Little Women as you've never seen it before!

Here's Meg Cabot's version of Little Women - hilarious!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - review

It starts with a birthday, an Ouija board, and a risky night spent in an abandoned asylum. Then Mara wakes up from a coma, her friends are dead, and she has no memory of anything that happened that night. She has flashbacks, hallucinations, nightmares and ultimately her family moves to Miami, Florida to help her move on. But she’s falling apart.

The question is: how do you move on when you see your dead best friend when you look in the mirror? Or relive parts of that night every night? What is wrong with Mara? Is she going mad? She has no explanation, no one to turn to, and disaster seems to follow her. On top of everything, her father is defending a man accused of murdering a young girl.

This is a thrilling, keep you on the edge of your seat kind of book, more horror story than anything else. It twists and it turns and although you can guess at much of it, it still takes you by surprise The heroine is troubled, yes, but feisty and capable. This is by turns edgy, scary, and curl your toes romantic. There is a secret, well many secrets. And there is Noah Shaw, a wonderful counterpoint to Mara. And oh, the ending. I can’t tell you more but you need to read this.


Best of all, she's coming to Kepler's on sunday October 9th (with the ever-wonderful Becca Fitzpatrick) so all readers in the Bay Area can come and meet her.

Legend by Marie Lu - Review

If he hadn’t tried to break into a hospital, and hadn’t shot a young soldier in the shoulder, Day would never have met June. But when the young soldier is found dead his sister, June, is determined to track down his killer. June is from an elite family, scored perfectly in her trial, and now is a star in the military academy. All evidence seems to lead to Day, a notorious criminal who failed his trial, ran away, and has disrupted the Republic whenever possible. But when the plague reaches Day’s family he risks everything to help.

Told alternately by Day and June, this new series is full of political intrigue and unnecessary cruelty, intense chases, daring escapes, and even a little romance. It seems to have everything from street fighting, mysterious illnesses, repressive government action, heartbreak, and of course – a secret. But who will believe the word of the Republic’s most notorious criminal? This is for adrenaline junkies everywhere. Loved it!

Waiting on Wednesday

Well, this is something I haven't done in a while. A long while. But I was reading through blogs and writing my spring proposals and saw much talk about Rachel Hawkins third book in the Hex Hall series. And that inspired me to write a WoW.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme started and hosted by Breaking the Spine and lets us talk about the books we are waiting for, in fact can't wait to get our hands on. And that book, for me, is

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

because I loved Hex Hall and Demonglass and Rachel Hawkins herself

Here's the back cover copy:

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

Due to be published March 13th, oh the wait will be hard.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone video trailer

Just posted my review, so you know that I LOVE this book. One of the best I've read this year. Here's the trailer. Can't wait for it to come out.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor - Review

Karou is a blue-haired art student in Prague who fills notebook after notebook with drawings of fantastical creatures and disappears from time to time on mysterious “errands”. What no one knows is that she can pass through hidden doorways to an office where these fantastical creatures not only exist but brought her up. And her errands revolve around collecting teeth. She is a girl with secrets.

But one day handprints appear etched in these doorways around the world and soon they are on fire. The doors burn down and Karou no longer has a way through. .All this after sneaking through a door she should not have touched, and meeting a seraph in Marrakesh who tries at first to kill her and then asks, “who are you?”. Her world will never be the same, she needs to find a way back, and then the seraph reappears in Prague. So many questions: Why is he following her? What does he want? Who is he? Why is he familiar? And , more importantly, who is she? The angel seems to have answers, but will she regret finding them out?

Once in a while you read a book that stands out, that is different, and that you can’t stop thinking about. You want to shower it in superlatives - and here are mine. I loved this book. I could not put it down. I loved Prague, the mythology with the teeth, Akiva himself, Brimstone, the romance, the mystery, her friend Zuzana – everything. It is dark and edgy, powerful and imaginative, unsettling and different. Full of mystery and oh, such a sizzling romance. It is vivid, beautiful, and written with such craft. It should not be missed. Please, Ms Taylor, can you write the sequel REALLY fast?

Upcoming Events

Here's the list of all our upcoming events, from story times to teen events. So excited! Hope to see you there.


Pajama Storytime with Judy Schachner
Skippyjon Jones: Class Action
Friday, September 9, 6:00 p.m.

September 19 2011, 6.00 pm
Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, Superhero Joe
and Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy

Cinda Williams Chima, The Gray Wolf Throne: A Seven Realms Novel
Thursday September 22 2011, 7.00 pm
Location: Menlo Park Library

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, The Bridge to Never Land
September 26, 7.00 pm

September 28th, 7.00
Scott Westerfeld, Goliath

Friday, September 30
Tom Angleberger, Darth Paper Strikes Back

October 5 2011 7.00pm
Heather Brewer, The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill

Mom and Me Event: Doreen Cronin
Thursday, October 6, 6:00 p.m.
M.O.M. (MOM OPERATING MANUAL)

Saturday October 10, 3.00 pm
Peter Brown, You Will Be My Friend

Becca Fitzpatrick, Silence
and Michelle Hodkin, the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Sunday, October 9, 3:00 p.m.

James Dashner, The Death Cure
Friday, October 14, 7:00 p.m.

Tues October 25, 7.00 pm
Emily Jenkins and Paul Zelinsky, Toys Come Home

Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck
Thursday, October 27, 7:00 p.m.
Menlo Park Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park

October 30
Marla Frazee Storytime
Marla Frazee, Stars

November 17th, 6.00
Oliver Jeffers Pyjama StoryTime
Stuck

Shatter Me by Tahareh Mafi - Review

Not out until November, here's Julie's review of Shatter Me, which looks so so good. And yes, after reading this review it's moved right to the top of my TBR pile

Juliette has been locked in solitary confinement for 264 days. What’s left of her dystopian world is a cruel reality beyond her reach, observed through a square of unbreakable glass. She isn’t sure if she is crazy…or if she truly is a monster capable of killing someone simply by touching them. Enter Adam. He seems so familiar to Juliette, but she’s just not sure what’s real anymore and what her mind has created to fill the endless void of her hopeless existence.

Shatter Me is a hauntingly intense and compelling page-turner. The reader is drawn into Juliette’s barren and desperate world and will long for her release, even though the “real world” is a less than optimal alternative fraught with people who wish to use her. As the relationship between Adam and Juliette intensifies, so does her understanding of herself, her inherent human value, and her real power. The power to change the world, show compassion, and make a difference to the future of all humanity.

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead - review

If you are a fan of the Vampire Academy series, you will have been anxiously awaiting this spin off series that takes place a little after the events of Last Sacrifice. Sydney Sage is now center stage, but mistrusted by the alchemists after helping Rose. We learn that Jill Dragomir has been attacked and is being sent to a human boarding school in Palm Springs to keep her hidden, and Sydney is sent along with Adrian and Eddie to keep her safe. And ah, Adrian, still the same, by far the most interesting character in the series, and still as funny. He's bitter about his breakup with Rose, but protective of Jill and trying to move on.

Sydney is an interesting choice of character - bright, always eager to please, especially those in authority, and oh so socially awkward. We come to see how hard it is for her not to respond, and how much self-control she really has. And she's slowly getting over her revulsion to anything that hints of magic and vampires in general. Keeping Jill safe is harder than she thinks, especially with Jill's growing relationships with Michah and Lee, Clarence's insistence that there is a band of vampire hunters, and there's also those mysterious tattoos so many students are getting. Yes - Bloodlines is just as addictive as the Vampire Academy series.

The Death Catchers by Jennifer Ann Kogler - Review

Sorry, I've been away in Tahoe so haven't posted for a while. Have just finished Legend by Marie Lu (fabulous) and have just started The Death Cure by James Dashner (so excited - he's coming back to Keplers in the Fall BTW - Friday October 14th. Write it in your calendars.)

Here's Julie's review of The Death Catchers by Jennifer Ann Kogler. Doesn't it sound fantastic?


Lizzy Mortimer is just an average teen, living in a small, coastal California town until the day she discovers that she is destined for greatness. She learns from her grandmother that they are descended from the Seven Sisters of Avalon and their lives are intertwined with the legend of King Arthur. Lizzy and her off beat grandmother are direct descendants of Morgan le Faye; they are "Hands of Fate," who are tasked with saving others from untimely deaths. Can Lizzy save the lives of those she cares about before the sands of time run out?

"The Death Catchers" is a wonderfully refreshing and unique book, told in the form of a letter to Lizzy's English teacher. This book will appeal to both readers familiar with Arthurian legend, and those who are new to the timeless tale. With enough paranormal activity to keep the reader on the edge of her seat, this story explores how one family's "gift" can empower a young woman and allow her to see the fearless heroine she really is, as she learns to embrace her family's legacy.