Just Walking the Dog

August is National Dog Month and what better way to kick start being back on my blog after a three year break! How about reading some awesome YA titles that feature some AMAZING dogs? If you're like me, you love spending time with dogs even more than people because let's face it, they just get you. 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Lara Jean's little sister's dog Jamie Fox-Pickle has one of the best fictional pet names of all time! He's a Wheaton Terrier and his name fits him perfectly. He's sassy, but also very sweet. This book is great because it has love, romance, mystery, and playfulness that will pull on your heartstrings.

The Unexpected Everything by Matson Morgan

Sweet with fur flying fun! Andie must learn to embrace the beauty in chaos in this New York Times bestselling novel about friendship, finding yourself, and all the joys in life that happen while you’re busy making other plans.

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen

Taylor is not in a good place. Everyone calls her the Ice Queen because she always put her studies first. Luckily, her faithful sidekick and loyal pup Oreo is there to help her through it all.

Marley & Me by John Grogan

Of course, we can't forget Marley, he is one of the most loveable and sweet puppers out there and this book is based on the true story of his life. Through the telling of this story, we get to see how it is possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, trouble-making, silly but sweet doggo!

My Boyfriend's Dogs by Dandi Mackall

When high school senior Bailey Daley shows up at a St. Louis diner soaking wet in the middle of a rainy night, wearing her prom dress and leading three dogs, the owner invites her in to tell her story of searching in vain for the perfect boyfriend.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

This story follows a dog named Buck, a 140 pound Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd mix. Buck is abducted from a comfortable life as a pet and tossed into the chaos of the Klondike Gold Rush and the brutal realities of frontier life. Buck changes hands a number of times before landing in the kindly hands of John Thornton.

Stay With Me by Paul Griffin

Mack is a high school drop-out but a genius with dogs and Céce hopes to use her intelligence to make a better life than her mother. They meet and fall in love at the restaurant where they both work. When Mack lands in prison, he pushes Céce away and only a one-eared pit-bull can keep them together.

Tune in next week for more YA book recommendation from Mrs. Librarian Lady!

Storms of the Greek Gods

Today is a dark and stormy day! I am reminded that the Greek gods and goddesses are a source of infinite wisdom. With this in mind, I would like to recommend the book Greece, Rome, Monsters by John Harris. In this great book, twenty mythical monsters are featured along with a supporting cast of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. The book begins with a  warning telling you that you are about to embark into the land of creepy creatures. There is the Basilisk and if you see him run for your life! Keep away from the Cyclops, he’s a very big and very mean guy. You’ll not want to look at Medusa because there’s that terrible option of turning to stone. The book does offer a few nice creatures such as, Pegasus the beautiful white horse with wings, and the fiery Phoenix who is reborn out of the ashes over and over again. Calef Brown’s artwork is fun and playful with shades of sour-apple green, turquoise blue, and terracotta orange.

Of course this brings on a surge of memories for me of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan featuring the notorious yet amazing Percy Jackson. Our hero is a teenage boy who is quirky, clever, and determined always ends up having nasty creatures chase after him. Percy soon finds out that his life as he knew it is not really the truth of who he really is. He has been cloistered away from the world of gods and goddesses in which he knows nothing about. There just might be a surprise relative that Percy never even knew about, but I'm not going to give that away. As Percy learns how to deal with his newly found origin story, he decides to go on a quest to find out who stole  Zeus' lightning rod. This book is excellent and full of great surprises. You'll want to read this one and the entire Percy Jackson series to catch up on your Greek Mythology!

Until next time, Happy Reading!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Love Knots & Triangles

If you read a lot of YA fiction like I do, you'll start to notice that there are a lot of love triangles in YA lit.  It's a toss-up for many readers, they either live for love triangles or they detest them.  I can't remember when I started reading YA, I think it was in the early 2000's and I remember picking up Twilight, the then-new vampire novel by newcomer herself Stephanie Meyer.  I think pretty much everyone is familiar with the love triangle that happens in Twilight.  The Edward, Bella, Jacob combo was one that I became totally hooked on for several years I had to keep reading each novel in the series until it was done.  In the last book Breaking Dawn, I couldn't wait to find out which guy Bella picks.  I always had my favorite, yes I'm not gonna say who it is. Bella kept stringing us along for all four books and needless to say, I was not a happy camper in the end. Funny enough, many readers love this stuff, where I found myself pretty not too happy with the outcome, but of course I just keep reading and reading and making myself endure love triangles over and over again.  Sometimes I feel like the triangles even expand and turn into what I like to call a Love Knot.  There's so much going with these teen stories that we fall into the trap of reliving our own teen years just to compare.  So, why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Ultimately, it's about making choices and love triangles really show how hard it is to make the right choice.  

I am happy to share that love triangles in YA lit have been getting better and better over the years since Twilight. If you keep reading them I promise your opinion about love might improve overall.  Also, it is good to remember that sometimes love triangles have two really great guys, but one is always just a little sweeter.

Here is a Fun List of YA fiction that Features Love Triangles:

Mashup Time! P.S. I Like You ♥♥♥

Hello again!  I am pursuing again my idea to pair up YA fiction books with fun crafts and yummy recipes.  I'm thinking of a mashup of craft ideas that go with the awesome YA books I read. I will pick a book and then give a description and then list all of the crafts and/or recipes that apply.  I think it will be fun to see how many of these I can come up with.  Let me know if there is a YA book that you would like me to pair up with a craft or recipe!  

I just finished the sweetest book called P.S. I Like You by Kasie West and have so many ideas for mashup crafts.  In this book, our main character Lily Abbot is writing in her notebook in Chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her intrigue!    

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters, sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she's kind of falling for this letter writer. Only who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery, and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can't always be spelled out...  

Here are a few mashup ideas for P.S. I Like You ♥  

Open When Letters

These are really adorable!  You can customize your Open When envelopes for anyone.  This blog Bethartscrafts has a lot of great ideas for you to get started on customizing your envelopes.  

                     IDEAS FOR ‘OPEN WHEN’ LETTERS

Paper Heart Note Fold

You can find a tutorial here on this lovely paper folding crafty ideas.  Paper Heart Note Fold

The Secret Letter

All you have to do is write your letter with lemon juice and let it dry.  To make it visible, wave the paper over a flame (candle, stove, lighter), letting the flame almost burn the paper.  The areas where you applied the lemon juice will brown faster than the rest of the paper, the words will slowly appear, and you will have decoded the secret message.

Tune in next time for a Book n' Craft Mashup for YALSA Top Ten Nominee Passenger by Lisa Lutz!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Reality Scoop

I have been interested in writing about the issues of teens and have found that many of the issues that they face are very difficult.  Since I read so much YA fiction, I have seen that there a lot of books that tackle teen topics in a very sensitive and conscious manner.  A few years ago I started to write about real topics that teens are dealing with such as depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, stress, and other mental health issues and pair these topics up with YA realistic fiction books in a column I called Reality Scoop.  I came up with this idea because I feel like many teens could relate to issues they might be dealing with by reading books they can check out from their library.

Here are a few articles that I have written for my column Reality Scoop on the YALSA Hub:

Random Acts of Kindness
Holiday Stress Released
Depression in Young Adult Literature
Autism Awareness
Mental Wellness

I'm thinking of continuing Reality Scoop here on this blog and I am currently working on a list of topics for 2017,

This will be a fun writing project for the upcoming year!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Introducing YA Book n Craft Mashup! Six of Crows

Hey everyone out there!  I have an interesting new idea to pair up YA fiction books with fun crafts and yummy recipes.  It's basically a mashup of craft ideas that go with the awesome YA books I read. I will pick a book and then give a description and then list all of the crafts and/or recipes that apply.  I think it will be fun to see how many of these I can come up with.  Let me know if there is a YA book that you would like me to pair up with a craft or recipe!

My first Book n Craft Mashup will be Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.  Six of Crows is a Teens' Top Ten winner for 2016.  In this awesome YA book, a team of convicts, runaways, and thieves set out to smuggle an imprisoned scientist from an impenetrable fortress.  With their mastermind thief Kaz and spy Inej on the forefront, will their plan work?  

"The Ice Court had been built to withstand an onslaught of armies, assassins, Grisha, and spies.  When Inej said as much to Kaz he simply replied, "But it hasn't been built to keep us out." Kez has been offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams... But he can't pull it off alone."

YA Book n Craft Mashup for Six of Crows:

Spy Party - Here's a great idea for a super sleuth party that may inspire teens.

Secret Decoder - All spies need a way to send secret messages. Use this printable decoder to send cryptic messages to your partners in crime.

Hollowed Out Book - Everyone needs a good place to hide their secrets.  This sneaky diversion could help you with your mastermind plan!

Operation Incognito - Disguises are important so here's an awesome Youtube tutorial on how to make an origami mustache!  

Fingerpaint Recipe - Teens can get their hands dirty with the cool recipe created in Rome by Ruth Shaw.  Time to get crafty and creative!

Tune in next time for another YA Book n Craft Mashup!

Mrs. Librarian Lady!

Wishes do explode... I mean come true

Spell Check by Julie Wright


I am so excited I finished this ebook on Halloween and I have to say that I loved it! It starts with a group of cheerleaders and their infamous leader Lisa Snoddy who you find to be an excellent “mean girl” are planning a prank on Allyson on her birthday, which just happens to be a few days before Halloween. Ally has no idea that the prank involves her hanging from a tree, and that Lisa and her clique are going to leave her there high and dry in the middle of the night all alone. She will soon find out though that every time she makes a wish something funny happens. Her wishes are awesome! Her best friend Kristin and Jake the hottest guy in school and the one who has stolen Allyson’s heart since 7th grade show up to rescue her. Later on, her Swedish grandmother shows up at her doorstep and tells her she has a magical family, LOL surprise! Allyson finally figures out what's been going on. After some totally hilarious situations arise she realizes that she has to get her head straight or she might spin out of control. My favorite part is at the end when she finally gets the wish she's always wanted to come true. Ooooooh Jake and Allyson possible love connection? I'll never tell. You'll just have to read Spell Check to find out!

Ex Inc. will Fix U

Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus wrote this awesome book called Over You! I really liked it a lot and now want to read more of their books. The story is about a girl named Max who gets dumped by her boyfriend and tries like heck to get over him. She decides to use her pain and start her own business called Ex, Inc. She helps other girls get over their break ups and does such a fantastic job that she realizes she wants to study business at NYU. Naturally, things get complicated when Max's old boyfriend shows up. You have to read this book to find out what happens! I hope you get a chance to read this one it would be great one for an Anti-Valentine's day treat!

I heard Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts today and it totally reminded me of Max's plight. I posted the video so you can see it too!