Teen Book Reviews: In Her Skin & The Burning Girl

Do you need a new book to read? Check out these reviews by our teen volunteer, Emma!

In Her Skin, by Kim Savage

Jo Chastain  is a sixteen-year-old con who always wanted love, money and safety after her mother was beaten to death. But will she go as far as impersonating a missing girl to get this and how long will she be able to survive behind all these lies?

Jo has been living at Tent City in Boston the last few years, she has suffered through sicknesses and coldness with her friend Wolf. To get off the streets, she takes on the challenge to become Vivienne Weir who went missing at the age of nine. Becoming Vivi would set Jo into living with the Lovecrafts who give her money, love, security, and a sister Temple. Little did Jo know was there were more ties to Temple Lovecraft and the “disappearance” to Vivi than one would know.

So will Jo be able to escape the Lovecrafts grasp before its too late?

-Emma W.

The Burning Girl: A Novel, by Claire Messud

Julia and Cassie’s friendship dates all the way back to young girls. They considered themselves sisters and shared their life with each other. Both girls always wanted to leave their birthplace and everything that's expected of them. But will this ever happen?

Cassie starts acting weird and starts putting herself and her friendship with Julia is grave danger. Will there forever long promise of friendship survive these problems, or will everything collapse around them?

-Emma W.

Both of these books can be borrowed from the library. You'll find In Her Skin in the Young Adult area and The Burning Girl in Adult Fiction.  

Anna's Writing Nook: Fall & Halloween Prompts

Hello hello! Happy fall! I hope you’re all doing well and that school’s going okay. I know it’s been a while, but I’m back for a minute to give you guys some fun fall-themed writing prompts!! They might sound sort of vague and basic, but I want to let you have as much room as possible to stretch your imagination. Think outside the box! Make them weird! Make them spooky! It’s Halloween, let’s write some wild stuff!!

🎃 FALL & HALLOWEEN PROMPTS 🎃

• A ghost story
  
• A story set in a cemetery
• Write about your favorite fall or Halloween tradition
• Tell me about your favorite Halloween movies, books, or stories and why you love them
• A story about carving pumpkins
• A haunted house or town, or even just a particular room that you should probably not go into
• A creepy door that leads into another world
• A haunted or cursed object, like a doll or a piece of jewelry
• A story about witches
• A story about vampires, werewolves, or zombies
• Try a different spin on Frankenstein
• Write me (yes, me personally) a letter telling me why Halloween is the best holiday and no one should convince me otherwise
• Write an alternate ending for one of your favorite Halloween movies
• Write an interview with a vampire. What would you ask someone who’s immortal? Bonus points if you write it from the perspective of the vampire!
• A story about picking apples, visiting a farmer’s market, and/or picking out a pumpkin… but something strange happens
• Halloween costume mishap
• A story about a Halloween party

I’ll start you off with those! And if you get going and your story completely derails from the prompt, even better! Let me know in the comments if you tried out any of the prompts, and I’d love to see what you’ve written. Stop by the library to say hi, or send me an email at acallari@pls-net.org. 

I know you’re all adjusting to a truly unusual and unprecedented school year, so the last thing I want is to make you guys feel like you have more homework. Obviously don’t feel like you have to do anything with these prompts, but I have found in my experience that sometimes giving yourself a break by writing something creative (as opposed to an essay for school) keeps your writing juices flowing. You think in a totally different way by writing creatively than writing academically, and I think it’s important to keep in touch with your creativity when you’re in school. But honestly, the burnout is so real, and sometimes your brain just needs a break. So try out these prompts if you can, try to squeeze in some fun writing time among your school writing time, but absolutely don’t feel pressured to do so. I’m cheering for you guys!

Speaking of trying to write a hundred things at once, now that it’s October, it means NaNoWriMo is just a month away! And despite being buried in work for grad school, of COURSE I’m participating as always, so I’m super excited for that. I think I’ll use the month to revise another draft of the second book in my fantasy trilogy, so then at least I’m not trying to pull a complete and new novel out of thin air in the last few weeks of my semester. That sounds like death, actually.

Before I go, a couple more things: First, this week is Banned Books Week, and we’ve got a great collection of challenged books in the YA room here at the library if you’re feeling rebellious (honestly, these books are banned for truly ridiculous reasons… all the more reason to read them!). 

Secondly, since Halloween is right around the corner, I am taking any and all suggestions you might have for spooky/creepy/scary/horror YA novels that I can put on display in the library! I might also make a list of spookifying books to post on the blog, but I want to hear y’all’s recommendations! Drop a comment or email me or come find me at the library and scream at me about books. Actually, probs don’t scream. It is a library, after all. 

All right, well, that’s all for this week, and I’ll be back soon to talk about my favorite spooky books. Until then, happy writing!

😎✌🏻 Anna

October Take & Make Craft - WATER BEAD STRESS BALL

I love water beads! These stress balls made from water beads are SO MUCH FUN! 

Not only do you get to play with water beads, but you end up with a colorful squishy ball perfect for when you need to fidget or need to work out a little stress.

You can pick up a kit in the library with everything you need to make your own Water Bead Stress Ball. The kits will be out in the Young Adult area for the month of October, until supplies run out. 

If you weren't able to pick up a kit, all you need is a small amount of dry water beads, an empty water bottle, a balloon, and water. Click here for instructions.

Watch the video below to see me make one at home. Enjoy!

Don't forget to register for our upcoming virtual teen programs: