December 1st is the World Health Organization designated World AIDS Awareness Day. The theme is Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero deaths. In order to promote awareness, we’re sharing young adult books that feature characters who must deal with living with this disease.
Bazaar Bizarre : Not Your Granny’s Crafts! by Greg Der Ananian
This book is for those looking to put an edge on the things that grandma used to make. Bazaar Bizarre offers smart, subversive inspiration unavailable from traditional crafting books and patterns, appealing not only to the nostalgia for folk expression of previous generations, but also to the popular DIY attitude of the young and stylish. From silk painting to quilting and bookbinding, projects such as Anarchy Soap and Vinyl Record Cuffs teach basic skills of popular crafts and offer tips on how to creatively customize with thrift store purchases. Readers will love Der Ananian’s sardonic commentary, “Craftoids,” about the history of crafting, punk- rock crosswords, funky finger-food recipes, and musical play lists.
My DIY : The Stylin’ Girl’s Guide to DIY Projects–from Sassy Crafts to Thrifty Gifts 
by Kimberly Potts
A friendly, easy-to-follow guide with superfun projects for every taste, this book shows you how to transform ordinary household objects into fabulous objets d’art, including: Gorgeous Garden Headboard, Creamsicle Bath Sprinkles, Cereal Box Journal, Pretty Polka Dot Jee, Glamour Gloves, Plush Polar Poncho. You’ll impress your friends and family, and express yourself!
The Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing: Fabu-Low-Sew Projects for the Everyday Crafter by Kathy Cano-Murillo
Needles. Thread. Drama! Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica, is not a seamstress. She is a thread artist. And in Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing , she’ll show how to harness the power of her fearless kamikaze sewing style-just dive in and give it 100 percent. Here you’ll not only find out the nuts and bolts of sewing, but learn to have confidence to blaze your own sewing trail with confidence and flair. (And sprinkle of glitter!) The Crafty Chica is here to bring out the thread artist in you. Whether you can hardly sew on a button or are already threading bobbins like a champ, Kathy’s got a project just for you.
November is Native American Heritage Month so to celebrate, we’re recommending the best titles celebrating Native authors and stories about Native American culture.
I’ve always wanted to visit every state in America, but so far, I’ve only about half way there. Luckily, if you read every book on this list, you can take a roadtrip across the country without ever leaving home! EpicReads asked their readers to help compile a list of a book set in each of the 50 states and they turned in into this handy map and list. Read More..
Do you like historical fiction? Science fiction? Fantasy? Then steampunk, which combines elements of all three, might be your new favorite genre.
But what is steampunk?
In its purest form, steampunk is fiction set in the late Victorian era (late 1800s through World War I) and usually in Great Britain, though it can be set in other locales (think the American Wild West). But instead of straight historical fiction, these stories are imbued with fantastical re-imaginings of steam era technologies. Think retro-futuristic weapons, transportation, and fashion. Though often set in the past, these stories offer alternative histories: a “what might have been” look at the future from the perspective of Victorians.
These novels all contain some aspect of steampunk. Whether you’re interested in science fiction, romance, fantasy, or historical fiction, steampunk has something to offer you.
For centuries, the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table have fascinated readers. Whether your interest is in the Lady of the Lake, Merlin, or Sir Lancelot, we have a story for you. Check out one of these books based on Arthurian legend!
Today, YALSA announced the winners of the Teens’ Top Ten young adult books of 2012! Out of 24 great titles, these were the favorites as voted by teens!
And the winners are…
October is the perfect month to curl up with a scary book. My favorite kind of spooky stories are about haunted houses, and my favorite of these is “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. You can read it and other creepy tales in his collected works, available in the Teen Zone.
We have lots of novels that feature haunted houses, and you can check out to celebrate Teen Read Week. The Theme is “It Came from the Library” and culminates in a teen dance and costume party with crafts, snacks, games, prizes, a DJ, and a photo booth.
September 15-October 15 is designated as National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the contributions Hispanic people have made to American culture. Young adult literature is full of fantastic Hispanic authors that write everything from historical fiction to contemporary urban stories. Here’s a sampling of our collection.
This season means changing leaves, crisp autumn air, and a new crop of young adult dystopian novels to harvest right along with those pumpkins. Our first The Hunger Games flowchart was such a success, we updated it to include the hot new titles arriving on our new bookshelf this fall.