Imagine this: all your life, you’ve been underestimated. You’ve been patted, petted, cooed over and kept in an imaginary cage. Always back by curfew, only had one boyfriend. You’re never allowed to do anything “cool”, and you go to one of the most prestigious academies in Massachusetts. Oh, yeah- and your family calls you “Bunny Rabbit”.

That’s the life of Frankie Landau-Banks. And she’s had her fill of it.
This year, all that is going to change. (more…)

YALSA’s Online Courses Cooler temperatures, falling leaves … why not complete the picture by signing up for one of YALSA’s Online Courses this fall? YALSA is offering three courses  (including two brand-new ones!): AIMing at Tweens: Advising, Involving, Motivating (taught by Teri Lesesne); Graphic Novels and Teen Readers: The Basics and Beyond (taught by Francisca Goldsmith) and Reaching Teens with Gaming (taught by Beth Gallaway). Read descriptions and register at YALSA’s Online Courses page.

Bundled Registration Open If you’re planning to attend both ALA conferences this year (Midwinter Meeting in Boston, Jan. 15-19 and Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 24-29) , take advantage of bundled registration and save 20% off of advanced registration for each conference separately. You’ll be able to register for hotels now, too. Starting Oct. 1, you can add registration for YALSA’s Midwinter Institute, “Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition” and YALSA’s Midwinter Social Event, “Games, Gadgets & Gurus.”

After the jump, learn how you can propose a program or paper for the 2010 YA Lit Symposium, see how you can preorder YALSA’s newest book, tell YALSA your opinion on future continuing education topics, and find out deadlines for the Teens’ Top Ten and Teen Read Week.

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Teens can voice their choice for their favorite books by voting in YALSA’s annual Teens’ Top Ten poll! Voting is open now through Sept. 18. YALSA extended the voting period this year to four weeks, with more time for teens to fit voting into their busy schedules, particularly at the start of the school year. We’ll announce the winners in a webcast during Teen Read Week, Oct. 18-24.

How can you encourage teens to vote? There are plenty of ways. Read on to find out more…

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Teens’ Top Ten Voting Begins Monday! The Teens’ Top Ten opens for voting on Monday! Teens can vote for their favorite books from the past year at the Teens’ Top Ten website through Sept. 18. We’re giving teens four weeks to vote this year, to make sure that every teen’s vote counts. Winners will be announced in a webcast featuring World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars and Divas (plus a few special guests!) during Teen Read Week, Oct. 18-24.

Canada: The New Frontier for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge For the first time, YALSA and World Wrestling Entertainment will open registration for the WrestleMania Reading Challenge to Canadian residents, excluding Quebec. Registration at this time is open only to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec). Canadian librarians can sign up using an online form through Aug. 31.

Go Back to School with YALSA Relive your school days and sign up for YALSA’s top-notch professional development! We’re offering three classes for the fall session (including two brand-new courses). Join us for AIMing at Tweens: Advising, Involving, Motivating (taught by Teri Lesesne); Graphic Novels and Teen Readers: The Basics and Beyond (taught by Francisca Goldsmith) and Reaching Teens with Gaming (taught by Beth Gallaway). Read descriptions and register at YALSA’s Online Courses page. Registration ends Oct. 2.

After the jump, find out about how to propose a session or win a travel stipend for the YA Lit Symposium in 2010, encourage your patrons to nominate you for the 2009 I Love My Librarian Award, sign up for Teen Read Week, and more.

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It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. In this book, it takes an unusual village to raise an orphaned child: a graveyard full of spirits from all walks of life and different time periods. Each ghost brings new adventures to young Bod’s life. Meanwhile, the murderers of Bod’s family are determined to kill Bod in order to prevent the fulfillment of a prophecy. (more…)

“Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was. ”

Living Dead Girl is a book you will love to hate.

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 Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith, a novel set in the same parallel world as her previous book Tantalize, is not the typical vampire romance. Instead it is a breath of fresh air as it explores a new fantastical pairing.

The story is told by Miranda, a high-schooler turned vampire (”Eternal”) princess, and Zachary, her adoring guardian angel. After Miranda joins the legions of the undead, she is adopted by the King of the Mantle of Dracul, otherwise known as the reigning Dracula. Because Zachary reveals himself as an angel while attempting to protect Miranda the night she is taken, he is stripped of his wings. (more…)

Fifteen years ago, the Mayor of the Education City  was presented with an unwelcome surprise by his superiors: twin six-month-old boys whom he must raise as his own. As the Mayor reluctantly accepted the two babies, Umasi and Zen, he had no way of knowing that when they grew up, they would change the city forever…

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Geek Charming by Robin Palmer
What would it be like to be popular?
Josh needs to know. He’s making a documentary about popularity for college. And since he was the savior of her drowning purse, Dylan, queen of the A-crowd, is in on it. But when the camera turns on, Dylan’s perfect world starts breaking apart, and her diva mask is shattered. Will Josh’s camera capture the real Dylan or the fake?
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Paper Towns by John Green is a fantastic book and a wild ride. Green takes the audience through the adventures Quentin ‘Q’ Jacobsen has with Margo Roth Spiegelman. Q is a very bright senior who is planning on attending Duke the following fall. He is fairly shy and mainly just talks to his band friends. However, he has always loved Margo from afar. One night Margo slips into Q’s room and she takes him on the craziest night of his life. The next day Margo disappears. Q is shocked but he finds clues that Margo left for him. He religiously follows the clues in search of Margo.
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