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/

Book I Love: Adventure Time V. 1

I am going to interrupt all of the wonderful Books You Love contest entries and encourage you to enter soon!  Submit your own Books You Love contest entries online here by February 16th in order to win a $25 gift certificate to the Carmike Wynnsong Theater on Edgewood Road.  Here is a book I just discovered today and fell in love with:

I am latecomer to the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time.  I spent hours watching this weekend and I am now officially obsessed.  Adventure Time Volume 1 is a  graphic novel following Jake the Dog and Finn the Human as they take on The Lich, who is trying to destroy the Land of Ooo.  It is as awesome and weird as the show, I promise.  There is also amazing fan art inside, so be sure to place your holds for this one in our online catalog here.

Marion Public Library has Adventure Time:  Season One and Adventure Time:  My Two Favorite People on DVD, so go place those on hold, too!

Cartoon Network also has an amazing array of Adventure Time paper crafts online here.

CHOPSTICKS by Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

This book is essentially a scrapbook. You don’t read it, you see it. It is made from pictures, letters, pieces of paper, text messages and every other thing imaginable in daily life. Glory & Frank fall in love fast but as a piano prodigy, Glory’s dad refuses to let anything take her focus away from piano. Soon enough, Glory disappears and what was a love story quickly turns into a disappearance.

This book also has its own website and app.

Graphic Novel and Comic Book Art with UIMA

University of Iowa Museum of Art presents Graphic Novel and Comic Art in the Sendak room at the Cedar Rapids Public Library on Wednesday June 6th at 3:30 p.m.! Join us to check out their collection, ask questions, and learn more about your favorite books!

Attendees will be entered to WIN a copy of Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond, so stop by for this great event and sign up for the Summer Reading Program while you are at it.

Free Comic Book Day is May 7th

Did you know that Saturday, May 7th is Free Comic Book Day around the world?  Participating comic book shops give out a free comic to anyone who visits their stores, and the metro area is lucky to have Alter Ego Comics participating in this awesome event.  Be sure to stop by Alter Ego, located at 331 7th Avenue in Marion, from 11:00-5:00 on Saturday, and remember, you can always check out graphic novels and manga at the library for free any day of the week (unless we are closed ).  Check out the graphic novel display near the YA section at the Westdale Mall branch of the library.