Getting to Know...Owen

Introducing another valuable member of our YA volunteer team, Owen Bickel! A 12-year-old 7th grader, Owen has accumulated 23.5 hours to date.

Favorite Book Genre: Post-Apocalyptic

Someone I Look Up To: My mom

Favorite TV Show: Grey's Anatomy

A Topic That I Can Talk About For An Hour: Farming

An Invention That I Would Uninvent: Plastic, particularly plastic bags

Person I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island: Bear Grylls

My Happy Place: My bedroom

My Spirit Animal: Bear

Something Interesting About Myself: I have my own tractor, a CASE 930

Future Plans: Mechanic and Farmer

Favorite Quote: No act of kindness is ever wasted.

Young Adult Book Quiz IV

You'll get the first sentence and have to guess which popular YA book it's from. Submit your answers in the comment section. Have fun and good luck!

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

There is only one mirror in my house.

Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Divergent - Veronica Roth
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Josh is Margot's boyfriend, but I guess you could say my whole family is a little in love with him.

Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin
Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
My Heart and Other Black Holes - Jasmine Warga
I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson

There was a boy in her room.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart
The Selection - Kiera Cass

I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore
Looking for Alaska - John Green

I shouldn't have come to this party.

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Don't Look Back - Jennifer L. Armentrout
Confessions of a Murder Suspect - James Patterson

Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
Cinder - Marissa Meyer
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Sometimes it seems like all I ever do is lie.

The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot
The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard

My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die.

Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
On the Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You - Ally Carter
Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

Getting to Know...Emma

Introducing another valuable member of our YA volunteer team, Emma Davidhizar! A 13-year-old 7th grader, Emma has accumulated 8 hours to date.

Favorite Book Genre: Science Fiction

Someone I Look Up To: My mom

Favorite TV Shows: Survivor and The Amazing Race

A Topic That I Can Talk About For An Hour: Robotics

An Invention That I Would Uninvent: Coronavirus

Person I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island: Katniss Everdeen

My Happy Place: With friends

My Spirit Animal: Monkey

Something Interesting About Myself: I do quite a few after-school sports/activities. Cross country, swimming, robotics, track

Future Plans: Own a business

Favorite Quote: "The purpose of our lives is to be happy." - Dalai Lama

Activities for COVID-19

Can't leave the house? There are an abundance of activities and resources to keep you busy while
maintaining social-distancing. We're in this together!

Books

Amazon - audible: https://stories.audible.com/start-listen
No log-ins, credit card or passwords are needed as long as schools are closed

Learning

Scholastic: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
Day by day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing

Science at Home: https://thchildrensmuseum.com/scienceathome/
Terre Haute Children's Museum

Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/
Learn a language for free

Disney: https://insidethemagic.net/2020/03/imagineering-for-kids-rwb1/
Imagineering in a Box

Virtual Tours

Houston Zoo: https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/webcams/
Animal webcams

The Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
Visit the museum's exhibition room and galleries

Entertainment

PBS Kids: https://www.pbs.org/parents/pbskidsdaily?source=tw
Educational games and videos

FunBrain: https://www.funbrain.com/
Games, videos, and books for kids

Story Time

Storyline Online: https://www.storylineonline.net/
Books read by celebrities

Recently Added to the YA Bookshelf

Taking a look at some of the most recent additions gracing the shelves of our YA department.

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish, to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. Until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true, but his help may cost her everything.

"A beautifully composed historical fantasy that will enthrall readers, especially those with music in their hearts." -- School Library Journal

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Cordelia Carstairs, a Shadowhunter trained to battle demons, travels with her brother to London where they reconnect with childhood friends, but soon must face devastating demon attacks in the quarantined city.

"Clare delivers a richly imagined fantasy rife with action, intrigue, and smoldering romance." -- Publishers Weekly

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power. 1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

"A viciously satisfying romance featuring two well-matched opponents." -- Booklist

Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

Two years after the disappearance of her father, seventeen-year-old Liv and her friend capture an alien in the Iowa countryside. Instead of turning him over to the authorities, however, they choose a different path.

"Beautiful prose does little to mask the anger of this powerful narrative. Readers will have a hard time putting this down." -- School Library Journal, Starred Review

The Queen's Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

The Queen's Assassin is forced to take on a mysterious apprentice on his most dangerous mission yet, pulling them both into a vicious web of secrets and lies.

"The action-packed narrative captures readers' attention from the start, expertly weaving plot twists, betrayal, magical elements, and traces of humor throughout." -- School Library Journal

Ember Queen by Laura Sebastian

With Astrea under the rule of a new leader, Theo returns to fight for her land and her people. But her enemies are more powerful than ever before and, if she is to win once and for all, she must risk  everything and everyone if she is to reclaim her throne.

"For fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy strong female protagonists, this book will be an easy sell. Theo is tough, honorable, and relatable in her emotions [and] Sebastian has built a beautiful and complex world." -- VOYA

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer, the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it's never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy's dangerous soul magic.

"This fast-paced duology opener excels in its careful consideration of the responsibilities that come with power." -- Publishers Weekly

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel

When popular Mike Parker's girlfriend informs North Bay Academy's principal that he has been hitting her, students react differently, revealing their own insecurities and problems.

"This book is powerful and would definitely make a great addition to any high school library or classroom. It would also be perfect for high school counselors to use as a book study for both students and staff in support of social and emotional learning standards." -- School Library Connection

March Madness - Round 2

March Madness continues at Bremen Public Library! Cast your votes in the comment section.

Second-round matchups include:

Throne of Glass vs. Cinder

Dumplin' vs. Eragon

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Guardians of the Galaxy vs. DC:Women of Action

March Madness

It's March Madness at the Bremen Public Library! Cast your votes in the comment section. First-round matchups include:

Throne of Glass vs. A Court of Thorns and Roses

The Diviners vs. Cinder

To All the Boys I've Loved Before vs. Dumplin'

Ranger's Apprentice vs. Eragon

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vs. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

My Hero Academia vs. Tokyo Ghoul

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra vs. Guardians of the Galaxy

Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy vs. DC: Women of Action

Brick Club

Brick Club is an exciting endeavor at the Bremen Public Library. In contrast to the "free build" LEGO table featured in our Children's Department, Brick Club is centered around specific subjects of construction.

Themes of the past include: Interplanetary Travel, Robots, Camping, Halloween, Minecraft, Star Wars, Brick Town, Tallest Tower, Unsinkable Ships, DC and Marvel, Medieval Times, Marble Maze, Ninjago, Back to School, LEGO Friends, LEGO City, LEGO Creator, LEGO Movie, Mission Moon, Habitats, 30 Challenge, to name (quite a) few!

On April 10th we will be gathering for a LEGO Education. Participants will work together to design and create stories about transportation. Kits include elements to build an airport, shuttle, helicopters, bus, mail truck, front loader, and much more!

In the meantime, get in the mode for spring with these amazing bird designs that you can build at home. See you soon!