Teen Territory

We know, we know…you’re busy and you don’t feel like reading anything else, but yes, that IS a Hunger Games companion book.  And YES, that brand new Common book is on the shelf.  Come on, you know you want to read just a couple pages of Uncharted before the Gaming Alliance plays the new game this month.

Trust us, we won’t tell anyone you were reading. (click on the covers to find each book in our catalog)

The World Is Mine by Lyah B. LeFlore

This book is a great picture of what hip hop youth culture is really like.

If you’re tired of reading the stories that glorify only the violence or profane worlds of hip-hop and the urban music scene, then this series may be perfect for you.

Blue Reynolds is a young, hip 17 year-old who doesn’t necessarily want to make his mark on the world by attending Howard University and becoming a lawyer the way his father has. He’s more interested in the P.Diddy/Berry Gordy school of fine hustling. His best friend Collin, also the son of a lawyer, is feeling that he doesn’t want to attend Georgetown and practice law just to please his dad. Together with their friend Whiteboy, a graphic and tattoo artist, the three friends embark on pulling together their own entertainment company, Blue Up.
On the path to stardom in the music scene there are a lot of ups and downs as romance, parental clashes and the struggle to get away from the streets, tries to catch up to them. For Blue, the appeal of being the hottest promoter in DC could lead to making some pretty shady choices in the eyes of his father and his girlfriend Jade. Collin, desperate to please his dad, may be biting off more than he can chew when he decides to helm the business end of Blue Up instead of pursuing Georgetown fame. And Whiteboy can’t seem to get far enough of way from the violence and gang life that lurks around his growing tattoo business.

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We know that you aren’t the average reader. We know that you aren’t interested in reading about ancient battles and how to build pop-rockets. You want what’s real.
That’s why we’ve redesigned our young adult nonfiction to reflect you and the world around you.
The Teen Life section will feature books that are hard-hitting, fast paced, fact based and real.
Here are just a few of this week’s brand new titles.

Pearson, who starred in HBO’s The Wire , was born ill and underweight from her mother’s drug habits, and later worked for a crack dealer in East Baltimore. At age 15 she killed a woman in self-defense and wound up in the Jessup State Penitentiary. She got a wakeup call when the notorious dealers she called “Uncle” and “Father” wound up respectively dead and imprisoned for life. Once out on parole, Pearson took an assembly-line job and “didn’t give [her neighborhood dope dealers] a second glance,” but after repeatedly getting fired because of her rap sheet, she returned to dealing before a chance meeting gave her a way off the street for good. This isn’t a light celebrity bio, but a powerful story of someone trying to find her way in a dark world, realizing she can still choose her life’s direction even in tremendously difficult circumstances. Pearson’s narrative is spare, even poetic, rendering traumatic moments all the more powerful. (Nov.) –Staff (Reviewed September 17, 2007) (Publishers Weekly, vol 254, issue 37, p44)

On her hit television show, Tiny and Toya, Antonia ‘Toya’ Carter seems to be living the good life. She has a beautiful home, good friends, and is pursuing her dreams. In spite of appearances, hers has been a life of peaks and valleys. Abandoned by her parents as a child, Toya was passed from one family member to another as her mother sank deeper into drug addiction. Feeling unloved and unwanted, Toya fell into the arms of fifteen-year-old rising musical star, Dwayne Michael Carter, known these days as rapper, Lil’ Wayne. She ended up pregnant at the tender age of fourteen.

In Priceless Inspirations, Toya takes the reader on a journey through the pain of a teenage mother who struggles to raise a child while still a child herself—all without the benefit of guidance from her own mother. Using the words she recorded in journals she wrote as a teen and the wisdom she has gained in the years since, Toya bares her personal struggles. She poignantly uses her experiences to offer young women real and heartfelt understanding and advice about sex, relationships, motherhood and growing up.

(Farrah Gray BET Network Release )

A generation stands on the brink of a “rebelution.” A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today’s culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God.  And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.
Do Hard Things is the Harris twins’ revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life.  Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
“Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last. We do.” – Alex and Brett

Looking for a great read?  Check this out:

Click here to find The Sky is Every Where by Jandy Nelson. 

Have you seen the new movie trailer for Tron: Legacy?  Are you interested in learning more about this movie and the back story?  Well, stop by the library to check out the graphic novel Tron: Betrayal.

This prequel tells the tale of Sam Flynn, a rebellious 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer who disappeared when Sam was just a child. When Sam looks into his father’s disappearance, he finds himself pulled into the same world of brutal programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for almost 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidante, Quora, Kevin Flynn and his son Sam must embark on a life-and-death voyage across a visually-stunning cyber universe to put an end to the evil Clu and his reign of this digital world.

Check out this exciting new movie trailer and read the book first!  I Am Number Four will be hitting the theaters in February, which will give you plenty of time to get up to date with the new book. 

Here’s a quick intro to this fast-paced, suspenseful new book and make sure to watch the book trailer below.

I Am Number Four is an exciting, fast paced teen sci-fi novel that will keep you turning the pages.  When John Smith gets to Paradise, Ohio, he thinks it is just another small town where he will continue hiding out.  Since he and nine other Loric children took refuge on Earth, he has been running and hiding.  The horrific aliens called the Mogadorians have been picking off the surviving kids in numerical order.  Three are dead and John is number four.  Will his Legacies, his  defining super powers, develop in time for him to fight against the  enemy?
 

We are getting in some great new non-fiction books.  Make sure to check out the new book display in the Teen Life Section.  We have everything from books on college to fashion advice to fan books about your favorite movies–and much more!  Take a look at the new books below and stop by the YS Desk for more.