Ring in the New Year at the Teen Bookshare!

Registration begins today for the Teen Bookshare! This program will take place at the Main Library on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Young adults (grades 7-12) will have a chance to share book suggestions with other teen readers, vote for the "Best Book of 2008," and sneak a peek at the titles that will be published in the year ahead! To register, call the Library (847-358-5881 ext. 132) or click here.

Exclusive Q&A with CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH!

The only thing more exciting than serendipitously stumbling upon a new and fantabulous book is being able to chat with the very person who made that story come to life. For the love of books and the good folks who write 'em, illustrate 'em, and publish 'em, this blog is pleased to bring you a series of exclusive Q&A's with the movers and shakers of the teen lit scene.

Cynthia Leitich Smith wears many hats (blogger, teacher, author), and she wears all of them well. Her latest novel for teen readers is Tantalize, a gothic fantasy that will please fans of Tithe and Blue Bloods. Eternal, a devilishly witty romance involving vampires and angels, is due in February 2009. Ms. Smith resides in Austin, Texas with four felines and a fabulously talented husband. Check out the conversation-in-email below to learn more about her life and work.

Click here to read the interview!

Palatine Public Library District (PPLD): What are you currently working on?
Cynthia Leitich Smith (CLT): Blessed, a YA prose novel, which will round off my "loose trilogy" of books in a conversation with Bram Stoker, and Tantalize: Kieren's Story, which is a graphic novel adaptation of the first prose book. I'm also getting ready for the February 2009 launch of Eternal, which is partly set in Austin, partly in Dallas, and mostly in Chicago.

Well, that's the writer front anyway. On the author front, I'm just back from a writer's conference in College Station and packing for a teacher's conference in San Antonio.

PPLD: What are you currently reading and/or planning to read?
CLT: I'm reading the ARC for Dead Girl Dancing by Linda Joy Singleton. The books/ARCs on my nightstand are Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick, Revealers by Amanda Marrone, Shifty by Lynn E. Hazen, Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell, and This Is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone.

PPLD: What are your favorite genres? Your favorite authors?
CLT: Gothic fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction, the short story, humor...how long have you got? It might be easier to say what I'm less excited about--easy readers, anything unrelentingly grim or too precious or self-congratulatory in its earnestness.

An inclusive author list would be enormous, but just for fun, I'll highlight E. Lockhart, Laurie Halse Anderson, Mary E. Pearson... I just "discovered" Thomas Pendleton AKA Dallas Reed, who writes very edgy but thoughtful YA horror.

Liz Gallagher, Varian Johnson, and Maggie Stiefvater are among one of the best debut classes ever.

Oh, and I just finished an ARC of Carol Lynch Williams' upcoming novel, The Chosen One, which is one of those rare books that will haunt me forever. Ditto Libba Bray's next up, Going Bovine.

PPLD: What do you do when you are not reading/writing?
CLT: Austin has an amazing, fun, upbeat youth writing community, and I play with my friends whenever possible. I'm fond of "Bones," "Heroes," and "Monk," all of which I watch on DVD. I also love to go to natural history museums and tour old houses and sleep (a rarity in my life).

PPLD: One book that you will never be too old to love is...
CLT: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.

PPLD: What were you like as a teenager? If you could redo your teen years, what would you do differently?
CLT: I was busy--editor of the paper, cheerleader, student council. If I could redo those years, I would quit cheerleading and shift to the drama crowd. In a heartbeat.

PPLD: What was your first job?
CLT: I popped corn for a movie theater back during the 1980s blockbusters. Lines would wrap around the theater. One night someone broke in with a gun and stole our copy of "Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom." That job was my inspiration for my short story, "Haunted Love" in Immortal Love Stories with Bite, edited by P. C. Cast.

PPLD: The last movie you saw was...
CLT: Batman: The Dark Knight, and while I agree that Ledger's performance was phenomenal, I would love to see a blockbuster film in which women are not cannon fodder or in some major way defined by men. The X-Men may have been the most recent, and Storm still had an oddly minor role.

PPLD: The last thing you ate was...
CLT: Migas con queso with black beans and fajita chicken!

PPLD: Do you have any pets?
CLT: Four cats--Mercury (a gray tabby), Bashi (a gray tabby), Leo (a spotted tawny tabby), and Blizzard (a snow beast). Bashi was found in a bush; the rest were shelter cats.

PPLD: You desperately wish you knew how to...
CLT: Illustrate my own books.

PPLD: How do you make a bad day better?
CLT: Dance to the "Xanadu" album--it also works for writer's block.

Read This: Madapple by Christina Meldrum

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

Religious texts are full of miracles--but what about the world we live in? Are miracles still happening? Christina Meldrum ponders this question in her debut novel, Madapple. The novel's heroine is 16-year-old Aslaug, a book-smart but world-weary girl who has been raised in a remote, rural region of Maine. After her reclusive mother dies, Aslaug is placed in the care of a family she never knew existed. As Aslaug adjusts to life with her aunt and cousins, her perception of reality is called into question. Aslaug finds herself trapped in an intricate web of mythology, genealogy, herbalogy, and murder, in which inexplicable events are the norm. This "make you think" literary mystery juxtaposes lyrical prose with cut-to-the-chase court dispositions, for a powerful tale of truth and lies that will keep you puzzling long after the last page is turned.

Read This: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
TEENS USE XBOX TO SAVE WORLD!

Marcus, a.k.a. "w1n5t0n," may only be 17, but don't be fooled. Marcus is smart. He's smart enough to fly under the radar of his high school's security system, and smart enough to unintentionally spearhead a techno-geek rebellion...but is Marcus smart enough to take on the U.S. Government? After the Department of Homeland Security determines that they fit the profile of potential terrorists, Marcus and his friends find themselves in a fast-paced, high-tech fight for freedom. Suddenly, life, liberty, digital democracy, and the fate of the world are riding on the shoulders of a high school senior with an XBox and a laptop. BONUS: Amid this whirlwind of action, adventure, and suspense, tech-savvy author/blogger/activist Cory Doctorow weaves in D.I.Y. directions for developing hacks that would make Marcus proud.

Harry Potter Trivia Challenge begins!

Today is the first day of our Harry Potter Trivia Challenge!

You’ve read the books. You’ve seen the movies. You’re an expert on muggles and magic. Visit the Library during the month of December to prove your Potter prowess and enter your name in a drawing for prizes fit for a wizard! A list of questions about the series will be available at the Reader Assistance Desk beginning December 1. Complete the quiz and return it to the Reader Assistance Desk anytime before December 31 for a chance to win a copy of the standard edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling’s latest release! Winner(s) will be determined and notified on Friday, January 2, 2009. Entries are limited to one per person per day. This contest is recommended for readers in grades 5 through 12, but all Harry Potter fans are welcome to participate.