Adolescent Lit. Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The first books I read by Maggie Steifvater were The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.   I really enjoyed them and even had the opportunity to meet Maggie at the ALA conference  in 2011.  At this conference she was handing out (and signing) free copies of The Scorpio Races.  I have been meaning to pick it up and read it for some time now, but just haven't had the chance.  I was further motivated to read it when Maggie won a 2011 Printz Honor Award for the book.  It definitely deserved the award.  I love how she develops her characters and how she creates the setting of the island of Thisby.  As I was reading, I kept thinking that I would really like to visit Thisby only to have to remind myself that it does not exist.     

Synopsis: 
In this award winning novel, Maggie Stiefvater takes readers to the fictional island of Thisby where flesh eating water horses, better known as capaill uisce, inhabit the surrounding waters.  Thisby is home of the annual Scorpio Races where islanders attempt to train and race the capaill uisce and tourists travel from all around to see the race.

Kate "Puck" Connolly lives with her two brothers, Gabe and Finn.  Their parents were killed by a capaill uisce and they were left to take care of one another.  Gabe, Puck's older brother, decides that he can no longer stand to live on the island of Thisby, and makes plans to move to the mainland.  In an attempt to stop him Puck decides that she will race in the Scorpio Races, but cannot bear to ride one of the capaill uisce that killed her parents.  She instead decides to ride her land mare, Dove.  

Sean Kendrick, four time winner of the Scorpio Races, longs to be free of his current employer and owner of most of the island, Benjamin Malvern.  Malvern refuses to sell Sean the capaill uisce, Corr, that once belonged to his father.  But this year, Malvern has agreed to sell Corr to him if he wins the race.  

Who will win the Scorpio Races?  A large cash prize awaits whomever crosses the finish line first.  Both Puck and Sean need the money, but someone will come back empty handed.

Recommended for Ages 13+.  

Image from http://maggiestiefvater.com/the-scorpio-races/ 

ALA12 Conference

The picture to the left is just a glimpse of the exhibit hall at the American Library Association's National conference in Anaheim, California.  While going to the workshops is fun (and informative), I have to say that my favorite part is the exhibit hall.  If you have been to the ALA conference, then you know that opening day of the exhibit hall is a mad house.  I had little old lady librarians pushing me out of the way to get free books. Needless to say, I survived that first day and went back each day for more.  Below you will see a picture of all of my free books.  The ones on the top shelves are the ones that I acquired from ALA12 and most of them are signed by the author. 

Just to give you an idea of how awesome this conference is, here are just a few of the authors I met:  Merissa Meyer, Ally Condie, Paolo Bacigalupi, Chris Cline, John Corey Whaley, Jack Gantos, James Dashner, Ruta Sepetys, Marie Lu, and many more.  Two highlights from the trip were participating in the Young Adult Koffee Klatch and going to the Printz award ceremony.  At the koffee klatch, I was able to meet and talk to many YA authors about their current and upcoming books.  At the Printz award ceremony I heard speeches from the Printz award winners including one hilarious speech from Daniel Handler and Maria Kalman, where they sang a multi verse song "Without Libraries We'd Be Dumb".  I also attended some great workshops about collaboration, technology, and common core.  I was just hired this week to be an elementary school librarian where I live in North Carolina, so I am very excited to be able to incorporate some of these new ideas into my library! 

Adolescent Lit. Review: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers has a special gift for writing novels that many of today's teenage readers are interested in and can relate to.  Myers won the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1994, where four of his books, Hoops, Motown and Didi, Fallen Angels, and Scorpions, were recognized for "authentically portraying African-American youth without being limited to any particular ethnic group" (American Library Association). In 2000, Monster won the Michael L. Printz award for excellence in young adult literature. Walter Dean Myers is the current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. 

Synopsis: Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old black male, has been arrested and charged with felony murder.  As the lookout in a robbery that left a store owner dead, Steve struggles throughout the novel with whether he is truly guilty of murder.  If convicted, Steve could face a sentence of 25 year to life in jail.   Having taken a film-making class in school, Steve tells the story of his ordeal by alternating between screenplay and journal formats.  The screenplay format allows readers to see the intensity within courtroom while the journal entries show the inner feelings of Steve as he is unsure of what his conviction will be. Black and white images are also expertly woven in to accompany the text. In this novel, Myers tells a realistic story of a boy who experiences jail and struggles with guilt, but wants more than anything to be pronounced innocent.    

Recommended for Grades 9-12.  

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