New Blog Home!

To our Super Fabulous Ninja Blog Readers

We have a fancy new home (pinkies up everyone)!  The library has updated its website and with that comes a fancy new blog embedded within the website....coool!  The new blog still works the same...you can still send in reviews, get free books, find information on the best YA books out there, etc.  It's now just more awesome.  Trust us...

If you subscribe via RSS, please change your feed! You can still contact Ninja Amy and myself.  Just click the new Contact button on the left hand menu.  We are continuing to explore ways to improve the new website.  All suggestions are welcome.  Over time Ninja Amy and I will try to find time to upload older reviews from this blog.

Thank you to everyone who made this blog so successful.  Please continue with us on our journey by heading over to our new blog: http://www.arlingtonlibrary.org/library-ninja

Teen Review by Jessica. . .Gossamer by Lois Lowry

The least i can say is AMAZING! Gossamer is about a little dream giver who is just now learning how to touch and bestow dreams. She goes through all these experiences and gets caught in a danger situation. She is GOSSAMER!!!! THIS IS A MUST READ!!!!!!!




Other books you might enjoy:

Teen Review by Christian. . .Unwind by Neal Shusterman

There are three troubled children destined for a terrible fate.The fate of being Unwound. One of the kids is a A.W.A.L. trouble maker. The other a pianist at a state home in Ohio. The other is a young tithe. They must work together to escape the clutches of the Juvi cops to save there lives.

This book is another jaw-dropping, spine-tingling,heart-throbbing novel that Neal Shusterman has given us. This book will open your mind to a whole new world of the author's imagination. This book is full of twists and turns that will leave you breathless. Shusterman draws you in with mystery, murder, and insanity of whats going to happen next. I promise you this is one one of the most exciting books you would have ever read!!!

Other books you might enjoy:

The Ninja Reviews. . .Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Phoebe was born into the famous and influential Rothschild family but she feels like its most ordinary member. Always overshadowed by the wealth and power of her family, Phoebe feels powerless to be herself and make lasting friendships. Mallory Tolliver is the new girl at school who is in danger of becoming a laughingstock until Phoebe decides to claim the power her name gives her and befriend Mallory. Four years have passed and Phoebe and Mallory are inseparable.

Mallory was born a faerie princess and has been sent to the human realm on a mission. She must entice a female member of the Rothschild family into the faerie world or all of the faeries face extinction. What was thought to be an easy assignment turns difficult when Mallory becomes too influenced by her Earthly surroundings and Phoebe’s friendship.

Ryland is Mallory’s brother who is sent by the Faerie Queen to succeed where Mallory has failed. His mission is to seduce Phoebe with his glamour and manipulate her into cooperating with the Faerie Queen’s plans.

Is Phoebe destined to be ruled by the prophecy concerning her family? Will Mallory be able to stop her friend from making a terrible mistake? Will Ryland succeed in luring Phoebe and saving his race?

Nancy Werlin has once again created a brilliant story, which weaves together a mystical and human world. It was truly disturbing for me to read the psychological abuse and manipulation Ryland uses on Phoebe in his attempts to lure her. And I totally love the perspective Phoebe has concerning the demise of the faeries and how she relates it to her own Jewish heritage. So if you are looking for a little evil faerie mayhem for All Hallows Eve, give Extraordinary a read!

Review by Angela J.

Other books you might like:

WE'RE MOVING!!

Yes, my lovely ninja minions. Library Ninja is moving to a new location. We have enjoyed our stay here at Blogger and we have been so proud of how much we have grown in content and in ninja minions over the last two years.

As of Monday, November 1, we will no longer post here on the Blogger account.

If you visit the Arlington Public Library website on a regular basis, then you know that we recently underwent a massive website re-design. Personally, I think it looks pretty magnificent compared to what we had before. With that re-design, we decided to place the Library Ninja blog directly on the website itself. It just seemed to make sense (also, it means you are more tempted to search through our awesome website and find more books, movies, music, programs, classes, and things you never even knew we had!).

If you have Library Ninja bookmarked or marked as a favorite in your internet browser, please change that bookmark to http://www.arlingtonlibrary.org/library-ninja.

If you follow us via an RSS feed, please go here http://arlingtonlibrary.org/rss and find the new Library Ninja RSS feed to add to whatever you use to follow blogs. You will also find RSS feeds for New items added to our catalog, as well as a few other lovely things.

That being said, come on over to our new location, keep submitting those book reviews, and explore our new Teen Page.

WINNERS of theTeen Read Week SWAG Contest!

We took the names of all our entrants, put them into a random number generator, and came up with THREE winners!

Abdullah
Caitlin
Hafsah

All three winners need to email us at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov in order to get your swag, which will be, as Ninja Jenny describes it, a "surprise smorgasbord of stuff." Sounds pretty awesome to me!

Thank you to everyone who participated! Keep an eye out for future contests, keep on reading, and keep sending us your great book reviews!

Teen Review by Lauren. . .Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Bethany didn't know what to think. Her parents had been acting weird for months-her dad seemed tense, and her mom made a full-time career out of crying. Then one day, they all got in the car and started driving. All day, all night, they drove, so long that Bethany wasn't even sure what state she was in. Then, in some small town, they stopped. Her dad got out of the car and walked up to a house. Bethany had never seen this town before, but her dad seems to know the lady who lived here. She hugged him like he had come back from the dead. Meanwhile, Bethany's mom was crying harder than ever. Bethany eavesdropped on her dad, and heard something about "Elizabeth." Her life was forever changed...and she still didn't know where she was or who Elizabeth was.

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix was fast-paced, unpredictable, and fascinating. I read it cover-to-cover without stopping, twice, and I still can't believe the ending. This was definitely a great read.


Other books you might like:

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Seven

Who is the best villain ever?

Ninja Jenny says: Um.....Volde, er, He Who Must Not Be Named :)  Actually, I think the worst villain I have read would have to be the Mayor in the Chaos Walking trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men).  He was just PURE evil!

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Six

What book do you wish you had written and why?

Ninja Jenny says: I wish I had written Harry Potter, not because of the money J.K. Rowling has made, but because of the awesome world she created.  I envy her creative brain!

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Five

What book character most reminds you of yourself?

Ninja Jenny says: Jo March from Little Women reminds me a lot of me!  She was headstrong, took her own path, and struggled a lot between what was expected of her and what she truly wanted to do with her life.  I love her character!

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Four

If you could have any book be required reading at your school, 

what book would you choose and why?

Ninja Jenny says: I would require everyone to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  The book is a modern day Catcher in the Rye, and while I hated Catcher when I was in high school, I loved and still love Perks.  The book speaks to the reader on many levels, showing the beauty of first time experiences, first love, and true friendship.

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Three

What book was your favorite when you were a little kid?

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question Two

What is the weirdest book you've ever read and why?

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Teen Read Week SWAG Contest - Question One

What is the most disappointing teen-book-to-movie and why?

Ninja Jenny's opinion....Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison being made into Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.  Why?  I just don't think they got Georgia right AND the acting wasn't great AND Robbie and Tom were the same age AND Vatti just wasn't weird enough! :)

Ninja Amy's opinion...The WORST book to movie I have ever come across is my beloved Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. The main character’s age, location, and family situation is changed drastically. She goes from being a teen in the U.S. to a 20-something living in Romania. The bad guy in the movie isn’t the same bad guy in the book. The situation with the human boy is changed COMPLETELY in the movie. And don’t even talk to me about lack of character development in the movie! Don’t waste your time or money on the movie version if you are a fan of the book.

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person (yes you can backtrack if you miss a day)
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov

Welcome to Teen Read Week and Giveaway Extravaganza!

Ninja Minions, tomorrow is the start of Teen Read Week and we want you to, well, read!  Over the next few days we will have some great book reviews and some even better book challenges that you can participate in and win SWAG!  That's right, the Ninja's closet is full of crazy stuff and we want to give it away for freeeeeeeeeee! Right now we have quite a few books to give away as well as pens, bookmarks, zombies, vampire teeth, candy, even swimming caps (yes, we're serious!).

So if you want to grab a swag bag then just comment on the daily Teen Read Week question.  Next week we'll choose three winners of fun swag.  Think of every comment you make to be an entry into the contest. 

Thanks everyone!

Teen Read Week Rules
1. Contest runs October 17 - October 23
2. Every day there will be a question to answer by making a comment on the blog
3. Every day you comment will be an entry into the SWAG drawing
4. Only one comment per day, per person
5. Winners will be chosen at random by a number generator after October 24
6. Anyone in the lower 48 states can participate!
7. Members of the Arlington Public Library will get an extra entry if they let us know they are library members.
8. Please remember to include your email in your comment.  If you are uncomfortable with that, please email the Ninja at libraryninja@arlingtontx.gov