Saturday, May 16, 2015

At A Glance


Pennyroyal Academy By M. A. Larson
Pennyroyal Academy: Seeking bold, courageous youths to become tomorrow's princesses and knights….Come one, come all!
A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there, only to find herself at the center of a world at war.  She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. There, given the name “Evie,” she must endure a harsh training regimen under the steel glare of her Fairy Drillsergeant, while also navigating an entirely new world of friends and enemies. As Evie learns what it truly means to be a princess, she realizes surprising things about herself and her family, about human compassion and inhuman cruelty. And with the witch forces moving nearer, she discovers that the war between princesses and witches is much more personal than she could ever have imagined.
Set in Grimm’s fairytale world, M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy masterfully combines adventure, humor, and magical mischief.

At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson. An atmospheric, heartfelt, and delightfully spooky novel for fans of CoralineSplendors and Glooms, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does, too.)
But then Lawrence goes missing. And he’s not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out…different. Or they don’t come out at all.
If anyone can sort this out, it’s Victoria—even if it means getting a little messy.

Embrace By Jessica Shirvington
It starts with a whisper: "It's time for you to know who you are..." 
On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.
LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori--part human, part angel--and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.
PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.
Two sides: Angel or Exile.
Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.
The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...
"In her YA paranormal romance debut, Jessica Shirvington combines "the badass-action of Vampire Academy, the complex love triangles of Twilight, and the angel mythology of Fallen, taken one step further." --Book Couture
"Shirvington's debut is smart, edgy and addictive--and sure to leave readers clamoring for the rest of the series."-- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED
"One of the best YA novels we've seen in a while. Get ready for a confident, kick-butt, well-defined heroine." -- RT Book Reviews

MD Black-Eyed Susans Winners

Congrats to this year's MD Black-Eyed Susan winners that were voted on by the students of the state of Maryland!! Even though I didn't vote (I'm too old!), a few of my favorites won. "The Day the Crayons Quit" By Drew Daywalt was a really fun book about a few complaints from the crayons of a schoolboy. "Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library" By Chris Grabenstein was also another one of my favorites. Since I work in a library I'm a little bias, but it was a great story and some really funny parts in there too. If you haven't read these books, then I encourage you to do so!


  • The Day The Crayons Quit By Drew Daywalt (Picture Book)
  • Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library By Chris Grabenstein (Grades 4-6)
  • Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity By Dave Roman (Graphic Novels)
  • On The Day I Died: Stories From The Grave By Candace Fleming (Grades 6-9)
  • Eleanor and Park By Rainbow Rowell (High School)

Looking forward to next year...we have the 2015-2016 MD Black-Eyed Susan Nominees! This list is also copied on a page above.

Picture Books
Peanut Butter and Cupcake!
By Terry Border
What's Your Favorite Animal?
By Eric Carle
The Tooth Fairy Wars
By Kate Coombs
Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas
By Lynne Cox
Dog vs Cat
By Chris Gall
Lost and Found
By Bill Harley
Julia's House for Lost Creatures
By Ben Hatke
Brush of the Gods
By Lenore Look
At the Same Moment, Around the World
By Clotilde Perrin
Joy in Mudville
Bob Raczka
Carnivores
By Aaron Reynolds
Jimmy the Joey: the Ture Story of an Amazing Koala Rescue
By Deborah Lee Rose
The Noisy Paint Box: the Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art
By Barb Rosenstock
The Most Magnificent Thing
By Ashley Spires
Feathers: Not Just for Flying
By Melissa Stewart

Grades 4-6
The Qwikpick Papers: Poop Fountain
By Tom Angleberger
Absolutely Almost
By Lisa Graff
Words with Wings
By Nikki Grimes
Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle
By George Hagen
The Fourteenth Goldfish
By Jennifer Holm
Odd, Weird and Little
By Patrick Jennings
Half a World Away
By CynthiaKadohata
Half a Chance
By Cynthia Lord
Brown Girl Dreaming
By Jacqueline Woodson
Centaur Rising
By Jane Yolen

Graphic Novels
El Deafo
By Cece Bell
Lowriders in Space, Book 1
By Cathy Camper
Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
By Loic Dauvillier
Dogs of War
By Sheila Keenan
The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth
By Ian Lendler
The Silver Six
By AJ Lieberman
Bravoman. Volume I: Super-Unequaled Hero of Excellence!
By Matt Moylan
Finding Gossamyr. Volume I
By David A. Rodriquez
Phoebe and her Unicorn: a Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle
By Dana Simpson
Cardboard
By Doug TenNapel

Grades 6-9
I Kill The Mockingbird
By Paul Acampora
The Crossover
By Kwame Alexander
The Night Gardner
By Jonathan Auxier
The Great Trouble: a Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel
By Deborah Hopkinson
Ice Dogs
By Terry Lynn Johnson
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible
By Leon Leyson
Greenglass House
By Kate Milford
The Boundless
By Kenneth Oppel
Screaming at the Ump
By Audrey Veronica
I am Malala: (young reader edition)
By Malala Yousafzai

High School
The Impossible Knife of Memory
By Laurie Halse Anderson
The Naturals
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Nearly Gone
By Elle Cosimano
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone
By Adele Griffin
Open Road Summer
By Emery Lord
Steelheart
By Brandon Sanderson
The Scar Boys: a Novel
By Len Vlahos
Rose Under Fire
By Elizabeth Wein
Noggin
By John Corey Whaley
The Shadow Hero
By Gene Luen Yang

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Kate Milford


I was lucky enough to meet Kate Milford on the afternoon of Wednesday, 6 May 2015 at the Edgewater Community Library. She took some time out to visit with the fans of her newest book "Greenglass House". This is Kate's 5th book and it's getting a lot of recognition. I posted about the book when it was first published because the cover really caught my attention. As I always say, you really do judge a book by it's cover and this one is beautiful! I was pleasantly surprised when it was on the middle school list for next year's MD Black-Eyed Susans! Kate is also the recipient of the 2014 National Book Award Longlist and is a recent nominee for the Edgar Award for Juvenile Mystery. 

Kate Milford is a local to our area! She calls Riva home and attended Central Elementary, Central Middle and South River High. She now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and 2 year old and is looking forward to an upcoming adoption. She does come home to visit though. A few of Kate's favorite books growing up were "The Phantom Tollbooth", "The Westing Game",  "Dark is Rising" series as well as Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew books. 

Kate has tried many types of writing throughout her life from poetry to playwrights to screenplays before arriving at fiction. With a little one underfoot, it's hard to find the time to sit down and write lately, but she does make some time and also spends time at a local diner where she can get uninterrupted time. Kate enjoys writing and says "Half the fun of writing a story is seeing where it's gonna go." 

I can't wait to read "Greenglass House"! How about you?

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Couple New Trailers!

I just finished the trailers for "Bruised" and "This Journal Belongs To Ratchet"!! Check them out AND, if you haven't already, subscribe to the Edgewater Books YouTube channel!!!

This Journal Belongs To Ratchet Trailer

Bruised by Sarah Skilton

Friday, May 1, 2015

Black Beauty


By Anna Sewell

This is my ALL TIME favorite book and I think that it is perfect for the end of National ASPCA month. Black Beauty is set in Victorian London when folks got around in horse and buggy. Horses weren't really considered pets, but creatures of necessity. Anna Sewell documents the life of one of these horses from a kind and gentle masters to harsh and cruel masters. It is told in Beauty's own words, thoughts and feelings. The book was instrumental in creating animal cruelty laws and continues to do so to this day. What I didn't know, was that Black Beauty was the only novel Anna Sewell ever wrote. She wrote it in 1877 during the last years of her life and it was published five months before she died. She was able to see, briefly, how so many people fell in love with the story. I think this is a must read for everyone and especially those with animals...horses or otherwise.