Top Secret! Stories of Espionage

This week, I am sharing stories of spies and espionage for teens.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . 

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

Sleeper Code by Tom Sniegoski

Just when he has met a beautiful girl and his outlook is improving, sixteen-year-old narcoleptic Tom Lovett begins to suspect that his dreams and hallucinations of killing people may be something more real and terrifying.

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi

To escape an abusive father and an arranged marriage, fourteen-year-old Sarah, dressed as a boy, leaves her Michigan home to enlist in the Union Army, and becomes a soldier on the battlefields of Virginia as well as a Union spy working in the house of Confederate sympathizer Rose O'Neal Greenhow in Washington, D.C.

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

In 1716 London, an orphaned sixteen-year-old girl from a good family impersonates a lady-in-waiting only to discover that the real girl was murdered, the court harbors a nest of spies, and the handsome young artist who is helping her solve the mystery might be a spy himself.

More Books --

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Also Known As by Robin Benway

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Code Name: Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Love by Morning Star by Laura L. Sullivan

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich

Mind Games by Kiersten White

The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson

Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-Ucci

Tempest by Julie Cross

Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty

Zero Day by Jan Gangsei

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through June 29, 2018.

Which Is Better? The Book or the Movie?

This has been a great year for movies based on teen books.  From Me and Earl and the Dying Girl to the final Hunger Games movie, there have been several movies released this year based on books.  Here are some of my favorite books turned into movies . . . .

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. He has fallen in love with beautiful Victoria Forester and in order to win her hand, he must retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to her.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope by Ian Doescher
A retelling of Star wars in the style of Shakespeare, in which a wise Jedi knight, an evil Sith lord, a beautiful captive princess, and a young hero coming of age reflect the valor and villainy of the Bard's greatest plays.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
To get away from her pregnant stepmother in New York City, fifteen-year-old Daisy goes to England to stay with her aunt and cousins, with whom she instantly bonds, but soon war breaks out and rips apart the family while devastating the land.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
While in a coma following an automobile accident that killed her parents and younger brother, seventeen-year-old Mia, a gifted cellist, weights whether to live with her grief or join her family in death.


More Books Turned into Movies --
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Paper Towns by John Green
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
Speak by Laurie Hals Anderson
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through December 18, 2015.

Have You Read the Series? Teen Edition

With the start of summer, it's the perfect time to start reading a series of books.  Here are some of my favorite teen series . . .

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider Adventures #1
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Beautiful Creatures #1
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Graceling Realm #1
In a world where some people are born with extreme and often-feared skills called Graces, Katsa struggles for redemption from her own horrifying Grace, the Grace of killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Moon series #1
Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Song of the Lioness #1
Eleven-year-old Alanna, who aspires to be a knight even though she is a girl, disguises herself as a boy to become a royal page, a learning many hard lessons along her path to high adventure.


More Teen Series --
Abandon trilogy by Meg Cabot
Adventurers Wanted series by M.L. Forman
BZRK series by Michael Grant
Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness
The Claidi Journals series by Tanith Lee
The Enemy series by Charles Higson
Gone series by Michael Grant
Halo trilogy by Alexandra Adornetto
I Hunt Killers series by Barry Lyga
The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen
Num8ers series by Rachel Ward
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Shiver trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater
Witch & Wizard series by James Patterson
Zom-B series by Darren Shan


Check out these series on display at the Arnold Branch through June 26, 2015.

Good vs. Evil

It's an epic theme -- good vs. evil.  Whether huge battles for the whole world or a small fight for just one person, we love to read about the the fight between good and evil.  Check out these great teen books and see which one prevails.

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz
Sent to live in a foster home in a remote Yorkshire village, Matt, a troubled fourteen-year-old English boy, uncovers an evil plot involving witchcraft and the site of an ancient stone circle.

Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson
Katie Chandler moves to New York in order to make her mark in the business world, but is unprepared for the adventures she encounters when she is approached by MSI, a company that deals in magic, spells, and illusions.

The Vindico by Wesley King
When supervillains of the Vindico realize they are getting too old to fight the League of Heroes, they kidnap and begin training five teens, but James, Lana, Hayden, Emily, and Sam will not become the next generation of evil without a fight.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin
A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
When three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town of Venus Cove against the gathering forces of darkness, their mission is threatened as the youngest angel, Bethany, enrolls in high school and falls in love with another student.