Book Bag: Friendswood Youth Services Blog

I'll be the first to admit I love Halloween. But not the terrifying Halloween. I love zombies and vampires, but I like my zombie and vampire movies/books to have a little bit of humor to them. And especially a dash of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. And the more snark and sarcasm, the better. Which is precisely why I love the Skulduggery Pleasant series. But wait, before I get you excited about the series,I want to warn you that only the first three books are available in the States...I'm trying to get the rest for the library, but it's not been easy. Still, if you think you'd be interested in ordering them for yourself once you get invested in the series, continue reading! Stephanie's uncle is a famous author of horror novels. When he is found dead, she is named his heir and meets a friend of his, Skulduggery Pleasant a skeletal mage. Literally. The guy's a skeleton. Look at the cover right there! So yeah, then there's evil

For my second All Hallows Read suggestion I've chosen a book that just slightly creepy. It's creepy in a, if I think about it too much I get the willies kind of way. But it's also sweet and full of adventure and about growing up and friendship. So, you know, lots of great topics there. "Doll Bones" by Holly Black was a Newbery Honor Book this year, and I personally think it should have won the medal but I digress. It tells the story of Zach, Poppy, and Alice, three friends who have created an imaginary world full of adventure that happens to use dolls and action figures as characters. But Zach and the girls are in middle school now, and people expect them to stop playing make believe with dolls. When Zach is forced to quit the game Poppy reveals that the Queen, a creepy antique doll owned by Poppy's mom, is actually filled with the ashes of a dead girl named Eleanor. Eleanor has been speaking to Poppy and they must find her grave or she will make all o

So the time has come, get ready for some book recommendations. Mostly spooky, scary stuff for your Halloween nights! Let's get started! So, this weekend I finished Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick. Here's the official description we have in our catalog: "Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited--throughout various time periods--by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant" I don't really think it does it justice, but it gives you the general gist. Seven different stories that travel back in time and slowly unravel the story. There's a lot of recurring imagery that can be kind of creepy. But not too creepy? It's hard to describe properly. Each story is completely different but connected by a common chord and it was fun to try and puzzle out what the connections were going to be in each one. Plus, look how awesome the covers are: Also, we met the author last year at Teen Book Con and he was great. DF