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Best and Worst Children's Books of the Year
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If you enjoy children's and young adult books, make sure not to miss the popular Best and Worst Children’s Books of the Year event at Upper Riccarton Library on Wednesday 19 November, 7-9pm. Come and join us for a fun evening with raffles and refreshments. You might even spot some Christmas present ideas!
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New and Recently Released!
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Singing home the whale
by Mandy Hager
Will Jackson is a city boy reluctantly staying with his uncle in small town New Zealand while he struggles to recover from a brutal attack and the aftermath of a humiliating YouTube clip gone viral. Will discovers an orphaned orca and they form a deep bond through music, but Will must rally to protect it from hostile locals, worried about the whale's effect on the town's salmon farms.
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| Evil librarian by Michelle KnudsenAt first, smart, sassy high school theatre tech Cyn can't fault her best friend Annie for crushing on the hot new school librarian, Gabriel. But then Cyn discovers the diabolical source of Annie's infatuation: Gabriel is actually a soul-sucking demon who's trying to brainwash Annie and make her his bride. Immune to Gabriel's power, Cyn will have to do bloody battle with the forces of darkness in order to save her friend… and maybe take a chance with her own crush in the process. |
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Illusions of fate by Kiersten WhiteTreated like an outcast after moving from her island home to dreary Albion, Jessmin meets an enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the region's secret nobility and magical powers that a dangerous lord would do anything to control. .
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Whisper the dead
by Alyxandra Harvey
In 1814 London, Gretchen must put aside annoyance at the constant buzzing caused by being a Whisperer, concern about her twin brother, her growing feelings for a member of the Order of Iron Nail, and the boredom of being a debutante when a new menace threatens Mayfair.
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| I'll give you the sun by Jandy NelsonWhen they were 13, dreamy Noah and his daring twin sister Jude were inseparable. By the time they're 16, they can hardly stand each other. What happened in between? Alternating perspectives (between brother and sister, past and present) reveal each sibling's experiences of artistic exploration, heartrending loss, and exhilarating first love, illuminating how Noah and Jude's strong relationship was shattered… and how it might be rebuilt. Author Jandy Nelson's lush, stylised language overflows with vivid images and "brims with emotion" (Publishers Weekly), making I'll Give You the Sun an unforgettable experience. |
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Messenger of fear by Michael GrantAwakening in a field of dead grass with a heavy mist pressing down on her, a terror-stricken Mara is approached by a beautiful, black-clad young man who declares that she will be his apprentice, to support his efforts to bring justice to evildoers. By the best-selling author of the Gone series.
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| Afterworlds by Scott WesterfeldAfterworlds contains two parallel stories: half of the chapters focus on Lizzie, who survives a terrorist attack only to discover that she's become a psychopomp who can see departed souls. The other chapters focus on Darcy, the 18-year-old author of Lizzie's story, which she's just sold to a major publisher. As Darcy edits her book and fumbles through life after high school, her experiences -- including falling for fellow YA author Imogen -- impact Lizzie's life and love in fascinating ways. Combining paranormal romance and coming-of-age drama, this novel-within-a-novel holds special appeal for die-hard YA readers, who will enjoy guessing which of Darcy's writer friends represent their favourite real-life authors. |
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"I no longer feel allegiance to these monsters called human beings, despise being one myself... Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences." ~ from Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay
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This November marks the opening of Mockingjay Part 1, the first of two movies based on the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. If you're intrigued by the war in Panem, check out these stories about the complications of real-life warfare.
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| Torn by David MasseyBritish medic Ellie is only 19 when she arrives in Afghanistan for her first tour of duty. Before she can even get her bearings, her squad is assigned to a group of American Navy SEALS and sent into Taliban territory to find a hidden arms cache. Loaded with intense atmosphere and explosive active, their mission (as well as the attraction between Ellie and young SEAL Ben) unfolds at a furious pace, exposing several mysteries -- many of which relate to the Young Martyrs, an army of orphaned children. Authentic and deeply descriptive, Torn offers a gripping, suspenseful glimpse of modern politics and warfare. |
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| Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean MyersInstead of going to college like his parents want him to, 18-year-old Robin Perry from Harlem (nephew of Richie Perry, the main character in author Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels) enlists in the army after 9/11 because he wants "to do something, to stand up for [his] country." Soon he is in Iraq as part of the Civil Affairs Battalion, a supposedly low-risk unit of men and women tasked with building trust between U.S. troops and the Iraqi people. But as they are increasingly involved in violence, Robin ("Birdy") and his fellow soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and the war more random, confusing, and horrifying. This powerful book "takes readers behind the headlines to the everyday life of a soldier" (Horn Book). |
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| The things a brother knows by Dana ReinhardtLevi Katznelson’s older brother, Boaz, has finally returned home to Boston after a three-year tour of duty in "some desert country half a world away." While it's been tough being golden-boy-Boaz's kid brother, Levi is glad to have him home... except he can tell immediately that Boaz isn't quite right. In this moving, thoughtful story, Levi does everything he can to help his big brother recover from his combat experiences -- including following Boaz when he takes off on foot, supposedly to hike the Appalachian Trail. Touches of humour and romance lighten the mood of this powerful tale about the very personal after-effects of war. |
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| Ghosts of war: the true story of a 19-year-old GI by Ryan SmithsonRyan Smithson, who describes sitting in his high school history class and watching the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 as the "atypical, unpredictable kind of real that you never see coming," enlisted in the Army as soon as he graduated. In this harrowing and powerful memoir, Smithson brings readers inside his tour of duty in Iraq, from basic training through combat and his return home. If you want to know what life is really like on the battlefield, Smithson's story provides a soldier's unflinching viewpoint; for an Iraqi civilian's account of the early days of the war, check out Thura's Diary by Thura Al-Windawi. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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