Candor by Pam Bachorz

Candor is set in the model community of Candor, Florida, where every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks, the son of the town's founder. Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause.

But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant, and perfect through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. Oscar's built a business sabotaging his father's scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before the change happens. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?

Then Oscar meets Nia, the girl he can't stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever, but by keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more.

The first few chapters passed by quite slowly and the story never really picked up until about halfway through. Then it got really good. The ending is my favorite part, because it was completely unexpected. I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen, but it certainly wasn't what actually happened. It left me with my mouth hanging open.

Candor is a good book if you enjoy books set in a world similar to ours but also different.

Louis

(Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library TAB Member)

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Can you figure it out?

Liar is a gripping fantasy novel that takes you on an insanely confusing, while enjoyable, ride. Meet Micah, an intelligent girl who will tell you straight up that she is a compulsive liar. Walk with her as she tells you the story of her life, taking you on a wild and bumpy road complete with plenty of twists. As each new piece of information is introduced, contradicting the last, you won't be able to resist the urge to sort lie from truth in Micah's words.

Determination sets the tone of this novel as Micah struggles to tell us the truth and figure out who, what, and why she is in life. In this fun and fascinating story, you can't help but think deeper and examine the different aspects of Micah's alleged life, as well as your own. Everybody lies. This is often said, and you will most definitely hear it in Liar.  In reading this novel, Micah may have you questioning yourself. Do you always tell the truth?

All in all, this is a very interesting read that is highly entertaining. Liar will have you tearing through the pages. Two thumbs up to Justine Larbalestier.

Briana

(Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library TAB Member)

I loved this book the moment I started to read it!

The Face on the Milk Carton
By Caroline B. Cooney

‘The Face on the Milk Carton’ is the first book in a suspenseful mystery novel series. I loved this book the moment I started to read it! I really enjoyed the emotion and the romantic scenes. The best thing about this novel is that it’s so interesting that it makes you keep going until the climax. “Why are Janie’s parents always so anxious? Why are they not letting her see her birth certificate? Was Janie kidnapped?” After all that you just cannot put the book down! You keep turning the pages and moving to the edge of your seat, as Janie goes on the adventure of her life to find her true identity. The clues don’t go together and get more complicated as new puzzle pieces come into play; I felt as if I was a part of the story and had to finish the act. When everything finally goes right I thought that the book had finished, however, it was only half done. There was still a missing piece to what I thought was the complete puzzle. Yet, as the book begins to end, all of your questions will not be answered. I am now looking forward to reading the next book in the squeal, “Whatever Happened to Janie?” and hope that this book will be just as mysterious and full of complexity.

Priya

(New Tampa Regional Library TAB member)

T-minus 1 day and counting!

There's only 1 more day until

Support Teen Lit Day!

So let's continue our list of teen book picks with our first non-fiction choice (and our very first teen-written review!!!!)

Today's Teen Review by
by Carmen @ 78th Street Branch

Hay ya'll.

I want you guys to read this book. It's called A
CHILD CALLED IT.

It's really good because it's about a boy that is
abused by his mom. His mom was nice for awhile, but because of his drunk father,
his mom became abusive with him. One time, he was almost burned to death. His
mother told him to strip off his clothes and get in the kitchen. He got very
scared. His mother turns the oven on and told him to get in and lie down. He
began to cry and she yelled at him. He got in. He tried to get out but his mom
pulled him back. Luckily his father came through the door and his mom had to
stop. She told him "if you ever tell your brothers or your father, you would end
up in the hospital."

O.K. There’s more to the book, but you need to read
the book.

You guys might say that doesn't sounds like a really good
book, but it is. Teenagers say that your parents aren't fair, but as you see
that this boy really had a bad life. So when your parents say "no," just say
"o.k." Please read the book and appreciate your parents.

Note from Miss Jen: Carmen's pick is definitely about a sensitive subject, so it might not be for everyone. For help deciding if this is the book for you, don't forget you can always ask a parent, teacher, or even.... A LIBRARIAN! ;-)

It's National Library Week!

Hey! Guess what? It's National Library Week! Come celebrate with us at your favorite library branch!

Can't make it? Why not take part in the festivities with us here online?

We're especially excited that the first Support Teen Lit Day is April 19, only 2 days away.

Want to take part in this celebration?

• Check out some hot Teen Lit titles…
• Join an online book club!
• Book talk on the blog!

And in the spirit of the day, here's

Today's Teen Picks
by Robin @ North Tampa

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Firestarter by Stephen King

More Teen Picks

Continuing our countdown, it's 6 more days 'til Support Teen Lit Day, and here's...

Today's Teen Picks
by Antonio @ North Tampa

The Trigun Maximum Series by Yasuhiro Nightow

The InuYasha Ani-Manga Series by Rumiko Takahashi

InuYasha: The Art of InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Drop Everything!

... And READ!

Did you know that April 12 is Drop Everything And Read Day? Me, neither! (until just a moment ago, that is.)

So what better time to bring you our next set of Teen Lit Picks!

Today's Teen Picks
by Jesse @ Seminole Heights


Eragon by by Christopher Paolini

The Naruto series by Masashi Kishimoto

The Bleach series by Tite Kubo

Hot Reads, Cool Event

We're getting ready for National Library Week, a week-long celebration of all that's good about libraries and the people who run them (like us!) And new to the festivities this year is...

SUPPORT TEEN LIT DAY!

Since this celebration seems right up our alley, we thought it might be cool to share some favorite picks chosen by teens @ the library throughout the next few weeks.

Here goes:

Today's Lit Picks
by Chris @ North Tampa

Ghost by Piers Anthony


Dragon on a Pedestal by Piers Anthony
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony

Coming to you live from Seminole Heights!

It's Teen Tech Week and we're here at Seminole Heights Library with the Anime Club. We're checking out the new blog and everybody's got tons of ideas about cool anime stuff on the web and in the library...

• i like this video because its my favorite anime gundam seed andrise against my favorite band and the song goes good with the video.


• Hi my name is melissa I love Inuyasha. Now if you love inuyasha as much as I
  do you must think that Rumiko Takahashi is a vary smart person. so if you want
  to learn more about him go to http://www.inuyasha.com/
  
• hey this is lacey i got a recemendation read inuyasha love
  ya
  alright
  love lacey


• i dont know if you like anime,but i do! the big eyes,action,and the comedy.
  one crazy anime is bobobo-bobo-bobo(crazyname is'nt it?). its about this guy
  that fights ''hair hunters'' and does all sorts of funny stuff. i recommend
  naruto as a coolaction anime. its sad my ''mom'' wont let me watch any other
  anime for ''adults'',but i do what i can. did i mention i draw? yeah,its
  pretty cool. this was a member of the seminole heights branch anime club and
  i encourage you to read and read more manga! plus anime.
  
  ~chibi shinryakusha (not my real name 'duh')~