The Hazel Wood

Are you a fan of fairy tales?  Did you like the Land of Stories series?  If "yes," then The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is for you!

Alice Proserpine is on a mission to find her mother, who has been kidnapped by the Hinterland.  Along the way, Alice learns her true identity as she travels to a magical world that only her grandmother once wrote about.

The story could stop here; however, the sequel, 
The Night Country, is coming in January 2020.
Stop by the library to pick up this adventure filled novel today!

Audio & Ebooks

Did you know that our campus now has access to hundreds of audio & eBooks?  Yes, we have access to SORA!  Stop by the library for more details.

Over the fall break, I had the opportunity to listen to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo.  The audio version is read by the author herself, which gives the listener a unique perspective. The character, Xioamra, X for short, feels the pains of being a teenager in a Harlem neighborhood.  She finds solace in writing poetry and is inspired by her English teacher to participate in a poetry slam.  X, faces the challenges of spreading her own wings within the constraints of her family's influences.

There, There

There There follows the lives of twelve characters with Native American ancestry who are attending a powwow in Oakland, CA.  Each character is connected, has suffered loss, and each is working hard to piece their lives back together.  The powwow brings them together but also brings more sacrifice and heroism.

Author, Tommy Orange, has written a wonderful story of suffering and hope.  He highlights early tragedies in American history and how those events have shaped a culture of people.  

This novel is for mature readers as it does have strong language and heavy content.

Genuine Fraud

Genuine Fraud, a suspense thriller that will keep you coming back for more.  Told in reverse time order, Jule West Williams, spends her days without a family in a luxurious Mexico resort.  She is always on guard and reinventing herself.  Jules is coming to terms with loosing her best friend, Imogen Sokoloff, a wealthy college student.
  
Readers will be questioning who is telling the truth and who is rewriting the story.  If you enjoyed We Were Liars by e. Lockhart, you will certainly want to pick this one up!

Hey, Kiddo

There was a big debate this summer over whether graphic novel format was really considered reading.  Those who do not feel graphic novels are "true reading"  should pick up Jarrett J. Krosoczka's newest book, Hey, Kiddo.

Krosoczka has uniquely written and illustrated his memoir of being reared by grandparents, dealing with a wayward drug addicted mother, and never truly knowing his father. 

I foresee many interesting conversations coming from this autobiographical graphic novel.
Stop by the library to check a copy out soon!

Love & Gelato

How does a summer in the beautiful Italian Tuscany region sound?  Amazing, right?  Not for Lina.  Having lost her mother and never knowing her father, Lina is sent to Tuscany to live with her dad.  She has a lot to learn when she is given her mother's journal.  Lina is not even sure she really knew her mother!  With a journal in hand, unique living quarters, and a handsome Italian to help her along the way, Lina uncovers her mother's real past.

For all the YA readers who never considered your parent's young adult life, this is a sweet read.  A little romance mixed with a dose of reality.

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc

Written in poetic forms, readers follow the personified voices of objects and people from Joan of Arc's life.  
Creatively written, Voices is a great choice for all high school readers.

Stop by the library and check out a copy today!

Where the Crawdads Sing

In the small North Carolina coastal town lives the "Marsh Girl."  She has lived on her own for a very long time and has been shaped by the nature around her.  Kya, as she is called, learns to love the nature of her home and learns from the nature.  
When the local all star boy, is murdered, many quickly point fingers at Kya.  Others are not so quick to judge.  

This coming of age story will not disappoint.  Many character comparisons can be made and various literature themes abound.  

Nominated for the 2020 TAYSHAS (Texas HS) reading list.

One Campus, One Book

One Campus, One Book

Join the fun starting today!  Students and staff are encouraged to read this novel.  We will have discussion questions, trivia, and fun along the way.  The author, Karen M. McManus, is scheduled to Skype with us on October 3rd during Homecoming week!

One of Us is Lying 
Karen M. McManus

Breakfast Club meets today's social media mystery.  Five acquaintances are mysteriously framed for having cellphones out during class.  When they all end up in after school detention together, things go wrong, very wrong.  Before the end of detention, one student is dead and the other four are all suspects to murder.  

McManus keeps readers on the edge of this "who done it" mystery.  Just when you think you have put all the pieces together, the plot twists!  

One Campus, One Book

The time is here!  Grab a copy today!  Our campus is reading One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.  

This novel is the The Breakfast Club mixed with Pretty Little Liars.  Five students walk into detention but only four walk out.  The mix of strangers has guilty written on each one!  Is it the brilliant one headed to Ivy League?   The homecoming princess?  The baseball star?  The criminal?  Or the tech savvy outcast?   
One of Us is Lying will keep you on your toes!

Join us as our campus students & staff read this novel.  The author Skype session is scheduled for October 3rd during Flex Hour.

Books will be available for purchase at Panther Camp registration!  
*Participation in this program is not required, but encouraged to promote reading & discussions.

A little spring romance

While we do not have frozen lakes or blizzard conditions in our warm sunny area of Texas, this one novel will make you want to know how to play hockey!

Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren unveils the story of Holland Delviss, the only girl on the boy's high school hockey team.  Holland or "Dutch" as the boys call her is forced to confront gender role expectations and her self-doubts when she is selected as the featured interviewee during the state's Hockeyfest events.  Holland has a love a music, hockey, and against her better judgement, the hockey team captain.  Will she break her one big rule of not dating teammates, or will Wes "Hot Sauce" change her mind?

A light heart and fun read, even if you are not a hockey fan!

  

March Book Madness Winner!

Our campus voted and the winning book of our MBM was.....

We will be using this book as our One Campus, One Book read for the Fall of 2019!

What did you read over Spring Break?

A Very Large Expanse of the Sea by Tahereh Mafi

Following 9/11 terrorist attacks, Shirin is a Muslim girl who wears a hijab to school everyday as she endures the rude stares and comments.  She has zoned out everyone around her until she meets Ocean James, a blonde, blue eyed boy who really wants to get to know her.  Shririn keeps Ocean at a distance because she knows how horrible the world can be if they were to become a couple.  Will a relationship for this couple of different backgrounds be too much or too late?

A wonderfully written story of love, overcoming, and seeing people for themselves.      

March Book Madness 2019

Our annual March Book Madness is in full swing!

Which one will be the school favorite?

Stop by the library to vote or check out the KPHS Library website for the current voting link.

Blind Book Dating

Stop by the library this week and pick up a "blind book date."  Bring the book to the circulation desk and unwrap to find out which "date" you will take out.  

Cute and perfect for Single Awareness Day a.k.a Valentine's Day

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Dimple Shah is a coder and she is on a mission, to win the summer coding contest at Standford.  She is over the fact that her parents what to arrange her marriage to the perfect Indian husband.  Dimple is moving on and has her sights set on the big leagues of the technology world, that is until Rishi Patel enters her life.  Rishi is the perfect Indian son, basking in the traditions of his family, seeking the approval of his parents and Dimple.  The two are as opposite as can be, but are they really?  

An adorable, sweet read for all those seeking the perfect date night!
TAYSHAS 2019

World Read Aloud Day

Today is World Read Aloud Day!

#WorldReadAloudDay

Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

If you are a young adult or adult, I am sure it has been years since you have participated in a read aloud.  Think back to elementary school, your teacher or librarian most likely spent some time each day reading a picture book or chapter book to the class.  

Reading aloud is important for all ages!  

Here's a few reasons why:

• Experience the joy of story
• Models fluent reading
• Expands vocabulary
• Exposes listeners to new authors, text, and genres
• Builds awareness and empathy
• Improves long term reading success

So the next time you are watching your sibling, babysitting, or caring for anyone from 0-99, go a head & grab a book to READ ALOUD!  

For more information check out the link below:

http://www.litworld.org/wrad/

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

 Stop by the library and check out one of the new Enigmas of History!  Truth is stranger than fiction!

Girls on the Line

  Girls on the Line by Jennie Liu
This new novel came with our Junior Library Guild monthly order.  It is told from two perspectives of Luli and Yun.  Both were raised in a Chinese orphanage, in a country where there is a One Child Policy.  When they turn sixteen they are forced to leave the orphanage and find jobs in a factory.  For hours each day they assemble USB cords and packaging for companies.  With the job comes money and some freedoms.  Never living on the outside hardhearted world, Luli and Yun find themselves making life and death decisions.  Yun is emotionally a mess when she discovers she is pregnant, homeless and penniless.  She unknowingly and naively becomes involved in a human trafficking situation.  However, Luli, once had a family and knows the value of relationships, works to save Yun from destruction.  Can she succeed?

A very real situation that will leave you on the edge of your seat!