Gretchen McNeil – The Hub

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2023) Featured Review of The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Imprint: Delacorte Press
Release date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 9780593431115

Popular, wealthy Alice disappeared last summer for five days after her boyfriend Steve dumped her and started dating her ex-best friend Brooke. Quiet, smart Iris envy’s Alice’s ability to disappear and escape her problems and wishes she could run away from her troubled past too. When Alice returns to school, Iris takes a job tutoring her. Even though the two girls don’t get along, they quickly bond when Brooke is found dead after getting in a fight with Steve at a party. Now Alice and Iris are determined to find out what really happened to Brooke that night. Using Alice’s obsession with Agatha Christie’s as their guide they begin to investigate the town, their classmates and the cops. But soon the girls find themselves in danger when they uncover corruption and dark secrets in every corner of their town.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of Prom House by Chelsea Mueller

Prom House by Chelsea Mueller
Underlined/Random House/Penguin Random House, LLC
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-18005-1

To celebrate prom weekend, Kylie and her friends rent an incredible beach house on the Jersey Shore where they plan the most epic post-prom pool party on record. It’s roomy, well-appointed, and remote. But, perhaps too remote. Because when Kylie and her friends lose their cell signal to the incoming hurricane, are surrounded by an electrified moat of storm water, and are being picked off one by one by a vicious killer they realize the only ones who can keep them alive are themselves…but what if one of them is the murderer? How will they survive what was meant to be the perfect party weekend?

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, December 8 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Bloom by Kenneth Oppel The Overthrow Book 1 Book Cover — Bloom by Kenneth Oppel

Bloom: The Overthrow: Book 1 by Kenneth Oppel
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1524773007

First came the rains, then the vines grew and grew until they took over. The vines pose a triple threat to the inhabitants of a small island. They crowd out plant life and encase roads and buildings, they cause bizarre allergic reactions, and they can trap and eat people. Three teens discover that they are immune to the allergens and then discover each other. Will they band together and will they be able to defeat the plant invasion?

#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, August 7 Edition

Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom by Terry Blas, Molly Muldoon, and Matthew Seely
Oni Press
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 9781620104811

Jesse finds herself stuck at Camp Bloom for the summer, a “get fit” camp for overweight teens. Hardly the fun summer at a fashion program she had been hoping for. When she and fellow campers, Noah, Tony, and Kate, witness the murder of a camp counselor in the woods by another staff member, Camp Bloom becomes a whole lot more interesting, not to mention dangerous.

Continue reading #QP2019 Nominees Round Up, August 7 Edition

What Would They Read?: Fox Mulder from the X-Files

I grew up watching the X-Files, so I was really excited when I heard that the show would be reappearing this spring.

xfiles

If Mulder and Scully were to walk into my library, I’d probably want to follow them around to find out what weird things have been happening, but if they asked for book recommendations, this is what I’d give them.

Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Amanda’s family leaves their home in the mountains to live out on the prairie and hopefully leave behind the memories of the last, harsh winter they had to face. Her father chooses to move the family into an abandoned cabin that is covered in dried blood, and unfortunately for Amanda, things only get creepier from there.

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King (2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults)

After drinking a mixture of beer and desiccated bat dust, Glory and her best friend begin having strange visions of the future.

Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen

Cynthia’s best friend is in love with the new school librarian, but Cynthia is sceptical. The new librarian isn’t just creepy; he might be an actual demon.

Continue reading What Would They Read?: Fox Mulder from the X-Files

What Would They Read?: Abby from NCIS

I have watched and loved NCIS from the show’s beginning in 2003, and my favorite character has always been Abby Sciuto. She’s smart and funny and not afraid to be herself, even if “herself” isn’t what people expect when meeting a computer and science expert. Someone as accomplished and confident as Abby surely has developed her own taste in reading, but if she were to ask me for book recommendations, this is what I’d offer her:

The Martian by Andy Weir (2015 Alex Award) is a science-packed story about a failed Mars mission. Abby would understand the science behind Mark’s attempts to get himself back to Earth, and she might even have some other suggestions for things he could try in order to survive on the red planet.

Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby (2008 Schneider Family Book Award) chronicles the life of Joey, a 13-year old who is missing out on a lot of things because she is deaf and her mother will not let her learn sign language. She meets a man who is teaching a chimp to sign, and through them Joey is able to find her voice. Abby’s mother was deaf, so Abby and Gibbs occasionally communicate using sign language. That, and the science aspect of this story, would appeal to Abby.

Pink by Lili Wilkinson (2012 Stonewall Honor Book) follows Ava as she trades in her anti-establishment goth persona for a “good girl” look involving lots of pink. Ava finds it difficult to maintain her good-girl guise, though, just as Abby felt uncomfortable when [temporarily] forced to follow a strict dress code at work.

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil features a science whiz named Josie who gets trapped in an alternate universe and has to use her knowledge of physics to return to Earth. The complex science discussed in this book, along with the paranormal/mystery aspect, would definitely appeal to Abby.

The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden takes place in a post-Katrina New Orleans, and in addition to a setting which Abby would love, the paranormal elements would appeal to her love of all things Gothic. Continue reading What Would They Read?: Abby from NCIS