Monday, August 27, 2012

It Came from a Book! Teen Art Contest

The Library as Incubator Project, in partnership with TLT: Teen Librarian’s Toolbox, The Real Fauxtographer, and EgmontUSA, is hosting an epic Teen Read Week art contest “It Came From a Book!” The contest runs through September 30.

Here are the basics: teens can read any book and create a piece of art inspired by the story. The artwork can be any type—photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, manga— we want to see it all!

Teens should submit a digital photograph of their work to trwartcontest2012@gmail.com by September 30, 2012, 11:59 pm CST. check http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/?p=5113 for complete rules and submission guidelines.

During Teen Read Week, the Library as Incubator Project will host a digital art gallery of all entries to the “It Came From a Book!” TRW Art Contest, and we will also collect votes on the best library-incubated artwork. The winner will be announced on the site the following week! 

There will be prizes!!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Teen Summer Reading Program 2012

If you have registered for Teen Summer Reading Program and met your summer reading goal, stop in your local branch and enter to win the Grand Prize - a Nook e-reader! 



 
Contest ends August 15

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Everyone loves Legos!


Teens at the Grayson Branch had a blast during Lego Mania.  Catch it at the Suwanee Branch on Thursday July 12!  Check the Teen Event Calendar for this and more fun programs at a branch near you.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Teen Summer Reading Program:
Draw Creatures-of-the-Night
 
Learn how to draw the things that go bump in the night…monsters, zombies, ghouls and more. Staff member Jeremy Evans uses scratch materials in this interactive art workshop. Try your hand at drawing and see what scary things you can create!
                                                                                        
All Teen Programs are intended for teens in grades 6-12.
 
 
 
Tuesday, July 3
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Cool crafts at the library!

Check out these awesome Mockingjay tshirts we made
at a teen event at the Hamilton Mill Branch

More programs coming up!  Check out the teen calendar here

Monday, May 14, 2012

The Avengers


If you loved The Avengers movie - check out the library's collection of Graphic Novels!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Join us Saturday for the Teen Summit!  There will be food, prizes, entertainment and more.
Don't miss Laughing Matters  hilarious improv  program or the closing performance by hiphop artist and actor Tyrin "Fresh P" Niles.

In between, learn basic self defense, hear advice about safe dating, safe driving, and other topics that matter to you.

Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center
http://www.gwinnettpl.org/teensummit/teen-summit-2012.html

Friday, April 6, 2012


Are you a teen filmmaker, visual or spoken word artist ready to take the next step in your artistic career? By participating in First Glance: Fresh Perspectives From Young Artists you will be doing just that. NBAF invites the International community of young artists to create original work around the theme “Connect, Inspire, Transform”. Winners are eligible for up to $500 in prizes, master classes with professional artists, access to professional mentoring, an opportunity for your work to be featured at the National Black Arts Festival and much more. This program is sponsored by Turner Broadcasting through the Turner Voices initiative. DEADLINE: April 30, 2012


http://nbaf.org/2012/04/01/international-call-for-entries-first-glance-teen-film-visual-arts-poetry-competition/

Friday, March 16, 2012

Teen Tech Week Techno Uncrafting @ Your Library

Techno Un-crafting: recycling bits and parts to make art! Teens “Reduce and reuse” computer pieces and compact discs into masterpieces at the library. Check out what we made!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Teen Tech Week 2012

 
It's Teen Tech Week! Geek Out with these titles:

Ralph is asked to spend the summer with his strange British relatives at their old manor house in order to set up their Wi-Fi network. And thus begins his strange adventure.

Request it!
Raven and her brother, Wraith, risk death to discover what happened to their sister Rachel, a fellow Hex--human mutant with a supercomputer mind--by hacking into the secret government agency CPS, which is trying to destroy all Hex.

Request it!


In Tokyo, fifteen-year-old Daniel faces two of the most dangerous aliens on the planet, who are plotting to use video games to control children and turn them into an army of doom.

Request it!
Or try this one in audio!

Monday, November 7, 2011

New Teen Books for November, 2011

Tankborn by Karen Sandler
Teen Science Fiction

Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated when the time comes for their Assignments. they are Genetically Engineered Non-humans: gestated in a tank, sequestered in slums, and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen. But when Kayla is Assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she forms an unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night, and she begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them.

Kayla and Mishalla reunite to hatch a plan to save the children who are disappearing. Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, one that may reveal secrets no one is ready to face.

Request it!


Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Teen Fiction

Lupita, a budding actor and poet in a close-knit Mexican American immigrant family, comes of age as she struggles with adult responsibilities during her mother's battle with cancer. Lupita must take on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, and deal with the pressures of high school, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry.

This Young Adult novel-in-verse includes a glossary of Spanish terms.

Request it!



The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
Teen Historical Adventure

It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows - a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies - Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons.

Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

Request it!


Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Teen Fiction

Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a fther who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.

But Lucky has a secret. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the prison his grandfather couldn't escape, where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?

Request it!


Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
Teen Fiction

In a heartbeat, in a wingbeat, it happens. Isla's father falls. They're racing across the fields, following the swans flying to winter at the lake like they do every year, when something goes wrong. And before she can even catch her breath, they're in the back of an ambulance, she's holding his hand.

As Isla struggles with her father's frailty and the new feelings she has for Harry, a boy she meets at the hospital, she's determined to help the only way she knows how. Outside the hospital windows, Isla watches a lone whooper swan struggling to fly. If only she could save the lost bird, would that somehow heal her dad, and cure Harry, and make everything good again?

Request it!


Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
Teen Fantasy/Adventure

Trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen sea, Solveig, along with her brother the crown prince, their older sister, and an army of restless warriors, anxiously awaits news of her father's victory at battle. But as winter stretches on, and the unending ice refuses to break, terrible acts of treachery soon make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. A malevolent air begins to seep through the fortress walls, and a smothering claustrophobia slowly turns these prisoners of winter against one another.

Can Solveig and her siblings survive the long winter months and expose the traitor before he succeeds in destroying a kingdom?

Request it!


The Lost Songs by Caroline B. Cooney
Teen Southern Fiction

The day Lutie Painter takes the city bus north instead of the school bus west, cutting class for the first time ever, her aunt and uncle have no idea what she is up to. That same morning, Lutie's pastor, Miss Veola, whispers as always, "This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." A block from Miss Veola and up a hill in Chalk, Train Greene, burning with anger, has a decision to make, and he's running out of time. A few miles away, among finer houses, Kelvin Hartley yawns and gets ready for another day at school, where he is a friend to all and makes an effort at nothing. And Doria Bell, who recently moved to the South from Connecticut, walks to the bus stop, hoping the high school kids who live nearby will say hello.

All of these lives intertwine and--in surprising ways--become connected to Lutie's ancestors, who are buried in the cemetery in Chalk.

Request it!


Palace of the Damned by Darren Shan
Saga of Larten Crepsley series
Teen Horror

After failing his mentor and killing the entire crew of a ship in a bout of revenge for the death of his assistant, Larten in bereft with guilt. He no longer has the drive to live the vampiric life, and hides out in Paris, masquerading as a human. There, he finds some happiness, even falling in love with a girl. But the darkness inside him is too great for humanity, and he is forced to make a choice: hide in the shadows of the human world, or take his place among the vampire clan and protect those weaker than himself. But enemies are waiting, traps are laid, and Larten's path is bound to be strewn with bodies.

This is his story.

Request it!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

New Teen Titles for October, 2011



After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel
Teen Horror

Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something--or someone--is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life--and her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.



As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
Teen Suspense

Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the feeling that she's not who they say she is.

Ava Struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
Teen Science Fiction

An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions. Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom--a young soldier--and Ellie, and girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it's now a question of who can be trusted... and who is no longer human.

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Teen Psychological Fiction

Willa is lucky: she has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa's peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret--one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
Teen Paranormal Fantasy

Pearl is your typical sixteen-year-old vampire--until the night a unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Now she's experiencing a number of alarming symptoms: noticing her own reflection, feeling sympathy for a human victim, and being able to withstand the sun. Pearl's immunity to sunlight thrills her family, who enroll her in high school so she can lure home tasty friends. Pearl quickly discovers that high school is very similar to vampire culture with its rigid rules, clear social hierarchy, and a might-makes-right attitude. But having a conscience makes it hard to cope with an evil plot the Vampire King has in store for the local humans. Will Pearl overcome her bloodsucking instincts in favor of her newly acquired conscience?


Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry
(sequel to Rot & Ruin)
Teen Adventure

In post-apocalyptic America, 15-year-old Benny Imura and his friends set out into the great Rot & Ruin, after months of rigorous training with Benny's zombie-hunter brother Tom, hoping to find a better future.

But before they even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town, and as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, and insane murderers, and face the horrors of Gameland--where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all... could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

Request it!



Ghost Hunt 2: More Chilling Tales of the Unknown by Jason Hawes
Teen Horror

Is Alcatraz prison really haunted by ghostly inmates--or is something in the air causing hallucinations? Can the ocean be haunted? Are glowing red eyes in the woods just an animal--or something more sinister?

Unlock these mysteries and many more in this chilling collection of terrifying tales based on real cases from The Atlantic Paranormal Society.

Request it!




Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
Teen Nonfiction

In the little colonial town of Salem Village, Massachusetts, two girls began to twitch, mumble, and contort their bodies into strange shapes. The doctor tried every remedy, but nothing cured the young Puritans. He grimly announced the dire diagnosis: the girls were bewitched! And then accusations began!

The riveting, true story of the victims, accused witches, crooked officials, and mass hysteria that turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a witch hunt that took over a dozen people's lives and ruined hundreds more unfolds in chilling detail.

Request it!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New Teen Books for September 2011


The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric
Teen Historical Fantasy
Teodora has always longed to visit Venice, and at last she has her chance. But strange and sinister things are afoot in the beautiful floating city. Teo is quickly subsumed into a secret world in which salty-tongued mermaids run subversive printing presses, ghosts good and bad patrol the streets, statues speak, rats read, and librarians fluidly turn into cats. And where a book, "The Key to the Secret City," leads Teo straight into the heart of the danger that threatens to the destroy the very city to which she feels she belongs. An ancient proverb seems to unite Teo with a Venetian boy, Renzo, and with the Traitor who has returned from the dark past to wreak revenge... But who is the Undrowned Child destined to save Venice?


 
You've Got Talent by Andrea Mills
Teen Nonfiction

Wanna dance? Wanna sing? You've Got Talent features everything you need to know about the world of entertainment, past and present. Readers can relive the greatest and most memorable performances, from the earliest shows to the most expensive disasters! They'll get a sneak peek behind the scenes to look at the stage and equipment, and to meet the people who make everything happen, from top-billing stars to scriptwriters and set designers.




Witchlanders by Lena Coakley
Teen Fantasy

High in their mountain covens, redwitches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future. It's all a fake. At least that's what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes--one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people's old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?

But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he's ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change.

Request it!


Envy by Gregg Olsen
Empty Coffin series
Teen Mystery

Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka "Empty Coffin"), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic "twin-sense" to uncover the truth about the towns victims and culprits. "Envy," the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they could have ever imagined. Based on the shocking true crime about cyber-bullying, "Envy" will take you to the edge--and push you right over.

Request it!



Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
Teen Science Fiction Suspence

To everyone at Meridian High School, Michael Vey is an ordinary fourteen-year-old. In fact, the only thing that seems to set him apart is the fact that he has Tourette's syndrome. But Michael is anything but ordinary. Michael has special powers. Electric Powers.

Michael thinks he's unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor also has special powers. With the help of Michael's friend Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up this way, but their investigation brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric children - and through them the world. Michael will have to rely on his wits, powers, and friends if he's to survive.

Request it!


Dark Souls by Paula Morris
Teen Horror

Miranda Tennant arrives in New York, the most haunted city in the world, with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she wont' run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city...

Then she meets Nick, and intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York's hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy--one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of New York's haunted souls?

Request it!



Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Teen Historical Fiction

Selene has grown up in a palace on the Nile with her parents, Cleopatra & Mark Antony--the most brilliant, powerful rulers on earth. But the jealous Roman Emperor Octavianus wants Egypt for himself, and when war finally comes, Selene faces the loss of all she's ever loved. Forced to build a new life in Octavianus' household in Rome, she finds herself torn between two young men and two possible destinies--until she reaches out to claim her won.

Request it!




The Project by Brian Falkner
Teen Science Fiction Adventure

It begins with a book, the most boring book in the world, a books so boring no one could ever read it--the perfect place to hid a dangerous secret.

When best friends Luke and Tommy volunteer to help move books from their library's basement to higher ground during a quick rising food, they discover the only surviving copy of the most boring book in the world: "Leonardo's River," lost for over 100 years. The book is connected to Leonardo da Vinci and is worth millions, so they return that night to steal it. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones with that plan...

Request it!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

New Teen Books for August, 2011

The Final Hour by Andrew Klavan
Homelanders series
Teen Adventure

"You're not alone. You're never alone." Charlie West has held on to that belief, but now he's starting to wonder. He went to bed one night an ordinary high-school kid. When he woke up, he was wanted for murder and hunted by a ruthless band of terrorists. He's been on the run ever since. Now he's stuck in prison, abandoned by his allies, trying desperately to stay a step ahead of vicious prison gangs and brutal guards. And a flash of returning memory tells him another terrorist strike is coming soon. A million people will die unless he does something. But what? He's stuck in a concrete cage with no way out and no one who can help. Charlie ahs never felt so alone--and yet he knows he can't give in or give up... not with the final hour ticking away.

Request it!


Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Paranormalcy series
Teen Fantasy

Evie finally has the normal life she's always longed for. But she's shocked to discover that being ordinary can be... kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she's given a chance to work for them again. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie's faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there's a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

Request it!



Lunch-Box Dream by Tony Abbott
Teen Historical Fiction

Bobby and his family are visiting Civil War battlefields on the eve of the war's centenary, while inside their car, quiet battles rage. When an accident cuts their trip short, they return home on a bus and witness an incident that threatens to deny a black family seats. What they don't know is the reason for the family's desperation to be on that bus: a few towns away, their child is missing.

Lunch-Box Dream presents Jim Crow, racism, and segregation from multiple perspectives. In this story of witnessing without understanding, a naively prejudiced boy, in brief flashes of insight, starts to identify and question his assumptions about race.

Request it!


The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
Teen Mystery

Iris Anderson is only 15, but she's quickly mastering the art of deception. It's the fall of 1942 and Iris's world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business.

Request it!



Cool Tech: Gadgets, Games, Robots, and the Digital World by Clive Gifford
Teen Nonfiction

Cool Tech is a thrilling journey through the physical side of the virtual world. Marvel at the technology taht keeps you connected, from the ships installing lines deep in the ocean, the robots locating wire breaks, the satellites beaming signals across the earth, the teams retrieving and splicing lines together, to the servers directing and feeding internet traffic around the world. Plus, take a look back at the history of the internet, exploring people and inventions that led to its creation and tour a virtual museum to see how the technology has progressed over the years changing the lives of ordinary people everywhere.

Request it!


Americapedia: Taking the Dumb out of Freedom by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Teen Nonfiction

Aimed at teens who want to know more about the day-t0-day workings of the U.S. government, this unique blend of humor and information is a cross between a textbook and a satire.

A crash course for understanding critical events in America and the world, it touches upon a variety of topics--historical and current--and explains how they unfolded and why they are important in the political and governmental arenas. Funny and intelligent writing, very reminiscent of the Daily Show, provides insight into the American electoral system, the world economy, the role religion plays in world conflicts, and America's place in the world. The final chapter provides information about how to get involved.

Request it!


Alex Van Helsing: Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson
Alex Van Helsing series
Teen Supernatural Adventure

Fourteen-year-old Alex has no idea that he's descended from the world's most famous vampire hunter, but that changes fast when he arrives at Glenarvon Academy and confronts two vampires in his first three days. Hidden deep underground lies an ancient university for vampires called the Scholomance. When two of Alex's friends are kidnapped by the deadly vampire clan lord Icemaker, it's up to Alex to infiltrate the Scholomance and get them back--alive. Assisted by the Polidorium, a top-secret vampire-hunting organization with buried ties to the Van Helsings, Alex dodges zombies, bullets, and lots--and lots--of fangs on his way to thwarting Icemaker's plans and fulfilling his family destiny.

Request it!


Addie on the Inside by James Howe
Teen Fiction (Novels in Verse)

Addie Carle, the only girl int he group of friends known as The Gang of Five, is outspoken, opinionated, and sometimes... just a bit obnoxious. But as seventh grade progresses, Addie's not so sure anymore about who she is. It seems her tough exterior is just a little too tough and that doesn't help her deal with the turmoil she feels on the inside as she faces the pains of growing up.

Told in elegant, accessible verse, Addie on the Inside gives readers a look at a strong, smart, and sensitive girl struggling with the box society wants to put her in. Addie confronts experiences many readers will relate to: the loss of a beloved pet, first heartbreak, teasing... but also, friendship, love, and a growing confidence in one's self.

Request it!