer the guilty again. If they win they go free. If they lose they suffer through their greatest fear. But why is Mara 15 now his apprentice? What did she do to deserve this? Her memories have been clouded by the messenger and he releases pieces of a few of them a little at a time. And a little bit of this is kind of creepy and icky but it's a very good book. The Tattooed Heart by Michael Grant is book two in the Messenger of Fear series. Mara now 16 continues as a messenger's apprentice. They perform their duties while Mara becomes increasingly aware of how hard and lonely it will be when she becomes a messenger. She does some hard thinking about the messengers and their duties and is tempted to interfere or try to change some things and is shocked when another messenger is brought to task for making a slight change in a girl's life. There is a brief summary at the beginning of the book for those who missed the first title. This could continue to a another title but I haven't seen any other evidence of it. It could be the end of the series or it might go on it's hard to say. Half Wild by Sally Green. The second book in the Half Bad Trilogy. Set in England where witches and humans live among each other, 17 year old Nathan is a half white witch and a half black witch with his father being the most notorious black witch of all times. Locked up for two years by the Council of White Witches, Nathan has escaped and is trying to control his new powers while on the hunt for his friend Gabriel. The hunters are out to kill him and a new alliance has been formed to bring down the council. Nathan isn't sure who we should trust because everyone wants him to be a killer. The reader's eyes are open as to who should be considered good and who is really evil. The last time we say goodbye by Cynthia Hand. 17 year old Lex has just lost her brother in the worst possible way by suicide. She keeps reliving the day in her mind when Ty sent her a text message. Could she have prevented her brother's death? Now Lex keeps feeling Ty's presence and stumbles upon unfinished business for him. While working through these details for Ty, help him move on or is Ty's ghost a figment of Lex's imagination. Compelling novel about first love, heartbreaking loss and learning to live again. I highly recommend to 9th grade on up and fans of 13 Reasons Why. Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins. The second book in the Rebel Bell series. Harper Price's life has been turned upside down since she became a Paladin with superpowers and forced to protect David Starks. Things begin to get back to normal when Harper's best friend B returns after mysteriously disappearing. Normal C doesn't last long as the efforts decide that they would rather train David than kill him. Now Harper must go through an ancient trial that will either improve her powers or kill her in the process. Plus she must enter the Miss Pine Grove pageant as part of the trials. Could things get any worse? Charlie Presumed Dead by Anne Hothetzel. Family and friends are gathered at Charlie's funeral in Paris after he tragically died in an explosion. His body wasn't found but his jacket and significant amount of blood was recovered at the scene. When relatives stood up to pay their respects the reader finds out that Charlie had not just one but two girlfriends Lena and Aubrey. When the two girls make this discovery they decide to team up and unravel clues to Charlie's presumed death. They travel from country to country to find out the truth about Charlie. Both Lena and Aubrey are also harboring their own secrets. Told in multiple perspectives this story is filled with drama, suspense, and deception. It could be pegged as a high school gongirl novel. The Young Elites by Marie Lu. Adelina is a survivor of the blood fever. The illness spread through the country killing most people who were infected. Adelina was left marked by the plague. Her hair turned white. Her hair turned white and she only has a scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father calls her a Malfetto or a disgrace to her family. The blood fever also left Adelina and other survivors with special gifts that they try to keep hidden. Taryn Santuro works for the king and it is his job to collect these survivors that they call the Young Elites. Enzo is a member of the Dagger Society who locates the Young Elites and tries to help them survive. However when Enzo meets Adelina he finds a young elite with a unique and dangerous gift. Darker series than legend with a definite Star Wars theme evolving. The sequel The Rose Society came out on October 13th. How it went down by Kecla Magoon. 16-year-old Tariq stops at the corner store to buy milk for his mother and ends up shot dead. Gun violent is frequent on Peach Street but shooter Jack Franklin wasn't a gang member. He was a white man. Told in multiple perspectives how it went down portrays a split decision split second decision that changes the lives of a family and community. The book was published shortly before the Ferguson tragedy. Deep discussion and lessons could be learned and the reader establishes a deep connection with the characters. I recommend to ninth grade Anna. This one was one of my favorite books of 2015. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Nevin. 17-year-old Violet and Finch unexpectedly meet at the top of the bell tower at their high school both contemplating suicide. Violet is having a difficult time getting over the loss of her sister and Finch is mesmerized by the thought of death. Violet begins to panic and Finch has to talk her down the tower but he yells out that Violet saved his life. This unlikely pair then becomes partners in a geography class on a wandering project of Indiana. They must visit rare finds in the state and write a final report together. Violet hasn't been in a car since her sister's accident but somehow Finch begins to work his magic on Violet. Violet and Finch develop a relationship that changes Violet's life in so many ways an amazing read with additional information at the back about suicide help and prevention. I recommend to ninth and tenth grade Anna. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. Sisters Nick and Dara used to be the best of friends before the car accident that left Dara's face completely scarred. The sister slowly grew apart so when Dara disappears without a trace on her birthday Nick thinks Dana is playing a trick on her. That's until another girl vanishes. Nick believes the two disappearances are linked and begins to unravel the past to help locate Dara. Suspenseful mystery with an unbelievable conclusion. The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Page. This is a sequel to Dorothy Must Die and there's definitely going to be one more book at least in this series. Amy Gum has traveled from Kansas to Oz via tornado. There she learned that Dorothy had returned and become a nasty selfish ruler. Recruited by the revolutionary order of the Wicked Amy was trained and sent to kill Dorothy. In the second book Amy's powers are growing and she finds herself worried about her desire to embrace the dark. She is much more asserting and strong yet still wonders about her mission as well as who is really on her side. This leaves the reader anxious for the next book. Along with that there are some prequel novellas which are available online and three of them were bound together in a paperback book and they are No Place Like Oz, The Witch Must Burn, The Wizard Returns and Heart of Tin. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby. This is probably the most unique read that I read in 2015. The town of Bone Gap truly has gaps where someone could slip away and never be found. That is why when 19 year old Rosa became missing everyone believed she left town. Everyone except Finn who saw her being abducted but couldn't describe the kidnapper. The entire town searched for Rosa and turned up no clues so not one person believed Finn not even his older brother Sean. Told in multiple perspectives this tale leaves magic, mystery, love and loss. A unique read and one of my favorites of 2015. Zodiac by Romina Russell. 16 year old Roma Grace from House Cancer has a unique way of reading the stars that relies on her emotions rather than mathematical equations. When Cancer's moon is blasted and the current guardian dies Roe is surprised as many others when she is appointed the new guardian. Roe begins to read the stars and finds out a dark matter is forming in the galaxy and other houses are at risk of falling. She and Guide Matthias along with the Libra Heisen travels to warn the other houses that the 13th guardian, Ocus has returned in the Psi Network and must be stopped. Will the other Zodiacs believe young Roe or will the galaxy fall to the legendary Ocus? At times the plot was hard to visualize and due to some mature content I would recommend Zodiac to ninth grade on up. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkowski. 17 year old Lady Kestrel is engaged to be married to the Crown Prince but it is all a lie. She wanted to end a war so she agreed to become betrothed to the King's Son in exchange for a treaty with Erin's country of Heron. Kestrel believed the only way to save Erin was to leave him and help keep this dark secret. Erin has no idea that Kestrel is risking her own safety to become a spy for Heron. She uncovers some brutal secrets but will she become disloyal to her father and her own country for love? Will these crimes become their undoing? Her undoing. This second book in the Winner's Curse trilogy has me rooting for the underdog. I'm looking forward to the third installment. Firefight by Brandon Sanderson. This is book two in the Reckoners series and there is an expectation that readers of this book will have read the first title, Steelheart, which was also excellent. In book two, David and the Reckoners go to Balabar, formerly known as Manhattan, to confront and kill Regalia, its ruler and to bless her epics that help her run the city. Things are usually more complicated than they appear and David has an uneasy feeling that Regalia is no easy target. The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick. Four separate stories that are linked together where each character begins a trek to survive in their time period. The novel begins in pre-history time where the first signs are written, continues to 17th century witch hunts, then a 1920 insane asylum and concludes with the futuristic world of spaceship voyage to a new planet. A blend of historical fiction and science fiction and each section can be read in any order. Undivided by Neil Schusterman, the fourth installment in the unwise wine series and probably one of my favorite sci-fi series of all times. Connor, Risa and Grace are at Sonia's antique shop debating what to do with the organ printer. Mason Starkey continues to be in the spotlight raiding harvest camps but now he has the backing of the clapper movement. Lev is on the Apache Reservation in hopes that the chance folk will take a stand on unwinding. Cam is in a military base finding out top secret projects. Nelson with the help of Argent is on the prowl to capture Connor and his friends to sell them on the black market. Can Connor, Risa, Lev or Cam find out a way to take down proactive citizen grief? Fast-paced novel written in multiple perspective. I thought that this series was ending with this one and unbound just came out recently. Liar's Ink by Paulus Stokes. Max Cantrell's senior year was dull so when a money-making opportunity came up he jumped at the chance to make school more exciting. Max was never a fan of telling the truth so why not lie and get paid to do it? Friends Preston and Parvati joined Max in creating Liar's Ink. One day Preston needs a cover story to meet up with a girl he met online so Max comes up with a plan. When Preston doesn't make it home and is nowhere to be found clues start pointing at Max as the murderer. On the run Max meets clear his name and find the real killer suspenseful with a jaw-dropping ending readers who like mysteries won't want to put this one down. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabah Tahir. This is probably one of my favorite books as well of 2015. In the ancient Rome inspired brutal world of the martial empire opposition is met with death told in dual perspectives of Leia a slave girl and Elias an unwilling soldier both Leia and Elias live in a world where neither one are free. Leia is posing as a slave to spy for the resistance in order to save her brother who has just been jailed and sentenced to death. Elias wants nothing more than to free himself of this ruthless kingdom but his life becomes intertwined with Leila's and their decisions help decide the fate of the empire. Ask the Dark by Henry Turner. 14 year old Billy Zeetz has quite a story to tell about how a small town boy who goes from a vandal and a thief to a hometown hero. Everyone is asking Billy how we found the missing boys and dead bodies so he decides to record his story to answer the town at the same time. Narrated by Billy the story has a unique voice an action-filled plot which sometimes jumps around like the reader would expect from a teenager's mind. Filled with swearing and some mature content I would recommend to mature eighth grade on up. Hold tight don't let go by Laura Rose Wagner. Magdalene 15 who ages to 17 in the book her cousin Nadine who she considers a sister and Mamon are a strong family but when the Haitian earthquake hits in 2010 Mamon is killed and Nadine is sent to Miami to live with her father. Magda ends up living with her uncle in a tent in a camp set up for those who have lost their bones. Her grief perceived lack of future and despair are conveyed as she faces trying to earn some money a near rape and surviving in the conditions in the camp. A trip to take Mamon's bones home to the country at first breaks her heart but then helps her find herself and look forward. This book is descriptive of the country in life using many Haitian words and a glossary is included at the back of the book. Belzar by Meg Woolitzer 15 year old Jam suffered a complete breakdown when her boyfriend Reeve tragically died after dating for a short 41 days. She is unable to function at home or school so her parents sent her to the wooden barn a therapeutic boarding school. While there she is one of only five students who are enrolled in a unique English class called special topics. Her teacher has the class reading Sylvia Path and writing in a journal twice a week. Jam discovers the journal has magical abilities to send her to a place called Belzar where she and Reeve can be together again. The journal begins filling up fast so Jam must confront her past with the help of her special topics classmates. I highly recommend this book to high school on up and to fans of the tragedy paper or 13 reasons why. The cover does not do this book justice. Wonderful read. Utopia Iowa by Brian Yanski Utopia Iowa is unique. Quite a few people living there have different gifts or curses depending on your point of view which every time they mention gifts he says or curses depending on your point of view throughout the book. Jack sees dead people and he loves quoting movies but this time the dead girl he sees at school is unusual. She is dead but she also is not. As Jack and his best friend Ash investigate her death another girl is murdered. Soon Jack is the prime suspect as he discovered the body of the second girl and was snooping in the first girl's dorm room. And we're going to move along I know it says thank you but we're going to just quickly hit some new titles in popular series. Wastecoats and weaponry is book three in the finishing school series by Gell Carragher and in this book Sophronia the main character is now 16 and she and her friend and roommate Dimity and others are soon involved in more adventure and mystery. These are fun steampunk early this oh I guess we're in the 2000s now aren't we early 20th century events and there's um it's fun because they are learning the typical finishing school things but they're also learning about becoming spies and fighting others with this fan in particular that has those claws on it. Brother band this is um book five in the brother band series Scorpion Mountain by John Flanagan. The crew of the Heron along with Ranger Gillon must find a way to cancel the death threat placed on Princess Cassandra. They travel to confront the scorpion cult in Oridia and must find a way to travel quickly over the desert sand. Unleashed by Gordon Corman is book seven in the swindle series Griffin being is caught off guard and ends up in a bet with Darren over which of them will win the Inventa Palusa. Griffin wasn't going to enter but now he's stuck. Luther is maniacally chasing the exterminator's old red backfiring truck and Melissa invents a machine to stop him which is quickly stolen by somebody. Griffin comes up with a plan after plan for each of these things but none of them are working and we'll jump down to The Air by Kira Cass. This is a selection book for 20 years after the marriage of Maxine and America in the selection. Earlier books their daughter Adalyn 18 the eldest by seven minutes has reluctantly agreed to hold a selection for herself. There is unrest in Ilya. People are still adjusting to the abolition of the cast system and the hope is that this selection will distract them and give them something to cheer for. Adalyn embraces her role as future queen and is seen as cold and distant and no nonsense which she actually is. She doesn't want anyone besides her parents and three brothers to see her inner self. This is a recipe for disaster. She is not likable at first but slowly begins to grow her heart. The book ends on a cliffhanger so there will be another title and as I understand the next title will be the final title in the whole selection series though I don't have the title for that. And Kira Cass has a new series called The Siren coming out in January so keep your eye out for that one. And thank you again. That's our presentation. Now I have to do some oh I know how it is. That'll take care of that. We're so happy that you could join us today. Again I'm hoping that you will take a look here on our web page the library commission web page to see the lists both the children's and the team lists as well as a summer reading program list from our fall conference and other lists that I worked on sometimes with help from Jill. So please look there and I was going to go to let's see if I can get this right. Encompass live page to talk about what's next week. Someone has asked a question can you give us some insight into how you selected the titles you presented today. The library commission gets a lot of publishers send copies of their books and Sally and I kind of go through those and see which ones that are really good. If we've started reading a series in our presentation we try to continue with that series and read those. Anything else you want to add on that? Yes we also pay attention to things like I'm a member of the yasa-bk male group and people talk about titles there which inspires my interest because not every publisher sends me well nobody sends me all their books because I don't have room for that anyway but not every publisher sends me books so I've got to keep looking other places and I look at the public library and I look at the bookstore and find things that catch my eye because they're they're being touted as great and I want to find out if I think that too. I also follow a lot of online publishers on Twitter and Facebook and so I'm constantly looking and Goodreads. I'm constantly looking on that. You can follow me on Goodreads jannis at EPSNE.org. I'm constantly updating my Goodreads as well. Yes follow Jill because my Goodreads account is pretty pretty paltry. I keep an excel file of everything I read and that's why I work out my blurbs as I call them for presentations and sometimes I just write no instead of the blurb because I read that book and it just didn't do it and if I'm not reading for me I don't put it on the list because I like it. I put it on the list because I think it has qualities that libraries will appreciate having in their collection and also that teens in this case teens will want to read so just because I like it doesn't mean that that's enough to put it on the list. We have read some titles and we decide not to add it to the list because we don't think it's quality enough for libraries in Nebraska to purchase. And we are thinking about libraries who have quite small purchasing budgets so we know even with this list of I don't know how many titles that there may be only a few you're able to purchase this here and so that's why we really like to tell you some about the plot and then other reasons that we think it should be considered you know it has a good family situation or or not a good family situation things like that. I think we talked way too much but that's what you get for asking. Thank you for asking. I did go to the Encampus Live page so you can see what's coming up next week will be Library Improvement Grants Information Session. Richard Miller will be presenting this and I'll be setting up again and running the show so those of you who attended and experienced my inepness watch out because maybe I'll be a little bit better next week but we hope that that this worked for you and we're so happy that you attended today and this will be put up on our archive session but not until after next week's show because I don't know how to do that and we'll have to wait for Krista to come back. Merry Christmas to everyone and enjoy your break if you get one. I hope you do. And thank you again for attending.