YA Westerns
Westerns. I remember paperback copies of Louis L’Amour novels lying around my great grandparents’ house. My grandma loves John Wayne movies. I thought of it as an old person thing. The idea of a YA Western never occurred to me, bu it should have. The right Western can be a lot of fun! Below are some of the books I’ve come across in my search for YA Westerns.
(Click a cover to see its Goodreads page.)
If you’re into Westerns already, there are a couple here that might interest you. You may have seen True Grit, it’s been made into an Oscar-winning movie (twice!) and is definitely worth checking out. Hattie Big Sky would be a good one for any of you who might have enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie books growing up. And let’s be honest. You totally did. I still think about how they would blow up a pig bladder and play with it. Weird.
A book I just came across (so it’s not in the image above, dangit), is Ghost Medicine, it’s a traditional western set in modern day. It’s a good in between if you’re not sure you want to jump straight into a “real” Westerns.
A few of these are considerably less traditional. If you’re not sure Westerns are for you, maybe start here. Dark Life, for example, takes place in the first undersea settlement. That explains the jellyfish on the cover, eh? Do cowboys ride seahorses under water, do you think?
Daisy Kutter (currently not in the collection at CRPL) is a post apocalyptic graphic novel, as is Blood Red Road. It’s not really a surprise that many of these books have an Old West feel to them, the idea of starting over/putting the pieces of society back together lend themselves to a gritty frontier setting.
The Dark Tower series is a lot like this. Granted, it’s definitely not in the YA category (so reader beware), but I’ve got a major soft spot for The Dark Tower series. I love it. A lot. It’s western, fantasy, so many things, all rolled into one. The whole series is seven books and thousands of pages. It’s epic. That said, I definitely suggest giving it a try.
Find these and more on my YA Westerns Pinterest board.
Source: http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2012/04/06/teens-dont-read-westerns-or-do-they/
Share Your Voice! Calling 11-18 year olds…
The CRPL Teen Advisory Group has a great opportunity to meet with the Director of the Cedar Rapids Public Library this Saturday, May 11th at 11:00 am to discuss the technology options in the teen space at the Downtown library.
Since we’d like to get a large range of voices, T.A.G. would like to welcome all library users between the ages of 11-18 to the meeting. If you’d like to stop by and share you voice and ideas, please let me know by sending an email to bassmanm (@) crlibrary.org and I’ll put your name on a bagel – yes, food will be provided 
Iowa Teen Award 2013
Iowa High School Book Award 2013
I don’t know about you, but I love a good reading list. Recently, the Iowa Association of School Librarians released their 2013 Iowa High School and Iowa Teen Book Awards. There are quite a few goods included on those lists! Take a look at the Iowa High School award winners below. Click on a cover to see the Goodreads page. Click here to search the catalog.
It seems like a lot of people are fans of series books. If you’re one of them, check out Beautiful Creatures, The Lying Game, Department Nineteen, Divergent, or Fire. Fire is actually the second book in the Graceling Realm series. If non-fiction is your thing or you’d just like to give it a chance, try The Pregnancy Project, The Sacred Acre, or Heaven is for Real. There’s something for everyone in this list, so get clicking!
Cedar Rapids Titans Ticket Giveaway!
The Cedar Rapids Public Library is giving away TWO sets of TWO tickets to the Cedar Rapids Titans game this Saturday, March 30th. To win these tickets, just comment on this post or on Facebook with one thing you are looking forward to about this coming Summer. All ages are eligible to win. Two winners will be randomly chosen tomorrow, Thursday March 27th and notified tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for entering:)
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Congrats to Jamie and Sara, enjoy the game! I will be contacting you with information on how to pick up your tickets soon.
TAG Meeting Minutes February/March 2013
TAG Meeting Minutes
2/17/13 and 3/16/13
10:00 am-12:00 pm
CRPL Sendak Room/Storytime area and Ladd Library
Members present:
2/17/13 Bailey,Vanessa, Chloe, Arianna, Alea, Siera, Jocelyn, Lexi, Kayla, and Maddie 3/16/13 Bailey, Marcy, and Maddie (more…)
YA Spring Programs
We have some great upcoming programs for 6th-12th graders at our new location, the Ladd Library (3750 Williams Blvd). The April 30th Teens Create has been changed to April 23rd.
All programs are open to 6th-12th graders and are free of charge.
