Prequel Stories for CROWN OF MIDNIGHT - read them NOW!

Have you started our book for December's meeting, Crown of Midnight?  Already finished and want some more?

Sarah Maas has written two prequel short stories for Crown of Midnight, which you can read online for FREE!  These are "bridge" stories, meaning they take place after Throne of Glass  and before Crown of Midnight. 

Both short stories have been posted in little pieces on different book blogs, a.k.a. a blog tour.  You can read each part by clicking on the links below.

Here's the first story -

The Assassin and the Princess

Part 1                    Part 7

Part 2                    Part 8

Part 3                    Part 9

Part 4                    Part 10

Part 5                    Part 11

Part 6                    Part 12

But that's not all! The second short story one isn't exactly a "bridge" story; instead, it takes place right at the beginning of Crown of Midnight, though it's not included in the book, making it more of a deleted scene! Use the links below:

The Assassin and the Captain

Part 1                    Part 3 

Part 2                    Part 4

Be sure to snoop around these blogs once you finish reading the short stories     you might find a review for a new book to read!

And don't forget to come to our next meeting on December 5th at 6pm to skype with Sarah Maas!

SKYPE with SARAH J. MAAS: the Sequel

Hey look, it's Luke Skype-walker!

Sometimes, sequels really aren't as good as the original. But here's your lesson for the day:

SOMETIMES THEY'RE EVEN MORE AWESOME.

If you haven't heard, we're reading an even-more-awesome-than-usual book for our next meeting:  Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, the sequel to Throne of Glass, our book pick for LAST December (read all about it here; read a synopsis for Throne of Glass and put it on hold here).

But wait!  There's more sequel-ness:

SARAH MAAS IS GOING TO SKYPE WITH US AT THE MEETING!! AGAIN!!  

That's right - AGAIN:  she skyped with us once already (last April), and Sarah's agreed to skype with us again at our next meeting on December 5th, 6pm, at SPL.  That makes this meeting ...

SKYPE WITH SARAH J. MAAS,

THE SEQUEL:

SKYPE-IER THAN EVER

- OR -

THE EMPIRE SKYPES BACK

THE DARK SKYPE
LIVE FREE & SKYPE HARD

I'm pretty excited.  Here are some more details about Sarah:

"Sarah J. Maas was born and raised in New York City, but after graduating from Hamilton College in 2008, she moved to Southern California. She's always been just a tad obsessed with fairy-tales and folklore, though she'd MUCH rather be the one slaying the dragon (instead of the damsel in distress). When she's not busy writing, she can be found geeking out over things like Han Solo, gaudy nail polish, and ballet."

Not gonna lie - she sounds pretty adorable. Check out her website for more about her and to get Throne of Glass extras! She also has a blog and is on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. There's also a Throne of Glass Facebook page!

We still have FREE COPIES of the book to give out for those attending the meeting, so if you haven't signed up for the meeting yet, get to the teen room! And don't forget to come to meeting - December 5th, 6pm.  See you there!

December: Crown of Midnight

Thanks to everyone who came to our meeting last week!  We talked about Kelli London's Uptown Dreams and ate Halloween candy.  Oh yeah, I'm talking about gummy Crabby Patties.  Mmmmm.

On to the next book!  Get excited - it's time to read Crown of Midnight, the sequel to last December's read, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas!!!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

.  .  .

Um, YESPLEASE.  If you haven't signed up yet, get to the library stat - we still have several FREE COPIES of Crown of Midnight to give away when you sign up for the next meeting!

The fun begins with Throne of Glass; check out a library copy from the teen room, then get caught up with all our so be sure to read it first - check out all our previous posts about Throne of Glass!  Keep watching the blog - I'll be bringing you some special content for Crown of Midnight soon, as well as a SUPER AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT about the next meeting!  [EDIT:  click here for the announcement!]

November: Uptown Dreams by Kelli London

Sorry about the radio silence - or rather blog silence; there've been some technical issues with blog posts on our library computers.  Technology FAIL.

Time for a new book!  Get ready for Uptown Dreams by Kelli London:

Uptown Dreams by Kelli London

At the prestigious Harlem Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, students are destined to realize their uptown dreams—as long as friends, haters, and crushes don't trip them up. . . 

La-La Nolan's killer voice could make her a superstar, but she's more focused on scoring the attention of Ziggy Phillip—the cute Jamaican boy in her class. But a singing competition against her arch rival could cost her both Ziggy and her spot at the Academy. . .

The daughter of the school's director and voice coach, Reese Allen has to work harder than everyone else to prove herself. But all Reese wants is to be a hip hop producer—a path her mother will never approve of. . .

Even though it's clear that Ziggy loves the ladies, he has to keep his passion for dance a secret from his father. But then his brother discovers Ziggy's ballet shoes and threatens to tell all—unless Ziggy gets him into the Academy too. . .

No one's a better actress than Jamaica Kincaid Ellison. She's even acted her way out of the boarding school her parents think she's still attending and into the Academy. She'll do anything to achieve her dream—unless her lies destroy everything. . .

If that weren't enough drama, rumor has it that the Academy may close at the end of the year. Can these gifted students put their talents to the test to save it?

We're out of free copies to hand out at the library, but you can still stop by the teen room to get on the wait list (we'll call/email you if we get any more copies of the book to give away).  If you have Uptown Dreams already, get to reading!  Our next meeting is November 7th, 6-7pm at the library.  Catch you then!

Poll: UNWIND Cover Art Smackdown!

So our next book, Unwind, has a lot of different cover designs - a LOT.  When this happened before with other past book club picks, everyone in book club had some very DEFINITE OPINIONS about which cover they thought was best (Throne of Glass, anyone?) - so why not get a head start on the debate? 

Here are several of the cover designs for Unwind - click on any picture to make it bigger, and vote on your favorite below!  Don't forget to click the "Vote!" button at the bottom after selecting your favorite cover!

Which edition has the best cover art?

• 
  
• English #1                     Polish                         Spanish  

English #2                       Indonesian                      French

• 
  
• English #3                    German                        Italian

Acepoll

More polls: Free polls

Calling All Writers!

Holla holla to my creative writers!  Smithies, your time has come:  in celebration of Teen Read Week in October, SPL is having its own WRITING CONTEST! Here're the deets:

Smith Public Library's Teen Read Week Writing Contest:

SEEK THE UNKNOWN

The Teen Read Week Writing Contest has begun, and this year's theme is "Seek the Unknown".  Teen Read Week runs from October 13th-19th, but we're holding our contest begins now and runs until October 19th!   

Entries will be judged in two age groups, 6th-8th graders and 9th-12th graders, which equals more people having a chance to win!  Sweet! 

WRITING GUIDELINES:   

• Short stories only, please - 1500 words or less.

• Go with our theme: make sure to incorporate the theme "Seek the Unknown" into your writing! Anything from paranormal, to sci-fi and fantasy, to mystery goes! 

• Include your info:  make sure your name, contact info, and age group (6-8th graders or 9-12th graders) are attached to your story when you turn it in to the teen reference desk.

Stories will be judged by various staff members, and the two winners will each receive a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble as well as the opportunity to have their story published in the Wylie News and on our library website.

Get writing!  Make sure to get yours turned in for your chance to win!

October: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Ugh, Long Lankin was SO three weeks ago.  Or whatever.  

Time for something new!  Get ready for dystopian craziness - check out our next book, Unwind by Neal Shusterman:

Unwind  by Neal Shusterman 

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.  

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

SHAPOW!  I've been wanting to read this book for a while - it sounds so so good.  If you haven't already signed up in the teen room and picked up your free copy of the book, GIT HERE NEOOOWWW - as of this moment, we only have one copy left to give away!

(No book trailer for this one. 'M srry.)