Sci-fi Springtime!: Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman

Happy spring break, Smithies!  I know it's a busy week - we had Delirium author Lauren Oliver here at SPL on Monday (our report on that coming soon!), and we had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party for the littler kids on Thursday.  But in between library stuff and doing that pesky spring break project for school,  why not get started on our book for next month, Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman!  Check out the synopsis:

The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman

"Jason is having a bad day. The kind of day when you just don't feel like yourself. Only for Jason, it's not just a feeling. He really isn't himself.

Not any more.

Who is he? That's the problem. Jason isn't sure. And it's not just him. Everyone in town is acting weird. His friends. His parents. Everyone. Billington is usually such a normal town. As Jason is about to discover, nothing will ever be normal again."

Alright, that wasn't a great synopsis - the book is way better, and it's totally as creepy as the title implies.  Srrsly, "Dark Side of Nowhere"?  How awesome a title is that?!  (Answer: AWESOME.)  Plus, there's lots of weird science fiction-y action, adventure, hijinks, whutevuh.

So get to reading - next month's meeting is Thursday, April 4th at 6pm at SPL.

And keep watching this blog sweet bloggy goodness.  Coming soon:

• An announcement of another EXTRA AWESOME thing we're doing at the next meeting!!  If you didn't already hear about it at the last meeting, that is. 
• Our post on last meeting's skype with author Hannah Barnaby (read the entire interview!)
• A report on Delirium author Lauren Oliver's recent visit to SPL!

December: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Ready for another great book, smithies?  Sure hope so, 'cause this is a book club.  In case you weren't sure. Y'know.

Anyways, December's pick is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.  Not that we'd pick out anything not good for you to read, but srrsly, this one is LARGE AMOUNTS OF WIN.  It's like The Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones.  Or, if you've already read The Selection by Kiera Cass (think Hunger Games + The Bachelor TV show), it's like The Selection, but with ninja skills.  Yeah, awesome.

Check out the cover and summary:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Though Celaena's bored stiff by court life, things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Mmmmmmawesome.  Sounds like a good way to spend your Thanksgiving vacation, no?  And don't forget to come to the meeting (and if you didn't get to read the book, come anyway): December 6th, 6pm.  BAM.

November: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Our first meeting has come-and-mostly-gone (you can still discuss it in the previous post)! If you missed the first meeting - you were busy, sleepy, avoiding the potential for an awkward first-date club meeting vibe, whatever - you won't want to miss our second meeting, because the book we've picked for November is GOOD.  Check out this sweet cover-art-eye-candy (and the synopsis):

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future."

Hmm... smells a bit like a certain fairy tale.  But before you start thinking about singing mice and pumpkin carriages, this book is far from the fairy tale you grew up reading/watching. Like, lives-on-the-moon far.  (Inside-book-joke intended.)  And before you get all oh-no-I'm-not-reading-ANOTHER-dystopian-novel, just chill; this book is just as different from other dystopia-set books as it is from other fairy-tale-retold books - in a good way.  

So come by the teen room and check it out! Or put the book on hold early - the next meeting is November 1st at 6pm.