July Teen Summer Reading -- Spark a Reaction

The month of July has continued to be busy in the Teen Room!  We've offered our summer reading incentive program, various weekly clubs, and drop-in afternoon activities all month long.  Although we continue to offer the reading incentives and club opportunities through August, we are now finished with the drop-in afternoon activities.  However, teens who have enjoyed playing with science, art and their own creativity during these activities can still find novels in the YA collection to feed their interests. 

Spark a Reaction: Chemical Reactions -- During this week, teens experimented with chemical reactions that caused soda to freeze instantly, and laundry detergent to from crystals.  In YA literature, the science of chemistry forms the backdrop for many compelling stories, particularly in dystopian novels that explore chemical and genetic experiments gone awry.  Readers interested in chemical and genetic engineering might enjoy one of these selections:

• Jekel Loves Hyde, by Beth Fantaskey
• Vitro by Jessica Khoury
• Beta by Rachel Cohn
• Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
• Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
• Altered by Jennifer Rush

Spark a Reaction: Glowing Reactions -- The activities this week were more about creative fun than science:  teens were able to make glow-in-the-dark slime and glowing lanterns, and to give themselves a "glowing" manicure!  However, the idea of glowing makes me think of stars and planets,  and recently, YA fiction has seen a resurgence of science fiction about space, alien invasions, and extraterrestrial life.  If "Star Wars" appeals to you, you might enjoy:

• Glow series by Amy Kathleen Ryan
• Across the Universe series by Beth Revis
• Galahad series by Dom Testa
• The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Spark a Reaction: Survival Reactions -- "Survival skills" can mean anything to today's teens:  from surviving junior high school, to wilderness survival, to living through a zombie apocalypse.  Our drop-in activities focused on creating survival gear from duct tape, braiding survival bracelets, and cooking s'mores in solar ovens.  In recent years, YA fiction has exploded with titles that use survival skills as a plot device; obviously, The Hunger Games is one exceptionally popular example, but there are many more.  Teens who enjoy gritty stories of endurance and resourcefulness should try these lesser-known titles:

• Ashfall series by Mike Mullin
• Stung by Bethany Wiggins
• Enclave by Ann Aguirre
• Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
• Life As We Knew It series by Susan Beth Pfeffer
• The Living  by Matt de la Peña

Hopefully, the above lists of titles will spark more reading, and more lists of suggested titles!  For teens in Gillette, remember that we will draw for our grand prize baskets during our final summer reading event, August 6 from 1 to 4 p.m., so be sure to get your tickets in!  Following that final event, we'll still offer our reading incentives until school starts.