New Non-Fiction Titles

For those of you that like reading non-fiction, here are a couple of the latest titles added to our collection! You can find them in the Teen New Book Section :)

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Goodreads Summary: Featuring men and women who have worked passionately to pioneer peaceful solutions to violent conflicts throughout history. Our peace warriors will include Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Day, and Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. Find out about their childhoods, where they went to school, what their families were like, and their major accomplishments. Six inspiring tales of courage and conviction.


This is Book #6 in the Biography Profile Series.

by Marcus Weeks

Goodreads Summary: Psychology is all around us -- in the advertising we see, the politics we debate, and in the development of products we use every day. Using engaging graphics, "Heads Up Psychology" explores the big ideas from all areas of psychology including psychoanalysis, intelligence, and mental disorders.

With easy-to-understand coverage of all the approaches to psychology, and the ideas of more than 60 psychologists, from Asch to Milgram and Ramachandran to Zimbardo, this introduction to an often complicated subject is written with young-adult readers in mind, and is structured around the questions they often ask, like "How do I fit in?," "Who needs parents, anyway?," and "Why do I feel so angry all the time?"

In "Heads Up Psychology," psychological theories are explained with the help of cleverly conceived graphic illustrations and diagrams to show how they relate to everyday life. Biography spreads give interesting insights into the lives and work of Freud, Pavlov, and more, while other psychologists and their big ideas are profiled in a comprehensive directory, and case study panels describe groundbreaking experiments in the field.

Supports the Common Core State Standards.

by Joy Masoff

Goodreads Summary: Kids love stuff that's gross. From the liquids, solids, and gases--especially the gases!--or their own bodies to the creepy, crawly, slimy, slithery, fetid, and feculent phenomena in the world at large, kids with a curious bent just can't get enough. "Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty" brings together, in one book, all the good things about some of the baddest things on Earth. 

Exhaustively researched and impeccably scientific, yet written with a lively lack of earnestness, "Oh, Yuck! "is an ants to zits encyclopedic compendium covering people, animals, insects, plants, foods, and more. Here are vampire bats, which sip blood and pee at the same time so that they'll always be light enough to fly away; and slime eels, wreathed in mucus and eating fellow fish from the inside out. "Oh, Yuck!" explains why vomit smells; where dandruff comes from; what pus is all about; and why maggots adore rotting meant. Other features include gross recipes, putrid projects, 10 foods that make you airborne, and more. 

With hundreds of cartoon illustrations and real-life photographs, "Oh, Yuck!" is the complete guide to the irresistible--at least to an 8-to-12 year old--underbelly of life.

After the End

by Amy Plum

Series: Book #1 After the End Series
ISBN: 9780062225603
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: May 6th 2014
Number of Pages: 322

Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

My Rating:  

I loved this book! I went in with an idea of what this was going to be about and the book flipped me upside down! We start out thinking this is a dystopian world (and to Juneau, it kinda of is..) but BAMN - just kidding, the world is still turning without you and your group of "survivors."

The story is told through two perspectives - Juneau (one of the "survivors of WWIII" living out in the Alaskan wilderness) and Miles (the son of the CEO of Blackwell Pharmaceutical, who just got kicked out of his HS). This way of narrative really works for me, as we have two story-lines running parallel to each other and when they do meet, we get each person's thoughts.

Juneau seems kooky to Miles because of what he calls "magic." Juneau has grown up with the Yara (the life force that runs through everything) and has been training to take over her clan as kind of the head spiritual adviser, so this is all natural to her.

"The concept behind Reading is that everything in nature is alive in a certain fashion. So everything has its own version of what it sees or experiences: either past memories, what is happening in the present, or, since we think time is flexible, a 'memory' of what will have happened in the future. Every living thing is connected through the Yara. So Reading is just reaching out to the right element in nature that can give you the information you want to know." After the End, 220

These two meet up because Juneau's clan disappears on her (kidnapped of course) and it looks like Mile's father is the one behind it all. But things aren't what they seem, as Juneau's mentor, Whit, looks to have joined the other side and the fact that there are two sets of people chasing her (Miles himself could be a third).


I loved the relationship between Juneau and Miles and the way it developed throughout the book. Another aspect of this book that I liked was science and "magic." The whole intrigue surround Juneau and her clan and what could possibly make her valuable is well-written. The questions you think of are pretty much answered in the book, but we do come to a shocking ending - where we must now wait for the next installment in what looks like a series.

This book is full of adventure, mystery & intrigue, science fiction and the occult, and a little tinny bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Highly recommend :)

*UDPATE* - Book #2, Until the Beginning is due out May 2015!!

Buzz Kill

by Beth Fantaskey

ISBN: 9780547393100
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 6th 2014
Number of Pages: 368
Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: In this fresh and funny teen mystery, seventeen-year-old Millie joins forces with her classmate, gorgeous but mysterious Chase Albright, to try to find out who murdered Coach Killdare.

Putting the dead in deadline

To Bee or not to Bee? When the widely disliked Honeywell Stingers football coach is found murdered, 17-year-old Millie is determined to investigate. She is chasing a lead for the school newspaper - and looking to clear her father, the assistant coach, and prime suspect.

Millie's partner is gorgeous, smart-and keeping secrets
Millie joins forces with her mysterious classmate Chase who seems to want to help her even while covering up secrets of his own.

She's starting to get a reputation…without any of the benefits.
Drama-and bodies-pile up around Millie and she chases clues, snuggles Baxter the so-ugly-he's-adorable bassett hound, and storms out of the world's most awkward school dance/memorial mash-up. At least she gets to eat a lot of pie.

My Rating:  

This is a very funny book surrounding the mystery of the high school football coach Killdare's murder. Which, I got a kick out of his name being KILLdare. 

Here's a sample of some of the humorous stuff you will read in this book:

"Big Pete gave me the quote of a lifetime, albeit one that I couldn't have put in a G-rated school newspaper article, even if I'd been able to write anything down.
'Holy ****! It's a dead guy -- on a John Deere!'" 
- Buzz Kill, 27

"...I found myself doodling a picture of the heavyset, universally despised coach with a knife in his chest and x's for eyes, next to the word "Inevitable?" And just to pass the time, I inked a list of suspects, if the murder ever really did happen." - Buzz Kill, 4-5

Little did Millie know that when she wrote this list of suspects that the coach would end up dead and who should be the number one suspect? Her dad.  Millie must deal with a detective who has a grudge against her father and her nemesis, Vivienne Fitch, who is doing all she can to "report" all the evidence that is piling up. 

Millie teams up with the mysterious Chase, who is a perfect match for Millie, to solve the crime & clear her father's name. Chase's back story is realistic and heartbreaking. 

We also have the AWESOME librarian/confidante Ms. Isabel Parkins who has wonderful fashion sense and a secret of her own...I didn't see that coming!

The story line for the most part progresses pretty quickly and the funny bits keep the story light. Millie is a fun character who thinks herself a modern day Nancy Drew (but one who isn't a sissy). 

Overall, a fun read that I would highly recommend to those that want to read a less serious mystery book. 

Survey Says....

If you use the Groton Public Library and are between the ages of 12-19, we are looking for your thoughts! What you read, what services you like or want to see offered, and how you get your information about events. 

CLICK HERE!

By giving us your thoughts and time, you will be entered into our random drawing to win some pretty cool prizes! 

Summer is Coming!!

The weather is warming up and summer is almost here! To get in the mood, I have come up with some light summer reads - take them to the beach!

by Hailey Abbott

The SUMMER BOYS girls are back for another dose of sizzling drama. Will soul mates Beth and George be able to maintain their long-distance love affair, even while another boy is catching Beth's eye? Will reformed bad girl Ella REALLY be able to suppress her wild ways? And can shy, smart Kelsi open herself up to love again, even after she's had her heart broken? And what's happening with Jamie on her summer writing program? Find out all this--and much more--in this sexy sequel.

by Candace Bushnell

Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation?

The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets. And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it's finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.

by Susane Colasanti

Lani and Erin are bonded for life. One thing that connects them is their fascination of fate. Lani wonders how much of our lives has already been decided and how much we can actually influence. Since the Unknown can unexpectedly change our lives forever, how much can we really control?

From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the intense connection they share. It feels like she's known him forever. She's not sure if he feels it, too. But it doesn't matter. Because Jason is Erin's boyfriend. Lani is determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than risk hurting her best friend.

How long can Lani keep running from the boy who might be her destiny?

by Jenny Han

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

by Natalie Kath

Kat is just like other fourteen-year-old girls. Except that this summer, she's taking charge of her life and finally losing weight. But can she do it?

by Lauren Oliver

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

by Alyson Noël

Having recently discarded her dorky image--and the best friend that went with it--Colby Cavendish is looking forward to a long hot season of parties, beach BBQ’s, and hopefully, more hook-ups with Levi Bonham, the hottest guy in school. But her world comes crashing down when her parents send her away to spend the summer in Greece with her crazy aunt Tally.

Stranded on a boring island with no malls, no cell phone reception, and an aunt who talks to her plants, Colby worries that her new friends have forgotten all about her. But when she meets Yannis, a cute Greek local, everything changes. She experiences something deeper and more intense than a summer fling, and it forces her to see herself, and the life she left behind, in a whole new way.

by O.R. Melling

Sequel to the critically-acclaimed "The Hunter's Moon" 
This second book in a series "shimmering with magic, myth, and romance" ("Booklist"), follows sixteen-year-old Laurel as she tries to understand the cause of her twin sister's mysterious death. Honor believed in Faerie, a parallel land of mischievous immortals. Laurel doesn't. That is, until the fairies come and ask her to take up her sister's failed quest to find the Summer King, a lord who can light the midsummer fire that keeps the two worlds, human and Faerie, cleaved. Laurel must decide to help those whose cause killed her sister, and, in the process, come to believe that there is still magic and love in the world. 
Lush descriptions of Ireland and Celtic lore make this a satisfying read for travelers to other lands, real and mythic. 

by Sarah Dessen

A long, hot summer...

That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes, unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

by Sarah Ockler

According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer.

Prisoner of Night and Fog

by Anne Blankman

Series: Book #1 (no series title as of yet)
ISBN: 9780062278814
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: April 22nd 2014
Number of Pages: 401
Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.

And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

My Rating:  

"Gretchen exhaled a shaky breath. The Jew is my eternal enemy. Those words had guided her heart for twelve years, thanks to her honorary "uncle" Dolf. She owed him so much. He had taught her about art and music, all the things that her father hadn't understood and her mother found dull." Prisoner of Night and Fog, 6

 Gretchen Müller is a 17 year old German who sees Adolf Hitler as an uncle. Her father died saving Hitler's life, giving Gretchen and her family a special place within Hitler's ranks. Gretchen has been taught to hate Jews her whole life but when a (cute) Jewish reporter, Daniel, makes contact, her whole life is flipped upside down. He insists that her father was murdered. As she explores this possibility with Daniel, she starts to realize that what she took as facts may indeed be lies. 

"She saw the truth now. The man she had loved as a father was a fraud. He kissed the backs of her hands and advocated war; he ruffled her hair and preached death; he had played with her on the carpet with toy soldiers, and all along he had been planning the extinction of an entire people." Prisoner of Night and Fog, 215

This was a very moving story and beautifully written. Most of the stories written about this time period are told from a Jewish perspective, now we have a German view. The way this story is told is realistic, and yes, some of the things said and done by other Germans are crude and inhumane. I appreciate that Blankman didn't sugarcoat things and depicted life as it would have been.

I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction. It will appeal to those that like mysteries and it does have a romance too :)

It seems that this will be book 1 in a series and I will be continuing Gretchen & Daniel's journey whenever Blankman decides to write it!