This sounds awesome!

Okay, so if you are an Alex Rider fan and love dreaming up all sorts of cool gadgets, here is your chance to shine. Note: James Bond’s Q better watch out!

How to Enter

To enter in the Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest, click on the “Enter Here” link below. The contest is open to entrants ages 8-18. If you are under 14 years old, you will need to provide your parent/guardian’s email address so they can provide consent for you to enter the contest. The entry form will ask for a description of your dream gadget, as well as a Flickr URL that links to a schematic (diagram, drawing, photo, etc). As well as filling out the form, we ask you to post any schematic images to the Alex Rider Flickr Group

What are you waiting for, Enter Here!

Amazing Prizes!

Grand Prize (one winner):

• A signed collection of hardcover Alex Rider novels
• iPod nano with a personalized message from author Anthony Horowitz
• A backpack full of goodies and gadgets from the Maker Shed
• The opportunity to have the winner’s dream gadget produced in MAKE Labs and featured on Make: Online

Runner-Up Prize (two winners):

• A signed hardcover copy of Crocodile Tears
• An Alex Rider t-shirt

Did you ever see the movie The Breakfast Club? Alt Ed is a lot like the movie, but even better! Alt Ed is actually the last chance counseling class before getting kicked out of school. The six students who are forced to attend the class represent all of the cliques in school. The issues of social status, homophobia, ugly rumors, sexism, and intolerance create incredible tension. You will definitely be able to identify some people you know in this story. If you like realistic fiction and want something that takes place in a high school, this might be the book for you!

You voted and the results are in!

More than 11,000 teen voters chose Paper Towns as their favorite book in the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten! The online poll took place from Aug. 24 through Sept. 18, with the winners announced during Teen Read Week by WWE Divas Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, with a special appearance by John Green. See the video.

And the winners are…with links to the authors’ blogs for your reading pleasure!

• Paper Towns by John Green
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
• Identical by Ellen Hopkins
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Wake by Lisa McMann
• Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast (House of Night series)
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Check out the cool stuff happening at readergirlz.com for Teen Read Week – live author chats with nominated authors and more!

Find out what the buzz is all about. Request a copy of the books now!

After the recent mishaps of the boy in the silver balloon, you might want to give Peak a chance. Climbing tall buildings probably isn’t a good idea as 14 year old Peak quickly finds out. To keep him out of trouble, Peak ventures to Mount Everest with plans to be the youngest person to climb the top of the world.

Looking for a good audio book and a suspenseful mystery too? Try out Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams. In the sleepy town of Echo Falls, Ingrid gets involved in a local theatre production of Alice in Wonderland. Well, the stories of the town’s rich history begin to emerge in some creepy ways. Ingrid is determined to uncover the truth.

Teen author Beth Kephart is the Author-in-Residence on readergirlz.com, so she is doing some cool writing exercises for teen authors. Click here to check out her writing exercise (and contest!). It’s great inspiration!

National Novel Writing Month is coming soon…write 50,000 word novel to celebrate and express your creativity! Quantity, not quality is the goal. Here’s  a little more:

“It is a fun, seat-of-your-pants novel writing event where the challenge is to write an entire novel in just 30 days. That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but our Young Writers Program allows participants who are 17 years old and younger to set reasonable, yet challenging, word-count goals.”

I am on my second book by Alane Ferguson about a teen named Cammie who is a coroner’s assistant. It’s got all the good gory details of autospies, mystery to be solved, and fun/crazy life of a teenager. Plus it takes place in Colorado! (How many books take place there?)

If you are into CSI and stuff like that, you might want to give it a try. The first book is The Christopher Killer and my current selection is Angel of Death. I remember when it arrived as a new book in 2006. I was slightly interested because the cover had a photo of toe tag on the dead body – a good cover always catches my eye!

Well, now I am finally reading it and can’t wait to pick it up again – it’s like this other world to escape to for a few hours. How did this man die? Was the Eagle Scout involved? What about Cammie’s mom? I think it’s awesome that Cammie is her dad’s assistant. Her dad basically expects all the adults to treat her with respect – and she deserves it too.

If you read it, let me know what you think!

I am loving Along for the Ride, the new book by Sarah Dessen. Her style of writing is very realistic – she take ordinary situations and really delves into the dynamics of the relationships, portraying the intimacy and intracacies of them.

There are some typical characters and themes that I have found in her other books. But, that’s not bad – they are just explored in a different context. The demanding mother, overachieving or trying to be perfect/live up to expectations daughter, teen guys who help the girl see life in a new way.

In this book, I love the two mothers – Heidi and the professor mom. They are dyametrically opposed to one another and slowly perfect exterior crumbles and you glimpse at their personal struggles.

The father is a whole other story. Ah, I just want to yell at him!

Set in a beach town, this is a gripping summer read. The characters have more than one dimension. There isn’t the “cute girl”. It’s the cute girl who loves pink, is brilliant and can sell clothes too! Dessen breaks the stereotypes we see in many teen novels and provides the depth so much enjoyed in her books. Now, I gotta get back to reading.

Let me know what you think! What is your favorite Sarah Dessen novel?

Magician Erik Dobell visits East Regional Library

Be ready to be amazed! On Thursday, July 16 @ 7 pm, East Regional Library will host the Magic and Mentalism of Erik Dobell! Although Erik claims no paranormal powers, it’s his intimate style of mentalism and magic combined with Erik’s outgoing and friendly persona that creates a show that makes you wonder what’s real and what isn’t. Check out his website and watch his YouTube videos for an idea of what’s to come! Erik will be filming the event for his website, so be sure to be a part of this fantastic event.

Check out some recent interviews with Erik! Greensboro Skirt Yes!Weekly

Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

I really enjoyed reading Face on the Milk Carton because it made me think about a lot of things. Once you start reading, it’s hard to put down. I was worried about the main character Janie and wonder about what happens next. I can’t wait to read this book again and read more of the books in the series. You should read it, but maybe not at night.

Holes by Louis Sachar

The book Holes is a good book for when you are learning about discipline! You don’t want to get into trouble and get sent to a camp like this. Digging holes all day isn’t very fun.

Reviewer: Semion, age 12, Knightdale

*This blog post got Semion 2 tickets in the prize drawing for our Teen Summer Contest. Click here to find out how to enter!*