Are You Ready for National Preparedness Month?

September is National Preparedness Month.  It's time to consider whether you are prepared for any emergencies that might pop up.  Visit https://www.ready.gov/ for some great resources on getting prepared.

In honor of National Preparedness Month, I'm sharing some books of teens facing emergencies . . . .

A Matter of Days by Amber Kizer
In the not-too-distant future when a global pandemic kills most of humanity, a teenaged girl and her younger brother struggle to survive.

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
Robbie's last-minute flight to the Midway Atoll proves to be a nightmare when the plane goes down in shark-infested waters, but the real terror begins when the co-pilot Max pulls her onto the raft.

In Darkness by Nick Lake
In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, fifteen-year-old Shorty, a poor gang member from the slums of Site Soleil, is trapped in the rubble of a ruined hospital, and as he grows weaker he has visions and memories of his life of violence, his lost twin sister, and of Toussaint L'Ouverture, who liberated Haiti from French rule in the 1804.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
A guide to surviving an attack by hordes of the predatory undead explains zombie physiology and behavior, the most effective weaponry and defense strategies, how to outfit one's home for a long siege, and how to survive in any terrain.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.


More Survival Books for Teens --
Adrift by Paul Griffin
After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Black River Falls by Jeff Hirsch
Desert Angel by Charlie Price
H2O by Virginia Bergin
The Living by Matt de la Pena
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia BLock
No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz
Overboard by Elizabeth Fama
Peak by Roland Smith
POD by Stephen Wallenfels
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters
Storm by Donna Jo Napoli
Survive by Alex Morel

Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through October 21, 2016.

Guys Read

This week I thought I would share some great teen books for guys . . .

Human.4 by Mike Lancaster
Twenty-first century fourteen-year-old Kyle was hypnotized when humanity was upgraded to 1.0 and he, incompatible with the new technology, exposes its terrifying impact in a tape-recording found by the superhumans of the future.

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
After his parents, two sisters, and he have spent six years in a vast underground compound built by his wealthy father to protect them from a nuclear holocaust, fifteen-year-old Eli, whose twin brother and grandmother were left behind, discovers that hisfather has perpetrated a monstrous hoax on them all.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett
In an alternative version of Victorian London, a seventeen-year-old Dodger, a cunning and cheeky street urchin, unexpectedly rises in life when he saves a mysterious girl, meets Charles Dickens, and unintentionally puts a stop to the murders of Sweeny Todd.

Four Secrets by Margaret Willey
Through journal entries required by their social worker at a juvenile detention center, middle-schoolers Katie, Nate, and Renata relate how they came to kidnap their tormentor, Chase, a star athlete from the town's most prominent family, who surprisingly became their willing victim.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.


More Teen Books for Guys --
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Convicts by Iain Lawrence
Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin
The Grounding of Group 6 by Julian Thompson
The King's Arrow by Michael Cadnum
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena
Peak by Roland Smith
Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff
Phoenix Island by John Dison
Samurai Awakening by Benjamin Martin
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
The Story of Owen: Dragonslayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston
X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through June 10, 2016.

Could You Survive These Schools?

There are a lot of stories for teens set in school.  However, do you think you could survive at one of these high schools?

Vampire High by Douglas Rees
When his family moves from California to New Sodom, Massachusetts and Cody enters Vlad Dracul Magnet School, many things seem strange, from the dark-haired, pale-skinned, supernaturally strong students to Charon, the wolf who guides him around campus on the first day.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.

Jumped by Rita Garcia-Williams
The lives of Leticia, Dominique, and Trina are irrevocably intertwined through the course of one day in an urban high school after Leticia overhears Dominique's plans to beat up Trina and must decide whether or not to get involved.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Witch Sophie Mercer, having been sent to a reform school by her father after a prom night spell went horribly wrong, learns her roommate, who is the only vampire on campus, is the suspect in a series of attacks on students and sets out to find the real culprit.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

More School Stories --
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman
Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Rikers High by Paul Volponi
The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems by Mel Glenn

Snow! Snow! And More Snow! - Part 2

We still have snow on the ground and they are calling for yet more snow tonight.  So I thought, I would continue to share some of my favorite snow stories -- this time for teens. . .

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
I love this retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  It takes place in the frozen north and features a girl simply named Lass who agrees to live with a bear for a year.  Eventually falling in love with the bear, Lass must travel "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" to save him from the Troll Queen.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
This book tells the story of what happens when Scotty and his friends are trapped in the school during a blizzard with several other students.  They foolishly decided to stay and work on a shop class project rather than go home when school was let out early.  Now they are trapped in the school with no heat, no food, and no water.  And then the roof starts to creak from the huge amount of snow on it and they must decide whether to stay or attempt to get help.