What's Behind the Zombie Phenomenom

A recent article in the Tween Tribune called, "In hard times, zombies make us feel better" it was noted that zombies seem to be everywhere these days. I just posted on Facebook about the amazing and terrifying movie trailer I saw last night for the upcoming World War Z movie based on the ever famous book by Max Brooks and also starring the one and only Brad Pitt! Zombies are also hitting hard on the popular TV series "The Walking Dead," where every week humans have to try and escape from a pack of hungry flesh eating zombies! The article also talked about "prank alerts that have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states and across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead." Whoa that sounds pretty crazy all right.

I've got a question for you - do you think that these types of strange events are created by people that just happen to have unhealthy obsessions with the dead and the decayed? According to professor Sarah Lauro, "the phenomenon isn't harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval. We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered, and watching a show like 'Walking Dead' provides a great variety of outlets for people."

Lauro talks a lot about the idea of having a "zombie walk," where a mass wannabe zombies get together dressed up in tattered clothes and zombiesque makeup with the traditional marks of the undead and then drag their feet around and try to do the zombie dance."

Here's the question that the Tween Tribune asked: "Do you agree with the author’s belief, that zombies make us feel better in hard times?" Well, I'm not sure but I sure do have a few zombie themed books that I can recommend to cure the zombie brain drain.

Here are my suggestions:

Rot & Ruin by Jonathon Maberry


The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Enclave by Ann Aguirre


Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter


Check these out and let me know if you think they equal up to the vim and vigor of Max Brooks' World War Z!

Happy Reading to you!

All my best, Mrs. Librarian Lady

- article Posted on Tween Tribune on March 11, 2013

Looks A Lot Like Love :)

Source: bleubirdvintage.typepad.com via Michael on Pinterest

Love Stinks - Mrs. Librarian Lady's top twenty Anti Love Songs

Madness - Muse
I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift
Try - Pink
One more night - Maroon 5
We are never getting back together - Taylor Swift
Not over you - Gavin DeGraw
Love & Memories - OAR
Jar of hearts - Christina Perri
When i was your Man - Bruno Mars
I cry - Flo Rida
Part of me - Katy Perry
Catch my breath - Kelly Clarkson
Numb - Usher
50 Ways - Train
More than this - One Direction
Hard to love - Lee Brice
Somebody that i used to know - Goyte
Wide Awake - Katy Perry
Feel again - One Republic
Caught myself - Paramore

Best Anti-Love Movies According to Mrs. Librarian Lady

Best Anti-Love Movies - These movies will be sure to have you running away from love for sure!

Teen Tech Week 2013 Check In @ Your Library!

I made this video today in honor of the upcoming Teen Tech Week 2013 which will be during the week of March 10th-17th. I love making videos!!

What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

What Kind of Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide - Entertainment - The Atlantic Wire

Here's a fun way to see what kind of reader you are.  I fall into the Bookophile, the Cross-Under and definitely the Book-Buster, Oh I just want to hug those books!!

Shonen Knife - I am a Cat

I received this video today for my birthday and thought I'd share with you all!!

If You Want a Good Cry on Valentine's Day

There are so many talented YA authors out right now and one of my favorites is Mr. John Green. Somehow he is able to capture the realism of teen life and emotions. I highly recommend his latest book "The Fault in Our Stars" and I think it would be a tremendously sad book to read just before Valentine's Day. I have to admit that from around chapter 24 and on I basically cried my eyes out while continuing to read and sob from time to time. This book is painfully sad and it pulls no punches in its terrible descriptions of late-stage cancer. At some points, readers may even wonder why, if pain and love are so inner connected that we should care to fall in love at all. However, the amazing John Green pulls it all together in the end and we realize that a person can learn so much from being in love, and that he or she will come out on the other side of a love experience a changed person.

Karmin - Brokenhearted a great song for Anti-Valentine's Day!

Karmin knows how heartbreak gets started...

An Anti-Valentine's Day Campaign

I'm finally going to do to be able to get creative with and let loose my true feelings for Valentine's Day! I'm on a month long campaign to prove that Valentine's Day does not have to be all about hearts, love, and flowers. I'm hosting two Anti-Valentine's Day parties for teens at two different libraries! Wow that double exposure to heartbreak, disillusion, and pain. I love it ♥ I'm an evil genius muhaaahhaaahaaa! Finally something to get excited about in the cold winter weather. Here's my intro to the party invitation and I will be posting for the next month with pictures, songs, and crafts for this anti-heart celebration!

Do candy hearts and chocolates make you feel ill?
Are you running from Cupid and his stupid arrow?
Are you planning your ♥ Day escape?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
You are invited to an
ANTI-Valentine Party!!

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts (Official Music Video)

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!

Teens Top Ten - Did You Know???

Did you hear the news?? During Teen Read Week YALSA announced the Top Ten Teen winners!! Here is the list!

2012 Teens’ Top Ten

Divergent by Veronica Roth (HarperCollins)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Penguin)

Legend by Marie Lu (Penguin)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Quirk Books)

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (Penguin)

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Penguin)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Macmillan)

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)

Where She Went by Gayle Forman (Penguin)

Abandon by Meg Cabot (Scholastic)

There are only two on this list that I didn't get a chance to read. They are the top one Divergent (it figures :) and the last one Abandon which I started and never finished. Ah the life of a busy librarian - well there is still time to keep reading!

Let me know if you read any of these books and which ones you loved the most! My favorite is Legend by Marie Lu.

Quote of the Week comes from Holly Black's "Red Glove"

Baby, she says in a harsh whisper, in this world, lots of people will try to grind you down. They need you to be small so they can be big. You let them think whatever they want, but you make sure you get yours. You get yours.

So true, So true indeed.

I've been wanting to read this book for months! "No Safety in Numbers" by Dayna Lorentz. I read it yesterday (all in one day!) and it was amazing!! I mean totally off-the-hook-riveting-page turning-can't-put-it-down-amazing! On Dayna Lorentz' website the book was described as "Life As We Knew It meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours" Wow I would describe it as a majorly incredibly scary realistic fiction that keeps you reading because you have to know what happens at a the end! Here's the short of what happens. Someone finds a bomb in the the air filtering system of a huge mall and there is a lock down. The people start going crazy, some die, some fall in love, and there is a shocking discovery at the end! That's all I can say but you have to read this book. Get it from the library and read it today!!!! Here's a review from Kirkus, I get the heeby geebeez just thinking about it!! "When a strange device is discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall, the entire complex is suddenly locked down. No one can leave. No one knows what is going on. At first, there's the novelty of being stuck in a mega mall with free food and a gift certificate. But with each passing day, it becomes harder to ignore the dwindling supplies, inadequate information, and mounting panic. Then people start getting sick. Told from the point of view of two guys and two girls, this is a harrowing look at what can happen under the worst of circumstances, when regular people are faced with impossible choices. Some rise to the occasion. Some don't."

The Story of Day - From Legend by Marie Lu

Day Brings Legend to Life

Here's the 8th book I've read from the YALSA teens top choice list! So far this one is my favorite!! It's Legend by Marie Lu. In this story we meet Day who is a renegade teenager with striking white blonde hair and good looks. He is smart and sly and has a very good heart. He has to hide in the shadows because he lives in a world where most people are poor and a terrible plague has taken over California. Day will stop at nothing to protect his family. He would give up his own life for his loved ones. He is also loyal to his friends to the end. He looks for for a young girl named Tess who has taken under his wing. We also meet June Iparis who is a strong and smart military girl. She works for the Republic which is basically the government that rules the United States. June loves her older brother Metias and doesn't realize until it's too late that she (and everyone else) is being duped by the Republic. When a terrible tragedy happens, June's vision is clouded and she is heartbroken. She goes out into the streets in disguise and tries to find Day because she thinks he is responsible for her pain. June is confused because she is attracted to Day, but she hates him for what she thinks that he did. She seeks revenge on Day and hurts him like no other person ever has. You have to read this book to find out what happens when June turns Day over to the Republic. Will Day win his fight against the Republic? Will June let him die? READ this book and LEGEND will become your favorite book too! Reading Rulez!! Mrs. Librarian Lady

No "Confusion" Here Prince Khemri Rocks It

I just finished reading "A Confusion of Princes" by Garth Nix, which is on the Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list for 2012. I have to say I am a long time fan of Garth Nix. I read the entire "Abhorsen" series and love Sabriel to death (LOL! I hear there is a movie in the making - Woohoo!) but this new book is pretty darn hot too!! It's definitely a guys kind of read and it is also definitely majorly sci-fi. Here's a little review for ya'all :) "A Confusion of Princes" is a Sci-fi novel complete with space travel, adventurous hijinks, a dash of romance and an attempt at exploration of what it means to be human. Khemri is an enhanced human being, a Prince of the Empire, expected to do great things once he leaves the secluded temple where he has grown up. He has these strange priests that run every aspect of his life for him. He has trained to do battle but has never really even known the real company of another real person. Until he is sent on a mission and has to become a normal human in the somewhat real world of outer space. There he has life experiences that change him forever. Especially when he saves the life of a girl named Raine. Once Khemri goes back to being Prince he just can't shake the connection he had with Raine. This is a great book with lots of sci-fi jargon and techy and gadgety references. It was so cool!! You should really go to your library and check out this book! ♥ Mrs. Librarian Lady

What's Brewing in the Chemical Garden??

Last week I finished my fifth book from the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominees and it's "Withe" by Lauren DeStefano. This book had so many elements that I love in YA sci-fi books. There's that distinct dystopic element where the world has turned into this really ugly place to live and humans are doing horrible things to each other. Then there's the love element that is brewing underneath all of the grossness that is going on that I totally love. In Wither you get all of this and more. After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world. The main character is a teen girl named Rhine who gets kidnapped and married off to a rich man's son. She is being held captive with two other girls she calls her sister-wives and plots her escape daily. She meets Gabriel who has been in captive his whole life and something special begins to build between the two of them. The most interesting and scary part in this book is what is going on behind closed doors down in the basement that you will not believe!! And if you loved this book you have to continue reading the "Chemical Garden" series and read "Fever" it was completely and totally amazing!! Happy Reading! ♥ Mrs. Librarian Lady

A Lovely Island Teeming with Evil Water Horses!

The fourth book that I have read from the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominees is "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater. Here's my little review of it - Every November in Thisby there is a tradition called the Scorpio Races, a dangerous and sometimes de adly race where riders attempt to keep their evil, blood-thirsty water horses under control long enough to make it to the finish line. With four wins to his name, 19 year-old Sean Kendrick is sure to win on his bosses water horse named Corr. However, enter Puck aka Kate Connolly, who is desperate to win the race to save her family home. Not only is she the first girl to ever enter the race, but she intends to ride her own horse Dove, who is not an evil water horse. Things heat up in this epic tale of mythical creatures versus humans as Puck and Sean get to know each other and find a common bond. The Scorpio Races is beautifully written by Stiefvater. Told from the point of view of Sean and Puck in alternating chapters, there is an understanding of what winning the race means for both of them. The water horses come to life, and are both deadly and mesmerizing at the same time. I almost forgot to add that the main character Sean Kendrick is really awesome! He loves his horse so much that he's willing to let him go to be free in the ocean if he never returns to him. But the horse loves him too so you have to read this book to find out what happens with Sean and his water horse Corr!! It's the best part of the book!!!!! Happy Reading! ♥ Mrs. Librarian Lady