Did you know Cecil County Public Library has had a book discussion for teens for over 20 years? Called Book Hook, our teen book discussions are unique groups that give middle and high schoolers opportunities to discuss Young Adult literature and interact with peers. CCPL is proud to announce this vibrant group has been awarded a great opportunity to take their love of lit to the next level.

YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, organizes a yearly “Teens’ Top Ten” award. All teens can vote to create 10 favorites from a list of 25 YA books each year. How do they create that list of the top 25 Young Adult books in the nation? Teen book groups across the U.S. are chosen to serve on the nomination committee and CCPL’s Book Hook group has been chosen! For the next 2 years, members of our Book Hook group will receive Advanced Readers’ Copies (ARCs) of Young Adult books they can read, review and keep! CCPL teens will read extensively throughout the year and is 1 of only 16 groups that nominate the 25 books that make up the Teens’ Top Ten list.

Even if you are not participating in our Book Hook group, you can still make your voice heard! All teens can vote to narrow down the list of 25 to the top 10 in the nation. The top 25 will be announced on April 18th, “Celebrate Teen Lit Day.” Voting for the top 10 is open August 15 through September 15 and the winners are announced during Teen Read Week (October 13-19, 2013).

Thanks to the dedication of the library, our Friends organization, and Cecil County teens, we will be a part of this national effort to choose the best YA books of the year!

For more info and to vote on your favorites in August and September, check out the YALSA page and CCPL’s teen page.

What’s your favorite YA book or author?

Every year, the Young Adult division of the American Library Association promotes Teen Read Week. TRW is an opportunity to get teens reading for the fun of it! To celebrate this week, we’ve got some great things happening at the library October 14th to 20th.

Are you artistic? We’ve got a contest for you! Open to tweens and teens in grades 6-12, think creatively and create a piece of art inspired by the Teen Read Week theme – It Came from the Library. It can be a painting, drawing, sculpture, photo, or any other visual art form you would like to create. You could win a $75 Barnes and Noble gift card! Click on this link for more info.

You can also stop by the library for a great read and a free glow-in-the-dark wristband, while supplies last. Our librarians would love to help you find a book that’s just right for you.
Try some of these great options for quick and fun reads this Teen Read Week…

- Finished The Hunger Games and looking for something similar? Try Legend by Marie Lu, Divergent by Veronica Roth, or Matched by Ally Condie.
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Equal parts humorous and heartbreaking)
- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (A tough teen issue, a gripping story)
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (The story of a mysterious orphanage told through both words and eerie photos)
- I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (Teens in high school might feel like aliens, this teen is one)
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (The story of a boy named Nobody and his ghostly caretakers)
- Want To Go Private by Sarah Darer Littman (Virtual friendship might not be what it seems)
- The Enemy by Charlie Higson (A zombie apocalypse that’s a bite above the rest)
- Or try a graphic novel and let the pictures tell the story… Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol, Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel, Prime Baby by Gene Luen Yang, and The Stuff of Legend series by Mike Raicht are all awesome!

If these don’t spark your interest, stop by your branch and ask a librarian for a recommendation or fill out this online form to receive an e-mail with personalized recommendations.

What’s your favorite “teen” read?