Ten by Gretchen McNeil

In this mystery, ten teens are invited to an island mansion for what they think will be a weekend full of eating, drinking, and merrying. Unfortunately for them, one of the guests has other plans which include seeking revenge for past crimes and, well…murder. When guests start dying one by one it doesn’t take long for the them to start pointing fingers at one another in a desperate attempt to discover the real killer. Do they succeed? You’ll have to read to find out!

Gretchen McNeil’s Ten reminded me a lot of the Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine books I read when I was a teenager. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, bookworm Meg does do a lot of longing for superjock and good friend TJ (and his dimples) and Minnie’s drama queen hysterics make you kinda’ hope that she’s next on the killer’s list tend can get a little tiresome, but I thought there was enough suspense and action to keep me around until the end. I must confess, I got a little edgy when they went to the neighbor’s house in search of help.It’s also not shy during the murder scenes–if you like your mysteries bloody, then give it a try.

Have YOU read it? What did you think? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Battle of the Books – Booklist

I’m so excited to announce the books for our FIRST EVER Battle of the Books!

Okay, so the books aren’t really fighting it out to survive. Instead it will be YOU proving  just how much you know about the books to others. With help from the League of Extraordinary Teens, we’ve put together a list of books for people to read. During the actual Battle of the Books we will have a trivia show as well as some physical challenges inspired by the books.

More details to follow soon. But for now…here are the books (click on the cover to see more about the book and/or add your own reviews and comments):

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

Imagine one of your co-workers disappeared during her shift. Imagine the chaos that ensues as everyone rushes to find her. Imagine the worry as you wonder whether or not she’s still alive. Imagine if you find out that the kidnapper may have wanted YOU instead.

That’s the scenario that Gabie faces in April Henry’s The Night She Disappeared. Quiet Gabie didn’t think it would be a big deal when she switched shifts at Pete’s Pizza with the boisterous Kayla. After Kayla disappears while making a delivery to a nonexistent address, Gabie learns from Drew (the only other person working that night) that the caller asked for her first. Gabie feels a connection to Kayla, not necessarily because they worked together, but because it should have been her. Convinced that Kayla is still alive, Gabie works with Drew to find the missing girl before it’s too late.

‘You know what the strangest thing is?” I whisper. ‘I feel like she’s alive. I’m not talking about her spirit. I’m talking about the real Kayla. It feels like she’s alive.

This book definitely had me sprinting to the end–I just had to know what happened! It’s told from multiple points of view as well as with police reports and other notes from the investigation which, while they didn’t necessarily help you piece together the mystery, was an interesting way of breaking up the story. I do admit for a minute there, things got a little farfetched, but all in all I thought this book was difficult to put down. If you like thrillers and/or mysteries, you may enjoy The Night She Disappeared. But…uhm…in real life you should probably leave chasing the bad guys down to the police. I’m just saying.

Great Big Service Project – a slight change of plans

The Great Big Service Project continues this week! Since the last time we talked about it, we made a minor alteration to the way we’re doing the project.

We are STILL making cards for Operation Write Home. However, instead of making cards that troops send home to their families, we will manly focus on making cards for the troops themselves!

These AnyHero cards are just another way to thank a person who is serving his or her country overseas. You can write anything from “Thank you,” to a sweet poem to a longer letter of support and encouragement.

Why did we make the change? AnyHero cards allow you to practice the creativity that we know you all are bursting with. If you’re like me and not too confident about your card making skills you can focus on the writing side. Artsy and fartsy? You can focus on making the cards. Want some variety? Make a card and fill the inside with your own words! There are options for everyone!

So please join us at our next card making session. Stop by anytime between 5:00pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday, April 10 at the Josey Ranch Lake Library. We’ll be in the Storytime Room. Hope to see you there!

Great Big Service Project

I am so excited to share the deatils of the Great Big Service Project!

The Teen Great Big Service Project is an opportunity for Carrollton teens to earn community service hours. It’s a drop in kind program—no registration required.

 The service project will actually span several weeks it will take place at the Carrollton Public Library at Josey Ranch Lake (1700 Keller Springs Road) from 5:00-7:30pm on the following dates:

• April 3
• April 10
• April 17

For this, our very first service project, we will be making blank greeting cards for an organization called Operation Write Home. Operation Write Home’s mission is to support “our nation’s armed forces by sending handmade blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as ‘AnyHero’ cards of gratitude to encourage them.” To view the kinds of cards that are being sent out via Operation Write home check out the Gallery.

There are so many wonderful organizations out there it was difficult to choose one to work with! As someone who grew up with a lot of military kids and who has had multiple loved ones deployed several times, I thought this was a great cause to launch our first annual Teen Great Big Service Project. The troops appear to love them too. Check out the Hero Blog for their testimonials.

I hope you’ll join us! If you have any questions, leave us a comment. Personally, I can’t wait!