Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings, Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list, she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being.

But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems . . . and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

Why you should read this book:

• The list Abby makes would be fun to try- what can you do to get "more depth" out of life?
• A love story about falling in love with your best friend- I love a good romance novel!
• Thinking about what makes good art.  Can you make good art without intense feelings?
• I have liked all the books I've read by Kasie West; our library has most of them.

Find Love, Life, and the List in our library at: ROMANCE F WES

Happy Halloween!

The MS/HS Library wishes you a Happy Halloween!

Come find a book to scare you silly.

Denton Little's Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin

This is the sequel to Denton Little's Deathdate.  Read my review for the first book here.

You only live once—unless you’re Denton Little!

Denton Little lives in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day on which they will die. The good news: Denton has lived through his deathdate. Yay! The bad news: He’s being chased by the DIA (Death Investigation Agency), he can never see his family again, and he may now die anytime. Huh. Cheating death isn’t quite as awesome as Denton would have thought. . . .

Lance Rubin’s debut novel, Denton Little’s Deathdate, showed readers just how funny and poignant imminent death could be. Now in this sequel, he takes on the big questions about life. How do we cope, knowing we could die at any time? Would you save someone from dying even if they were a horrible person? Is it wrong to kiss the girl your best friend is crushing on if she’s really into you instead? What if she’s wearing bacon lip gloss?

Why you should read this book:

• It is laugh-out-loud funny.
• Made me think (when I wasn't laughing) about what it would be like to know your death date.
• This is a YA book with high school boy situations and humor.
• The author, Lance Rubin, is an actor and also writes sketch comedy.  You can watch some video clips at his website: http://www.lancerubin.com/videos/

Find Denton Little's Still Not Dead in our library at: SCI-FI F RUB

YALSA Teens' Top Ten List

Find the titles in our library!

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green                                    Call Number: REALISTIC F GRE
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus                                   Call Number: MYSTERY F MCM
Warcross by Marie Lu. G. P.                                                          Call Number: SCI-FI F GRE
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo                           ON ORDER
Caraval by Stephanie Garber                                                         Call Number: FANTASY F GAR
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds                                             Call Number: REALISTIC F REY
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez  Call Number: REALISTIC F SAN

Paper Hearts by Ali Novak                                                             ON ORDER
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor                                             Call Number: FANTASY F TAY
Once and For All by Sarah Dessen                                               Call Number: ROMANCE F DES

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

There are three kinds of people in my world: 

1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They're in your face so much, you can't see them, like how you can't see your nose.

2. Misfits, people who don't belong. Like me--the way I don't fit into Dad's brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama's-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there's Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don't go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right? 

3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O'Connor's stories. 

Like the monster at my mosque. People think he's holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask. 

Except me.

Why you should read this book:

• It may put you outside your comfort range.
• Saints and Misfits reinforces that though we are all different, we are also alike in many ways
• I wonder if all Muslim communities are like the one in the book.  Do Muslim communities in the US function differently from the Muslim countries I've lived in? I wonder what the differences and similarities are.
• It's full of "real-world" issues like bullying, friendship, growing up, racism and religion.

Find Saints and Misfits in our library at: REALISTIC F ALI

Signed Books!

A big THANK YOU to Ms. H for donating signed copies of the biographies of the Malaysian prime minister and his wife to the MS/HS Library.  Stop by the library to have a look at these facinating donations.

Library Lunch Hour

We made a big change this school year that I have been thinking about doing for awhile...

Food is now allowed in the library!

A few reasons we did this:

• Students were sneaking food anyway.  The constant monitoring to see if someone was eating a bag of popcorn or an apple was a time-sucker. In thinking about it, I really don't care if they are eating a bag of popcorn while they study.
• The cafeteria is very full at lunch.  Some students prefer to hang out here to relax and/or play games. Some were skipping lunch to be here.

We added extra trash-cans around the library and students have been doing well at picking up after themselves.  They were told at the start of the year that I have a fear of roaches and if I start seeing them crawl across the library the food privilege would go away.

Here's a few pictures of the library lunch hour:

Talking and eating with friends

These two have lunches from home on the seats beside them.

The video gaming crew

Collaborating on homework over lunch