What's New... teen space
Mun Mun. Jesse Andrews
It is difficult to survive in a world where size equals status, especially when you are grouped with the smallest of the small. Mun Muns are the tender required to buy your way up the size/status scale. But obtaining these mun muns is no easy feat.
Following the tragic death of their father, Warner and his sister, Prayer, begin a quest to gain stature so they can secure a safer and more affluent future.
This is a unique and insightful tale that explores class structures and prejudices. It will appeal to older teen readers.
The Truth and Lies of Ella Black. Emily Barr
The cover of this book announces '40 days until she dies'. Day one, seventeen year old Ella Black is living the life many would envy - lovely friends, lovely family and lovely home. However there is a secret, dark side to Ella that she struggles to keep hidden and under control. She calls her darker self Bella. In an unexpected turn of events Ella's parents suddenly withdraw her from school and take her away from everything she has ever known. Together they move to Rio de Janeiro and as the days tick by Ella begins to unravel the secrets of her past and dark Bella begins to gain control of her. Will life ever be normal for Ella again?
Don't Cosplay with my heart. Cecil Castellucci
Edan Kupferman is having a bad summer with her best friend away, no money to do anything and her family falling apart. Fortunately, the Angeles Comic Con is coming to Los Angeles with the Team Tomorrow. Using her friend’s mantra “make your own fun” – Edan determines to go. And as she prepares her Gargantua costume she feels herself taking on some of her hero’s strong attributes. Gargantua is here to save her. Her new optimism fades fast, though, when she gets to the Comic Con only to find all the tickets are sold out…
If you like comic books, and anything nerdy, this book is for you.
Sita’s Ramayana. Samhita Arni & Moyna Chitrakar
This graphic novel re-tells the ancient Indian epic poem the Ramayana which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. This version shows Sita’s point of view and how she must wait in terror to be rescued. Her perspective shows how women, children and animals suffer in wars brought about by men in power. Moyna’s original painted scroll was adapted into graphic novel form to give the Ramayana a new, contemporary feel and is a quick alternative to the 24,000 verses of the original written in Sanskrit!
Brooding YA Hero. Carrie DiRisio
Broody McHottiepants lives in Story City and is constantly in demand to feature as the hero in a variety of stories until suddenly his phone is silent and he finds all his starring roles have dried up. He is old news. In desperation he decides to write his own book in which he will be the star. After all, how hard can it be to write a book? This idea further develops into creating a manual, drawing on his own professional experience, on how to become an unforgettable main character in a story. It is certain to be a best seller.
This amusing tongue in cheek story gently mocks the main protagonists found in many teen novels.
Johnny and the Dead. Terry Pratchett
Johnny and the Dead is Book Two of the Johnny Maxwell trilogy by Terry Pratchett. Like his adult books, it is very funny. It also has an interesting story about a cemetery being sold by the council for $1 to a company who plans to build office buildings on it. The buried will be moved from their home. When the dead hear about this they make their presence known to Johnny and ask him to help save the cemetery. Johnny is surprised to learn he can see and talk to ghosts and his friends find this weird and spooky. Far from being spooky, though, these ghosts have very interesting and amusing personalities…