Jayla reviewed:

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
This book is being released TODAY! Thanks Jayla! Keep reading!

THE SCOOP:
I think, overall, the book was pretty good. While it was not, to me, exactly five-star quality, I don’t regret reading it. I loved the unexpected POV changes, and how the author never stated who was who. All of the voices for the different characters were distinct and unique. The author also created a perfect amount of tension. Since the ‘Others’ (a name the main character, Cassie, gave the aliens) looked just like normal humans, it really raised the question of who you could trust, since anyone could be the enemy.
Another thing I loved? The story was set in Ohio! I thought that was pretty cool.

I definitely wasn’t a fan of the romance, though. The love-story between Evan and Cassie seemed a little too forced and contrived. I also don’t understand how, after Cassie repeated over and over that she couldn’t trust anyone, she was suddenly okay with being cared for by a strange guy who read her diary and undressed her while she was unconscious, amongst other things.

However, I would still recommend The 5th Wave to a friend (especially to a friend who’s a fan of The Hunger Games series), because it’s fast-paced and engrossing, and the story line’s premise is really interesting. At any rate there is a lot of story yet to be told, so I’ll stick around for the sequel to see how it all turns out.

THE STARS:
3 out of 5 stars – Pretty good. I wanted to see how it ended.

THE COVER STORY:
I love the cover design of the book and I wouldn’t change anything about it. Not only is it interesting, and will probably compel people to pick it up, but the cover also fits the story perfectly – especially the ending of the story.

New books are here! BOOKS that haven’t been published yet and are available for YOU to read before the rest of the world!
(Insert maniacal mad with power laugh). Come get some and be ready for our next meeting!

Have no idea what I’m talking about? Check it out…

Welcome to the home base of Beta Books!

Love to read? Want to read books BEFORE they are published? ARCs are Advanced Reading Copies of books, and we’re looking for 6th-12th graders to read them.

The newest books will be revealed at our monthly meetings. Can’t make it? Stop in the Teen Center to sign out a book and share your thoughts online. (NOTE: Not all titles are appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgement to decide if a book is right for you.)

Reviews are posted on this blog in the Beta Books category.

Got questions? Email us!

You know you can get books and movies and music, but did you know about these?

Here are 10 Unexpected Things You Can Check Out at the Westerville Public Library!

Hope there is something on this list you didn’t know and are excited to try!

1) Book baskets (or whatever you want to put in them!).

2) Bike locks (for bikes parked at the library).

3) Blu-rays.

4) Playaway Audiobooks and Playaway Views.

5) Artwork & art prints.

6) Kill A Watt EZ energy meter kits.

7) Nook e-readers (some restrictions apply).

Laptops (in-house only; some restrictions apply).

9) Videogames (in-house only).

10) Book Discussion Kits for kids & adults.

Why should you care about this? I’ll tell ya why–because this award is chosen BY teens FOR teens…not by your teachers or your auntie…these are the books that matter to you. So, speak up!I can’t vote on these—but you can!*

Here are the nominees…reserve your copy today!

*ASSUMING that the “YOU” who is reading this is, in fact, a teenager and NOT an alien life form masquerading as a teen human in order to spend your Earth days eating chips and playing video games…or an actual human adult.

In this dark and mysterious book we learn about Viktor Frankenstein’s teen years–before he created life, when he tried to save it. We’ll read about his doomed twin brother Konrad…his first love Elizabeth…and the beginning of the obsession that would take over his life.

This is a book club meeting you won’t want to miss. Reserve your slice of book club pizza today…

Running from March 21 to April 19, people born under this sign of the Ram are known to be powerful personalities. Often seen as passionate, romantic, powerful, impulsive and firey! The HATE anything boring, ambiguous or mundane. SO–what exactly do these firey busy-bodies like to read? Scroll on down for a heaping helping of Aries reads right in time for your birthday Aries!

OMG! Margo may be an Aries! She is wild and unpredictable and after a wild midnight adventure with mild mannered Q--Margo is missing! Q is obsessed with her and the clues he is sure she left him about what she is doing and where she has gone.

Everyone has a wild friend, but what if hanging out with your wild friend could get you ARRESTED!? Julie wants to be cool and doesn't want her wild child best friend to ditch her but can Julie stand the pressure of living outside the law?

As a player in NERVE, an anonymous game of dares broadcast live online, high-schooler Vee is unhappy to be watched constantly but finds it exhilarating to be paired with handsome Ian taking ever riskier dares--until the stakes become too high.

Aries are often good leaders...this story finds Cassie relocating to New Salem, pursuing a romance with Adam, and assuming joint leadership over an elite coven of witches whose loyalty is tested as Cassie prepares to confront a latest evil force.

Talk about a Aries style power struggle!! In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.

The dark side of an Aries...controlling and power hungry: In Omaha, Nebraska, twelve-year-old Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he is extremely stupid and lazy, but he is actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run for seventh-grade class president, nothing will stand in his way.

You know what else Aries are know for? They inspire people to be better and DO better! American-educated Jordanian Luma Mufleh founds a youth soccer team comprised of children from Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkan states, and elsewhere in the refugee settlement town of Clarkston, Georgia, bringing the children together to discover their common bonds as they adjust to life in a new homeland.

Finally--Aries are wildly romantic and passionate about their beliefs. When passions collide--then the fireworks begin: The crumbling friendship between writer Lita and entrepreneurial Adam is compromised by unexpected jealousies over each other's romantic entanglements, stolen blog posts and a premature offer to sell a new self-help book

All right–do you agree? Any books to add to Aries’ reading list? Give me a shout back in the comments.
Till next time, stay firey!

Our 2013 Teen Challenge is under way! This month’s book was all about the poetry of life and words…Ellen Hopkin’s dramatic teen novel in verse, Tilt. We dissected the book and made our own poems and of course ate our way through a few pizzas for book club energy. We sent Ellen Hopkins some pictures of our meeting and she wrote back! WOW!

Our teens have read 3/12 of our book challenges and have made those books come to life at our monthly book club meeting…

In January we read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and even got some feedback from the book’s author about our awesomely peculiar collages!!

In February we read John Green’s bestseller tear-jerker The Fault in our Stars, then we dried our tears with pizza and made some book swag…

Next month’s book and meeting explores the dark world of Frankenstein…are you UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

Peacocks and Mustard and Scarlet, OH MY! There has been a murder in the library! Who done it?! What did they use? Where did it happen? Are you going to eat the rest of those snacks?

Find out the answers to these questions, watch the classic whodunit movie CLUE on the big screen and see if you have what it takes to solve the mystery! Space is limited so reserve today!

Work together on a life-sized game board (huge dice included) to figure out the clues and find the murderer!

How often have I gushed about how I love stepping into another world, like Alice, Coraline, or Tiffany Aching?! I read the term “portal fiction” and experienced that awesome “there’s a WORD for that?” feeling.

…these books feature protagonists who are transported from our own familiar world to another realm, where they encounter exhilarating adventures and come face to face with conundrums that challenge their perceptions and abilities, uncover hidden aptitudes, and help them learn about themselves.

The post linked above mentions some great titles, including The Other Normals and the brand-new Splintered. Reserve copies of the whole list here.

Got any other favorite titles about stepping into another world? Add them in the comments!

 Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery,^[1] especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century. Therefore, steampunk works are often set in an alternate history of the 19th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West”, in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.

Often fast-paced and fun, Steampunk gets a lot of attention…so give it a go! Check out our latest additions or browse our favorite steampunk novels from our catalog or through our Steampunk Explore guide. Want to look the part? Join us next week for our  Cosplay: It’s Easier than you Think! program where we will be crafting steampunk goggles!

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. Fans of Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate will be thrilled to know that she has a new series out–in the first book, readers enter  an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is suprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage.  Gail even has a super neat web site about the book at a special website dedicated to The Finishing School Series. Click on the image for more how-tos…

Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristen Bailey

A orphaned sixteen-year-old servant in Victorian England finds love while unraveling the secrets of a mysterious society of inventors and their most dangerous creation.

The Lazarus Machine by Paul Crilley

In an alternate 1899 London, seventeen-year-old Sebastian Tweed searches for his kidnapped father, uncovering both a horrific technological secret and a political conspiracy that could destroy the British Empire.

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

Cora, Nellie, and Michiko, teenaged assistants to three powerful men in Edwardian London, meet by chance at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered man, leading the three to work together to solve this and related crimes without drawing undue attention to themselves.

The manual of aeronautics : an illustrated guide to the Leviathan series by written by Scott Westerfeld

Illustrations and text provide detailed looks at the machines, uniforms, creatures, and characters of the Leviathan book series

Everyone has a story to tell…learn to tell yours through photographic art. In this workshop, you will learn about what makes a photograph good, and how images can tell amazing stories. Participants will be given cameras to use to photograph their story, then will be shown how to edit those photos for display. Photo stories will be displayed in the Library meeting rooms for the month of March…just in time for Teen Tech Week March 10-16!