Teen Space2024-02-21T12:23:54-06:00

Teen Space

FDL’s Teen Space is THE place for Young Adult fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, and audiobooks. It’s also a great place to study, meet friends, play games, and have fun at the library!

Seating, tables, gaming systems, and other equipment located in the Teen Space are reserved for the use of teenagers age 14 through 19.

Library patrons whose age falls outside this range may use the Teen Space seating, tables, and gaming systems only if they are accompanied by a patron age 14 through 19 who also is actively using the Teen Space. All others should limit their visit to Teen Services to the browsing of the collection and the selection of materials and should then use the children’s or adult areas of the library, as appropriate. Patrons of all ages are welcome to browse and check out materials from the collections located in the Teen Space.

FDL Reads: The Salt Grows Heavy

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Reviewed by Julie Nutt, Communications Specialist

Genre: Horror

Suggested age: Adult, Young Adult

What is this book about?  “You may think you know how the fairy tale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes. On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and three “saints” who control them. The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruelest parts of their true natures if they hope to survive.” (-annotation from the publisher)

My review: This is NOT The Little Mermaid – unless Ariel has fangs and hungers for blood, and her merman husband cut out her tongue. While the mermaid’s daughters are responsible for burning her land-husband’s kingdom to the ground, they are not mentioned beyond a few sentences. (I was really looking forward to some creepy-kid mermaids.)

I didn’t have to wait long for my creepy kids, though – something akin to Lord of the Flies, or Children of the Corn, is going on in the woods just outside the remains of the kingdom. The children are not unlike the mermaid in some ways – they are not wholly human, both in behavior and biology. The children’s unusual behavior and physical characteristics are the work of three unscrupulous “saints,” who seem more like Nazi doctors experimenting on their captives.

The relationship between the mermaid and the plague doctor is platonic, but peppered with affection and true love. The plague doctor’s pronoun throughout the story is they/them, by the mermaid’s description. However, the pair’s feelings for each other surpass pronouns, gender, and even species, to form a bond that continues to flourish beyond death. The descriptions of grief and loss are not heartbreaking, but glittery like the billowing hair and shimmering scales of a mermaid. Their story is described beautifully in the author’s acknowledgements: “…people who won’t give up on each other, who stay even when the world crumbles to ash, who hold on even when there’s nothing but hope.”

Three words that describe this book: alluring, gruesome, tragic

Give this a try if you like: Japanese horror; fairy tales with a dark twist; movies or books with creepy kids

Rating: 5/5

Find it at the library!

FDL Reads

 

March 13th, 2024|

FDL Reads: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Reviewed by: Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist

Genre: Fantasy

Suggested Age: Teens, Adults

What is this book about? Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is Sanderson’s third secret novel in his Kickstarter-backed Secret Novels project that he started in 2020. Nikaro is a painter on a world where nightmares run wild. Painters are civil servants who are able to “trap” nightmares with paintings. His city, Kilahito, is perpetually dark but powered by cyan and magenta hion lines. It has the feel of a modern-day Tokyo. Yumi is a traveling priestess living in a very different location. She has the power to summon mystical spirits who are able to help her people. One day the two are unexpectedly thrust into each other’s worlds and must adapt to the vastly different ways of life.

My Review: This novel takes place in Sanderson’s Cosmere. There are several references to other novels and a couple characters from a different series show up. Sanderson fans will be delighted! However, newbies to the Cosmere could potentially jump into this book, even though it takes place farther into the timeline, and enjoy it as a stand-alone. Sanderson himself has started to recommend it as a beginning point for those interested in the Cosmere novels. I enjoyed his attempt at writing romance. I knew going into it that it would not be the same type of romance as Fourth Wing or ACOTAR. I loved the characters connection and how they got to know each other. The big reveals at the end were very reminiscent of other Sanderson works, but unique and exciting on their own. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a Japanese/Korean-inspired fantasy with a clean romance story.

Three Words that Describe this Book: Duality, Mystical, Sweet

Give this a try if you like…Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson, This is How You Lose the Time War by
Amal El-Mohtar, The Fragile Threads of Power by Victoria Schwab

Rating: 4/5

Find it at the library!

Streaming audio available on hoopla

FDL Reads

January 28th, 2024|
Go to Top