Teen Pick of the Week: Jinx

Jinx by Meg Cabot
The only thing Jean Honeychurch hates more than her boring name (not Jean Marie, or Jeanette, just...Jean) is her all-too-appropriate nickname, Jinx. Misfortune seems to follow her everywhere she goes--which is why she's thrilled to be moving in with her aunt and uncle in New York City. Maybe when she's halfway across the country, Jinx can finally outrun her bad luck. Or at least escape the havoc she's caused back in her small hometown. But trouble has definitely followed Jinx to New York. And it's causing big problems for her cousin Tory, who is not happy to have the family black sheep around. Beautiful, glamorous Tory is hiding a dangerous secret--one that she's sure Jinx is going to reveal.

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Fenway, Tao Song, and Rock N Roll

Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Seaons, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year by Glenn Stout

In anticipation of the one hundredth anniversary of America's most beloved ballpark, Fenway 1912 is the untold story of how Fenway Park came to be and its remarkable first season. 1912 was a leap year, the year the Titanic sank, and it was also the year baseball's original shrine was born. While the point was still drying and the infield grass still coming in, the Red Sox embarked on an unlikely season that culminated in a World Series battle against the Giants that stands as one of the greatest ever played.

Tao Song and Tao Dance: Sacred Sound, Movement, and Power from the Source for Healing, Rejuvenation, Longevity, and Transformation of All Life by Dr. & Master Zhi Gang Sha
Master Sha reveals new sacred Tao Song mantras that carry Tao frequency and vibration, which can transform the frequency and vibration of life. Sacred Tao Song mantras and Tao Dance carry Tao love, which melts all blockages and Tao light, which heals, prevents sickness, purifies and rejuvenates soul, heart, mind, and body, and transforms relationships, finances, and every aspect of life.

Every Night's a Saturday Night: The Rock 'N' Roll Life of Legendary Sax Man Bobby Keys by Bobby Keys
Born in Slaton, Texas, some fifteen miles southeast of Lubbock, Bobby Keys has lived the kind of life that qualifies as a rock 'n' roll folktale. In his early teens, Keys bribed his way into neighbor Buddy Holly's garage band rehearsals, then took up the saxophone because it was the only instrument left unclaimed in the school band. While still in his teens, he convinced his grandfather to sign his guardianship over to Crickets drummer J.I. Allison so that Keys could go on tour.

Teen Pick of the Week: Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. When the rules that have kept Aislinn safe fro them stop working, everything is suddenly on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life, everything. Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first century faery tale.

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Teen Pick of the Week: Wicked Lovey

Paris, Birdwatching, and Heart Defects

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter
In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long-time Paris resident John Baxter remember his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past. Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite cafes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-nineteenth century fianeurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Pres.

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik
Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year--a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record. Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifettime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug-infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man.

Immortal Bird: A Family Memoir by Doron Weber
A family's love lies at the heart of this gifted boy's fight to survive. Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon Weber lives a big life with spirit and independence that have always been a source of pride to his parents, Doron and Shealagh. But when Damon is diagnosed with a new illness as a teenager, his triumphant coming-of-age tale turns into a darker and more dramatic quest: his family's race against time and a flawed health care system.

Teen Pick of the Week: Delirium

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Read more of hers: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surround her death and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

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Paranormal investigators and video games

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson is back! And she's drinking copious amounts of caffeine to stay awake because every time she closes her eyes she sees him: Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan. Yes, she did imprison him for all eternity but come on. How is she supposed to solve a missing-persons case, deal with an ego-driven doctor, calm her curmudgeonly dad, and take on a motorcycle gang hell-bent on murder when the devil's son just won't give up on his plan of seduction...and revenge?

Reamde by Neal Stephenson
In 1972, Richard Forthrast, the black sheep of an Iowa farming clan, fled to the mountains of British Columbia to avoid the draft. A skilled hunting guide, he eventually amassed a fortune by smuggling marijuana across the border between Canada and Idaho. As the years passed, Richard went straight and returned to the States after the U.S. government granted amnesty to draft dodgers. He parlayed his wealth into an empire and developed a remote resort in which he lives. He also created T'Rain, a multibillion-dollar, massively multiplayer online role-playing game with millions of fans around the world. But T'Rain's success has also made a target. Hackers have struck gold by unleashing REAMDE, a virus that encrypts all of a player's electronic files and holds them for ransom. They have also unwittingly triggered a deadly war beyond the boundaries of the game's virtual universe--and Richard is at ground zero.

Teen Pick of the Week: The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod trained to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with hm. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth.

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Girl Scouts, Kidnapping, and Romney

First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth
When Juliette Gordon was growing up in the late 1800s, she climbed trees, swam in rivers, and hiked on tall cliffs. With her cousins and friends, she sewed costumes and put on plays, sketched and painted, and reached out to help other kids who were less fortunate. Juliette, or Daisy, as her friends and family called her--knew that most girls her age weren't so lucky; they didn't have the opportunities to play, create, and enjoy outdoor activities the way she did. And when Daisy became an adult, she out to do something to change that.

We Is Got Him: The Kidnapping that Changed America by Carrie Hagen
in 1874, a little boy named Charley Ross was snatched from his family's front yard in Philadelphia. A ransom note arrived the next day, demanding $20,000 for Charley's return. The city was about to host America's centennial celebration, and the mass panic surrounding the Charley Ross case jeopardized city politics and plunged the nation into hysteria. The desperate search led the Philadelphia and New York police departments to inspect every building in Philadelphia, set up saloon surveillance in New York's notorious Five Points neighborhood, and elicit citizens' participation in a national manhunt.

The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman
Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind the sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.

Teen Pick of the Week: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to she becomes a contender. But if she is to win she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

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